Inspiring Conversations with Rita LaMoreaux of Lansing Area Safety Council

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rita LaMoreaux.  

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a true native of Lansing, Michigan; in fact, I still live in the house my parents built and moved into when I was 2 months old. I am a proud graduate of Lansing schools and Sexton High School. I still have my high school best friend, and twenty years after graduation, I reconnected and married a classmate.

After high school, I tried going to Western Michigan University for a year and flunked out. I was not ready to go away from home. I then went to Lansing Community College for the next ten years while I worked two jobs. One job was always in sewing and tailoring, and the other in history. In my early thirties, while working at the Turner-Dodge House in Lansing, I realized that I needed to get my Bachelor’s degree, and I went on to get my master’s immediate after that.

I then had a career in political news, and after that, I worked for an insurance agent’s association. While at the association, I helped to start a nonprofit to bring new talent in the insurance industry. I realized that my heart was in nonprofit administration; that is my talent and passion. In 2019, I started my own business, Lacor Consultants, to help nonprofits with starting up and anything to keep them going with administration.

My work in nonprofits has led me to my current position of Executive Director of the Lansing Area Safety Council. In March of 2022, I was approached by the Council leaders to see how I could help the organization rise from dormancy after the pandemic. I took the reins of the organization on June 1, 2023.

I call myself a professional volunteer. My parents instilled in us that we are more fortunate than most, so we need to give back to the community by sharing our gifts with others. My passion for volunteering really took off when I was asked to start the Delta Township Historical Society in 2006. By starting it, I was able to connect with local service organizations in our township. This led me to becoming a member of the Delta-Waverly Rotary Club. Rotary has given me the leadership training and opportunities that everyone should get. After serving various roles in my Rotary Club, I was given the honor to serve as District 6360 Governor from July 2021-June of 2022. Nothing shows you the power of volunteering like traveling the state, seeing what service organizations are doing to help in their communities.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve never taken the straight path. I have always gone where life has led me, but sometimes the road not taken is harder than the road everyone else takes. By forging my own road, I have sometimes been left behind professionally and financially. Only by finally letting others help me have I been able to achieve great things.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Lansing Area Safety Council?
The Lansing Area Safety Council has served the community since its inception in 1939. It was founded by city leaders as a mechanism to be the resource and education hub for everything safety in Lansing. For the entirety of its 84 years, the Safety Council has hosted the Annual Safety Patrol Picnic to honor local student safeties. I was a recipient of the good works of this nonprofit when I was a 5th grader in 1981 and went to the Safety Patrol Picnic at Francis Park in Lansing.

This nonprofit organization has done so much good for our community over the years. We provide First Aid & CPR education programs, babysitter training and other community programs for safety. We are very proud of the support we give in training our local student safeties and adult crossing guards.

We are now in a rebirth of this great organization. We are looking at the immediate needs of the community and developing programs for those needs, such as an our new 2-hour First Aid & CPR Training along with a companion 2-hour Active Shooter & Warning Signs program. In today’s climate we want to give lifesaving tools to as many people as possible, so help is immediate if the unforeseen happens.

Our focus at the Lansing Area Safety Council is to provide safety education in three areas, workforce, community, and schools. These three areas of focus help us to identify the education and resource gaps in the Lansing and tri-county area. We are working with as many local area nonprofit and human service organizations to build partnerships for creating greater safety programs.

Our goal is to make the Lansing Area Safety Council the safety education and resource hub that helps connect all our organizations in Lansing, so we can all work together to create a safety community.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I was very lucky when I found my mentor, Liz Homer. She was my boss at Turner-Dodge House and taught me what strong woman leadership really is. She is a trailblazer for women’s rights in Michigan. Her best quality was taking the time to coach me, teach me, and guide me to find the leader within.

When looking for a mentor while you are out networking, look for the person in the room who is lifting up others. You want your mentor to be someone who leads by example, but also brings others along so they can one day take over and lead instead of them.

Pricing:

• Babysitter Training $40 per teen
• 2-Hour Basic First Aid & CPR $300 for up to 30 people
• 2-Hour Active Shooter & Warning Signs $300 for up to 30 people
• First Aid & CPR/AED Certification $95 per person
• Safety Management Certification $300 per person

Contact Info:

• Website: https://safetycouncil.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lansingsafety/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LASC1939/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/5847751/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lansing_safety
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuv-MKBFDs0h1DYl8MKFCOA
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritalamoreaux/ 

Image Credits
Trumpie Photography
Rita LaMoreaux
Dave Corrie