Welcoming Sherry Kramer

Sherry Kramer, last Thursday evening, was chosen by the City Council to fill the interim position created by the death of Jimmie Cates.

Within the space of five minutes, the Council made its unanimous vote, Richard Colborn administered the oath of office, and Sherry made a brief acceptance speech that was quoted in the Daily Herald:

I want to say thank you for your vote of confidence. I'm honored and humbled to be chosen for this position, to fill in for Councilman Cates, who was such a great man. I hope to honor his memory by being fair and honest and listening to both sides of an issue as he did. I will work hard, I assure you, to get up to speed quickly.

I have known Sherry since 2002, and can vouch for her determination, her great care for the health of our community, and her accomplishments on the American Fork scene.

2002 is the year I first began agitating for parks, and Sherry was one of the first people I met. I had raised about $150 for the seven parks in the Greenwood area. Sherry had raised $25,000 for Hunter Park. I had compiled a file folder of pertinent information; Sherry had a war chest of every City and County ordinance, plat, title, and deed pertaining to Hunter Park. I can still picture that chest in my memory: it filled and overflowed an entire laundry basket.

Public Works director Howard Denney told me about emptying an entire file drawer of its contents, one day, spreading it before Sherry at his desk, and leaving her there for the afternoon to study.

The City will be well served by Sherry's tenacity and effectiveness.

That said, it must also be said that the Council was impressed with the other five applicants: George Brown, Ginger Hunter, Gary Jensen, Deborah John, and Steven Brent Stoker. I personally admire them for their courage, for their deep love of community, and for the examples they set in being willing to serve.

So long as good people are willing to take a turn when needed, American Fork will always be in good hands.