When Kate Segal (Battle Creek) arrived in Lansing, she didn't waste time getting acclimated with the Capitol building, lunching with lobbyists or settling into her new office. Instead, she sat down with her dedicated staff to find an answer to the question, "How can I start helping the residents of Calhoun County?"
No stranger to hard work, Segal came to Lansing after spending seven years on the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners, where she served as chairwoman in her final term.
"If I were to give anything less than my all as a State Representative, I would be selling my community short," Segal said. "So from day one, I really focused on how I could improve our way of life in Calhoun County and the health and safety of our residents. I was honored to be named Assistant Majority Floor Leader as well as Vice Chair of the House Health Policy Committee. We've made some tough decisions, and we certainly have more to come, but I think we're on our way to doing the things we need to in order to accomplish our goal of supporting our communities, revitalizing our state and helping to rebuild Michigan's economy."
Since coming to the Capitol, Segal has saved nearly 600 jobs at Battle Creek's Duncan Aviation by fixing a flaw in Michigan's tax code, introduced a plan to combat elder abuse in Michigan, and required the state to automatically enroll more kids in MIChild, which provides health care for the uninsured children of Michigan families.
Segal also has put forth a tremendous effort in rallying her community and residents across the state to save the Michigan Youth ChalleNGe Academy (MYCA). The Battle Creek-based MYCA is a nonprofit program that gives at-risk youths from across the state the chance to transform themselves into successful adults.
"This fantastic program has a proven track record of changing lives of at-risk kids for the better," Segal said.
"This is a great example of the type of programs Michigan needs to be sustaining to build a brighter future not only for
our young men and women, but also for Michigan as a whole."