A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Jamie Lewis

Jamie Lewis moved to Portage from Hobart to open a Portage-based office for Edward Jones.  With a background in mechanical engineering, he transitioned to financial advising and investment.

“I’ve always loved math, and both of my careers involved it in some way,” he said.

Before he was a financial advisor though, Lewis was a Beatles fan. He attended a Paul McCartney concert and has watched many movies about the band. In fact, Lewis loves them so much that he doesn’t have a favorite song, but loves all of their classic tunes and more.

“‘Hey Jude,’ ‘Here Comes the Sun,’ ‘All You Need is Love,’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ – I love them all,” he said. “I love all of the classics.”

The Beatles’ song “Let It Be” has special meaning in Lewis’ life, and he believes in the lives of many others, when it comes to learning to let go of things you can’t control.

“‘Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be,’” he said. “I don’t know who this song doesn’t touch. It’s a good reminder to just let things go and let them work themselves out.”

In his career, in leadership, and in life, Lewis believes in leaving things a little better than you started with. When you begin a project, launch an initiative, start on a team – you want the return of any given pursuit to result in enhancements. Lewis links this philosophy to “Let It Be.”

“As the lyrics go ‘Take a sad song and make it better,’” he said. “I believe in leaving a place a little better, and we have so many opportunities to do that in life.”

Lewis is highly involved with the Portage Chamber of Commerce and has been for many years.

“I’ve been involved with the Chamber of Commerce for a long time,” he said. “I’ve got the plaque that they give with all the years on it, and I’m running out of space to put the years. I’ve got 1999 all the way to 2026.”

Lewis was the first music sponsor for the Portage summer concert series Music in the Park.

“I still do that every year,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity and really fun to be a part of.”

Wherever he’s lived, Lewis has been active with his local community’s YMCA. He was never very involved with local schools, but moving to Portage changed that.

“After moving to Portage, I got more involved with the schools,” said Lewis. “When I moved to Portage, I was reminded of the many great teachers I had growing up and started getting more involved.”

Prior to working for Edward Jones, Lewis traveled a lot. His career transition allowed him to spend more time with his daughter.

“I was able to attend more of her school activities and church activities,” said Lewis.

As a dad, Lewis is proud to watch his daughter thrive in her career.

“She loves what she does,” he said. “That is very important, and I always taught her that. She works for a division of Goodwill, helping underprivileged kids with their career, get the training for their first job, or maybe even help them get a job.”

Lewis will continue to stay active in Portage… leaving anything he does at least a little better than when he started.