MANCHESTER – For decades, ‘Susan Sherman’ has been a household word in Plaistow where she teaches at the middle school, serves on the town’s recreation commission, and volunteers for more local causes and events than you could shake a stick at.
Recently, local officials from across New Hampshire made the Sherman’s acquaintance after she was named ‘Volunteer of the Year’ at the Local Government Center’s 71st Annual Conference.
Sherman’s award, presented by Cathy Ann Stacey, Register of Deeds for Rockingham County and a member of the LGC Board of Directors, was a highlight of the two-day conference that included educational sessions and networking opportunities for the more than 500 municipal, county and school district officials who attended.
“Municipalities simply couldn’t get it all done without the efforts of volunteers, and some volunteers are so exceptional that they enable communities to achieve goals far beyond expectations,” Stacey said during introductory remarks. Sherman, a teacher at the Timberlane Regional Middle School for 40 years, was described by her nominators as “the wind beneath our wings,” a woman working “beneath the radar of public life” to make a difference in her community.
Her nominators pointed to Sherman’s history of civic engagement that included advocacy and leadership leading to the acquisition and development of the town’s athletic and recreation complex; memberships on the first Old Home Day committee and the Plaistow Cable Advisory Committee; founder and chairman of the Plaistow Area Softball League; and chairman of the Plaistow Elder Affairs Committee.
Sherman also launched a recycling education program in town, moderated a care givers informational show; and created and hosted a half dozen children’s story time programs, her nominators said.
Sherman’s nominators said she was “a powerful example” whose “ lifelong commitment to nurturing the talent of the young and old has forever secured her reputation as one of the town’s greatest citizens.”
Sherman was one of two municipal volunteers to be singled out for her longevity and broad reach as a municipal volunteer. The other recipient was Goffstown resident Susan Tucker, currently the town’s Conservation Commission chairman.
The New Hampshire Local Government Center (LGC) is a nonprofit organization governed by an active board of directors comprising municipal, school and county representatives, including employees, management and elected officials. For more information, visit www.nhlgc.org.
