Brighton Superintendent's Secretary to Retire After Long Career

Sheri Lohmiller -- the cheery voice people in the Brighton area first get when they call the superintendent's office -- is retiring at the end of the month. She has  been a dedicated employee of the Brighton Area Schools for 28 years.

During that time, she has seen many employees come and go, among them no fewer than seven superintendents: four permanent ones and three interim. The current superintendent - Greg Gray - makes the eighth.

 The superintendents Lohmiller has worked for include Dennis McMahon, Gary Hughes, Dave Pruneau and Jim Craig.  The interim superintendents  have been Mike Manor, John Hanson and Bonnie Riutta (who served twice in that capacity).  

Lohmiller, originally from Chicago, moved to Michigan when her former husband was transferred by Ford and the couple was looking to settle down in a small town not too far from his Detroit area job. "I was interested in a place where you could raise a family," Lohmiller says.

When they visited Brighton, they felt the community was perfect for them.  "People were riding their bikes, buying popcorn at the D & C Store and feeding the the ducks on the Mill Pond," she says. "I've seen a lot of changes," Lohmiller says, among them that the D & C is now .

She has also seen the area grow and become a haven for people looking to find a town from which to commute to their job in the city while enjoying excellent schools for their children. 

Lohmiller was originally hired in the Brighton Area Schools' curriculum department, where she was for two years. Her opportunity to work directly under a superintendent came in 1984 when Dennis McMahon was hired and his secretary resigned, paving the way for what would eventually become her career.  

 Lohmiller says she got along well with all of her bosses.

"All my superintendents were great," she says. "I learned valuable lessons from each one of them. Each one had his own strengths. I have been mentored by some great people." 

 But when pressed for a personal favorite, she reveals it was Dave Pruneau. "We were just in synch," she says.

A long-time Brighton resident who had served as Hornung principal and later Brighton's director of instructional support services, he left in 2005 to become superintendent of the Rochester Community Schools. Beginning July 1, Pruneau will assume the superintendency of the Elmhurst, Illinois, Community Unit Schools, outside Chicago,. 

 Her current boss says Lohmiller will be missed, not only for her infectious, perky personality and laugh but her institutional knowledge.

"(Sheri) is an outstanding employee and has been an advocate for the Brighton Area Schools and will be sorely missed," he says. "You can't put a price on (her value)." 

 A close friend of Lohmiller's in the school system over the years has been Jodi Loar, administrative assistant in the curriculum and instruction department.

"(Sheri) has been a mentor," Loar says. "She's very diligent in her job; it was more than a paycheck. She's very honest and she works really hard."

Loar remembers many nights when, after long school board meetings, Lohmiller would stay at the Brighton Education and Community Center (where the district's administrative offices are located) until 2 a.m. because the minutes of the meeting had to be typed up and completed for early the next morning.

Until recently, when the county took over all elections due to new legislation, Lohmiller was also in charge of running Brighton school elections, such as millage and bond issues and board of education elections. 

 Lohmiller looks back fondly on her years with the Brighton Area Schools. "We've got great kids here, a great staff and great supportive families," she says of her "adopted" community. 

 "I'm glad for (Sheri) that she's at the point that she can retire," Loar says.   "You felt at times like she was running the ship."