Pickle served 29 years — several of them as president or vice president — before her resignation was announced earlier this month.
Eight candidates sent letters of interest before last week’s deadline, district records show. The one the board appoints is expected to serve the remainder of the term, which is set to expire at the end of 2025.
The board plans to appoint a new member after the interviews on Thursday night, and the selected candidate will be sworn in Monday night, Treasurer Jerry Ellender said.
A brief description of the four remaining candidates, according to school district records, includes:
• Amy Cooper is executive director of a property management company and has served as president of the Riverside Jaycees. She has volunteered in Riverside for more than 20 years.
Cooper said in her letter to the board that she has “worked diligently for 10 years to create a successful tenant/landlord relationship and I have increased our tenant retention by 10% over the past three years.
“I believe my involvement in the community positions me to contribute to the board of education,” she said.
Cooper said she has three children who graduated from the district and has two grandchildren currently enrolled.
• Mitch Lambert owns a transportation logistics business. He is a lifelong Riverside resident and a Stebbins High School grad who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree from Wright State University.
Lambert serves as treasurer of the Stebbins alumni association. He has coached football at the pee wee level for seven years and two years at Mad River Middle School while volunteering in various ways with Stebbins athletics. He stressed his community involvement would be a asset for the board.
“I am well known throughout the community and respected,” he said in his letter. “Wherever I am at, you will see me always talking to somebody.”
• Beverly Sherwood is a finance specialist for the Miami Twp. government. She is a member of the Stebbins PTO, the high school’s alumni association, and is a community volunteer.
Sherwood also emphasized her involvement with the school district, noting her years of coaching youth sports while her daughter — who graduated last school year — was a student.
“Our family has been in the district for three generations and is actively involved in the community,” she said in her letter. “Even though my daughter has graduated, I believe in supporting all the children in our district as they are the future leaders of our community.”
• Terrance Tolbert is a retired Air Force master sergeant who is a safety specialist for a private business. He has earned three associate degrees from the Community College of the Air Force.
Tolbert said he is “an ideal candidate” for the vacancy, as he has volunteered as a member of a levy committee that worked to get a tax levy approved, and worked as a soccer coach.
“Over the past 15 years, I have developed a great rapport with the administration, staff, students and parents as a volunteer in the community,” he stated in his letter. “I would love to help them in more meaning ways.”
About the Author
