Meet: Joe Tynan

PEEPS | those who Serve

LAKElife Magazine celebrates those who give of themselves to better our community—those who, day by day, make the world a better place.

Nominated by our readership,

Meet: Joe Tynan

fundraiser + resident of Lake Tippecanoe

by Haiden Hibbert

Joe Tynan grew up on Lake Tippecanoe and has spent a great deal of his adult life working to preserve the area for generations to come. As a former board member of The Watershed Foundation, Joe’s fundraising efforts + legacy will live on, just like the fond memories he has of his childhood on the lake.

What was your experience with The Watershed Foundation as Principal Fundraiser?

The Watershed Foundation had depended for years strictly on funding they could get from IDEM and grants. This meant they couldn’t consistently go out and work with farmers (and tell them they could do a project) because they weren't sure they could get the money. So I realized we needed to raise a lot more money locally from the residents. At the time, Lyn [Crighton] and I sat down and put a plan together.

Over a three-year period, we learned how to deliver our message to our initial supporters. We succeeded in finding 20 investors who supported TWF with a $25,000 pledge, over 5 years. This gave us a huge base of reliable income so we could go out and tell farmers: “We have the money to get that project done!”

Lyn has become a great leader and the board has gotten extremely strong. I’m off the board now, but I’m still active and help with one-on-one donation requests. What about getting the sewer system in place for Lake Tippecanoe?

You talk about a challenge! Study after study said ‘you should move immediately and put sewers in immediately; they’re the best thing you can do to protect the lake.’ But year after year, and study after study got tabled and thrown away, so a small group of board members of TWF, LTPO (Lake Tippecanoe Property Owners), and a few others decided we would form a conservancy district and put our own sewers in. It’s what I called my last hurrah as a part of The Watershed Foundation.

After a lot of challenges and back-andforth with the county, the county decided to form a regional conservancy district, and now they’re going to have sewers sometime in the next two years. I’m proud of the many people who helped us with this. We got 600 signatures and 900-some properties represented.

Joe Tynan What inspires you to give back to your community?

My mom and dad. I remember when I was a very young boy earning money doing odd jobs, and Dad taught me to give back to church and help others. You give back, you get more. It’s what we’re meant to do. Many of the people on this lake are blessed with what we have. Give it away, give it back.

What does lake life mean to you?

[I want to] protect this lake, so the kids who come to play on it now have as much fun as I had on it, or more. And then their kids have the chance to do it, so this lake is around for 50, 100, 1,000 or 5,000 more years.

Mankind can do crazy things to lakes and ruin them, so we’re just trying to make sure we don't make mistakes.