sally hutton

Distinguished Alumna, former Mayor Sally Toschlog Hutton, Class of 1966

Beginning with her election as president of Block R in high school, Sally Toschlog Hutton showed an aptitude for leadership at an early age.  She was a member of the student council and Y-Teens which both, she says, taught her the value of volunteering.  She also says she learned teamwork out of necessity with six brothers and sisters at home.

Sally Hutton graduated in 1966 with the desire to become a nurse.  That did not come about and, after being divorced, she began cleaning houses.   She said, “Cleaning houses taught me how to communicate with people and manage money”.

Sally Hutton  got into politics by filling the vacated seat on the Richmond City Council left open when her father, Elmer Toschlog, retired in 1986 and died shortly thereafter.  She served from 1986 until 2002 for many years before considering running for mayor in 2003.  She was the first woman elected mayor for Richmond, serving three terms until 2015.  She also was head of the Democrat party in Richmond during her term as mayor.

Ms. Hutton won the race for mayor despite not having a college degree. She was someone people identified with from seeing her at Cordell pool, working on community give-back projects, and on city council.

Sally Toschlog was able to listen, which she says was her main qualification for the job.  She set about streamlining some city departments, reducing overhead as possible.  She prides herself for maintaining a balanced budget when the city announced it was broke in 2006 and during the 2008 recession.

She helped form the Arts Council in 2007, recognizing Richmond’s heritage in art and music as well as current assets such as the art museum and symphony and Civic Theater.  She also was a hands-on mayor, often found scrapping graffiti off local bridges, walls, and alleyways, picking up trash, and working to remove litter throughout the city.

Richmond continued its Sister City program under her leadership and celebrated its Bicentennial in 2005. She also was the guest speaker at the RHSAA All Class dinner.

She supported recycling programs, helped with a Walking Bus program at Elizabeth Starr School walking grade school children to and from school in the high risk Northside area, preventing “stranger danger” and encouraging children to attend on a regular basis.  She was a Study Buddy in the mentoring program and worked with the Third Grade Academy for reading each summer.

Her mother, Florence Theobold  Toschlog, passed away in November 2008.  Sally’s home on SW 4th Street allows her a really down to earth connection with her neighborhood.  Richmond also celebrated the state Neighborhood Association annual meeting in 2014, during her final term as mayor. Under her guidance, improvements to the parks, water drainage, sidewalks, and several grants were received that allowed Richmond to fund projects to replace dwindling tax dollars.  Under her leadership, Richmond became a Stellar Community in 2013, qualifying it for many new grant funds.

Sally Hutton has been honored by Girls Inc., the Richmond Kiwanis in 2013, the Altrusa Club as Woman of the Year in 2012.

She has championed several veterans’ issues and projects, most notably the Veterans Memorial Park. She is also a member of the Vietnam Veterans Post in Richmond.  She was honored in a special ceremony by her classmates in the fall of 2015 for her work with the park.

Mayor Hutton has left a legacy of pride in her community, hard work, and engaging people which will benefit the city for years to come.

(Some notes are from an interview with Melanie Peacock, 2007, Honors English Class)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  380 Hub Etchison Parkway, Richmond, IN 47374

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