I was raised with a simple understanding of what community means: you treat people with respect, you work hard, and you look out for your neighbors.

That’s what Hoosier hospitality has always meant to me.

My Story

I was raised in Northeast Indiana, starting in Whitley County and growing up between Whitley, Allen, and DeKalb Counties.

My dad bought his first home on a single income before he married my mom, something that feels increasingly out of reach for a lot of Hoosier families today.

They knew each other from childhood, and when they found each other again as adults, he didn’t just marry her. He embraced our entire family.

Together, they raised seven kids, including my little brother that they took in and raised as their own. That’s who they were. When someone needed help, they stepped up.

My dad worked as a sales manager, and my mom was a nurse. We weren’t rich, but we had enough. We had stability.

I also grew up in a church that taught me values I still carry today: feed the hungry, care for the sick, welcome the stranger, and love your neighbor.

It was a good childhood. And I’m proud of where I come from.

But I also learned how quickly stability can disappear.

In 2007, my dad lost his job during the housing crisis. Like a lot of Hoosier families, we went from getting by to struggling to pay the bills.

I didn’t fully understand what was happening until a school counselor pulled me out of class and handed me a gift card for food. My parents had been doing everything they could to shield us, but the reality was unavoidable.

My family relied on the free and reduced lunch program, food banks, and Hoosier Healthwise to get through that time. Combined with their hard work, that support helped them rebuild and find stability again.

I’ve seen what stability looks like, and I’ve seen how quickly it can disappear.

Around that same time, while my family was going through all of this, I was also dealing with something more personal.

I was quietly struggling with my identity, growing up in a place where I wasn’t sure I was welcome.

The church that once gave me community began to change. Politics crept into the message, and it became clear not everyone was fully accepted.

I didn’t lose my faith. My faith lost me.

Finding My Voice

When I went to college, my world expanded.

I met people from different backgrounds, beliefs, and identities, and I realized something simple but powerful. The values I was raised on, dignity, compassion, and love for your neighbor, are not limited to one group of people.

They belong to all of us.

That realization changed me.

I came out. I found community.

I helped co-create the first Pride march in Fort Wayne and got involved in building a more inclusive version of the place I call home.

Why I Came Back

My career took me to Florida, where I became a real estate agent and started my professional life.

During that time, my family faced another kind of crisis.

My mom was diagnosed with multiple forms of cancer. I watched her fight through it with incredible strength, but I also saw how the system worked. The bills kept coming. The stress never let up. Even in the middle of a life-threatening illness, it felt like profit was always part of the equation.

No family should have to fight both cancer and the cost of care at the same time.

That experience changed how I see healthcare, and it is part of why I knew I needed to come home.

Because Indiana is home.

Coming back to Indiana also meant rebuilding my sense of community. Over time, I found a congregation that reflects the values I was raised on, compassion, service, and loving your neighbor, and a place where I truly belong.

It’s where my family is, where I’ve built my career, and where I am committed to building my future.

What I See Today

As a real estate broker with nearly a decade of experience, I help people navigate one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. I’ve built my business from the ground up, working directly with clients, managing transactions, and helping families make smart, informed investments in their future.

Most of the people I work with are not investors or developers. They are working people. Teachers, nurses, factory workers, young families, and retirees trying to figure out if they can afford to stay in the communities they love.

The conversations I have every day are not about politics. They are about grocery bills, childcare, healthcare, and whether hard work is still enough to build a stable life.

Too often, it is not.

I see the pressure families are under. I see who gets prioritized, and I see who gets left behind.

What I Believe

I believe in dignity. Every person deserves respect, opportunity, and the ability to build a stable life.

I believe in accountability. Government should answer to the people, not lobbyists or special interests.

I believe in freedom. The freedom to build a life, make your own choices, and be treated fairly under the law.

That means safe and affordable housing, healthcare that prioritizes people over profit, wages that reflect the value of hard work, and modern policies that reflect the reality people are living in today.

Why I’m Running

For most of my life, I never imagined running for office.

But after years of watching working families struggle while politicians focus on division and distractions, I realized something simple. Waiting for someone else to step up is not good enough.

I have lived the consequences of decisions made by people who never had to worry about how those decisions would affect families like mine.

I’ve seen how quickly stability can disappear. I’ve seen how systems fail working people. And I’ve seen how strong our communities can be when we actually look out for each other.

That is what Hoosier hospitality is supposed to mean.

Not just a slogan, but a commitment to treating people with dignity, solving problems together, and building something better for the next generation.

A Little About Me

I’m a partner to my fiancé, Ken, a son, a brother, and an uncle.

Northeast Indiana is home. It’s where my family lives, where I’ve built my career, and where I’m committed to building a future.

This campaign is not about left or right. It’s about whether everyday Hoosiers still have a voice in their own government.

I’m running to reclaim the spirit of Hoosier hospitality and to build a future where hard work leads to opportunity and no one gets left behind.

If you believe we should be lifting people up instead of tearing each other down, join this campaign.

— Wesley