Swigert enjoys serving the community
COSHOCTON – Tiffany Swigert always knew she would stay close to home.
“When I graduated (from high school) my now husband was going to school in Zanesville and our families were here,” she said. “I didn’t think I would venture too far.”
Swigert graduated from River View High School in 1998 at the age of 17 and started radiology school that summer. After a few years of technical training and work experience she decided to finish her bachelor’s degree in business administration at Mount Vernon Nazarene University while raising a family and working full-time at State Farm in Newark.
“We lived in Coshocton and for a little over three years I drove back and forth to State Farm,” Swigert said. “They had a tuition reimbursement program to help you go back to school. My mom and I actually went back to school at the same time and graduated together.”
She soon returned to Coshocton to work and eventually started working for the county.
“Jesse Fischer called my husband and asked if he’d be interested in applying for the regional planning commission job that was open,” Swigert said. “He wasn’t interested at that time. We talked about it and I ended up applying for it.”
She started as the executive director of the regional planning commission in December 2007. In 2009 she started her services as the safety coordinator for the Coshocton County Commissioners office in addition to her other role.
“I like knowing that I’m serving the public and the people who live here,” Swigert said.
In July 2017, she stepped into a new role as executive director of the Coshocton Port Authority.
“Serving as the city and county economic development office has been incredibly rewarding while delightfully challenging,” Swigert said. “Surrounding myself with incredible people that have the same love for Coshocton and a drive to ensure continued progress has been so important in conquering challenges. Marketing the community of Coshocton and the people that make this the best place to live, work and play is the best part of my job. Developing plans that will assist in our future generation’s successes and working with our highly valued existing businesses are other examples of our daily duties.”
Swigert and her family, husband, Gene and sons, Briar and Camden attend NewPointe Community Church.
“When it comes to community involvement, we say why not be active,” Tiffany said. “We choose to live here, play here, eat here and be sociable here so if we have something to give, whether it’s time or talent we should. If you have a treasure that could make this community better why wouldn’t you use it? We’ve tried to teach our kids that too.”
While Tiffany never imagined she’d be serving as a port authority director, she is very happy with the path life has led her on.
“When you graduate from high school you don’t have to have everything figured out,” she said. “You may think you are going to do one thing, but end up doing something totally different. Enjoy your experiences, but make sure you learn something from them.”
Editor’s note: The Beacon is working with the Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce to highlight young professionals in the community.
Category: Business
