Mayor Dennis Tyler is the one to attend meetings and promote community projects, but it was his father, the ordinary working Muncie resident, who inspired him to make a difference.
Today, some city employees know him as a Muncie enthusiast.
As Phillip Peckinpaugh, the director of the city’s animal control department, said, “There is no one who loves Muncie more than Mayor Dennis Tyler. He is the Leslie Knope of Muncie. He is a Muncie man.”
But long before political campaigning, Tyler grew up on the south side, playing basketball in his friend’s backyard or catching a movie with the rest of the neighborhood kids.
“It was a ball,” he said. “Seriously, it was great. We had great neighborhoods and great people.”
After graduating from Muncie Central High School, Tyler started working at the Muncie Fire Department.
One day, Tyler came home from working at the fire department and wasn’t happy with a couple of things going on in the station. His dad, who was on his way to work, listened as Tyler explained his “sob story.”
“My dad was a common, ordinary guy, but he was very, very smart,” Tyler explained.
After the story, Tyler asked his dad what he thought of the whole situation.
“He said, 'You have one of two choices. You can decide to get involved, get involved in politics, get involved in the fire department and try to make changes,'” Tyler said, “'or, you can sit down and shut up and get back to work and just take it.'”
Tyler decided to get involved.
He continued to serve Muncie at the fire department for a little over 42 years. In 2003, he decided to test the political waters and unsuccessfully ran for mayor.
“But I was competitive and raised some issues,” Tyler said.
Then, in 2006, Tyler went to the state house as a state legislator for District 34. There, he served on committees focused on veterans' affairs and public safety.
“I was really happy doing what I did in the Indiana General Assembly,” he said.
Eventually, people started talking to him, people on both sides of the political spectrum, said Tyler, a democrat. They were trying to convince him to come home and run for mayor again.
Tyler said he planned to support another candidate instead of running. When poor health circumstances came into play, the other candidate had to step out of the race.
“When it came out he wasn’t going to run, they came to me and were like, 'No more excuses,'” he said.
He went home and talked to his wife, Vickie.
“I said, ‘You know, some of these people are people who have supported me for years as an elected official. And, now they are asking me to do something,'” Tyler said.
“What do you want to do?” Vickie said.
In December 2011, Tyler resigned from the Legislature. On Jan. 1, 2012, he began his duties as mayor of the city of Muncie.
Over three years later and Tyler's dedication to Muncie hasn't faltered.
The evidence is in his smile as he talks about stories of forgotten Muncie residents.
One of his secretaries, Yolanda Carey, described Tyler as laid back, compassionate and someone who loves his sweets.
“[He’s] very open, very welcoming,” Carey said.
What most people don’t know about the mayor, she said, is his ability to cast off a serious demeanor and joke around.
But he’s serious when it counts. In the ’60s, working Muncie residents endured payroll deductions to fund half of the original construction of John R. Emens Auditorium.
Tyler still has his dad’s payroll deduction card: it was $1.50 a week, a significant amount 50 years ago, said Tyler.
Currently, Tyler is working on a project he’s been dreaming about since before he took office: a hotel in downtown Muncie. A unique hotel, said Tyler. It would include a training center for people with disabilities. There, they would learn the basics of the hospitality business and leave with a new set of skills.
Tyler speculates that people from all over the Midwest will come to this training hotel.
“It was a dream of ours, a vision. People said we were nuts and we couldn’t get it done,” Tyler said. “And here we are now.”
The hotel will be a Courtyard Marriott with 150 rooms and is expected to open in December.
“It is truly a community-of-love endeavor for this to work, and I’m so proud of it,” he said. “I think when this is done, this will be the legacy project for Muncie for years to come. I just can’t even begin to imagine what that is going to do for our community.”
It’s a labor of love, but Carey said she and the mayor stay busy – really busy.
On Tyler’s days off, which are limited, he spends time with his three children, eight grandchildren, great-grandchild and wife.
If it’s warm enough, he’ll be on his bike.
“I love to cycle, I love to ride bikes,” Tyler said. “I used to run a lot when I was in the fire department, but my legs went out on me.”
It's no surprise where he rides. He cycles on the Cardinal Greenway or through the streets and bike lanes of Muncie – the city he loves.
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