by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Cheryl Brown is the City Council director. Cheryl Brown is the City Council secretary. Cheryl Brown is the Value Adjustment Board secretary.
“I am all of those, every day,” said Brown, who joined the City June 4, 1990 as a research assistant, and she’s been moving up the ladder ever since.
It’s no wonder Brown has been promoted several times and given more and more responsibility. Before joining the City, Brown was teaching statistics and research methods at her alma mater – Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. See, dumb folks don’t teach those kinds of classes and one look at Brown’s academic record at FAMU let’s you know she’s smarter than the average bear.
She got her Bachelor’s of Science in 1987, graduating magna cum laude. Two years later, Brown walked across the stage again, this time to pick up her Master’s in business and social science. This time, the degree also said “summa cum laude.”
“I had a 3.9 grade point average,” said Brown, adding her very last class cost her the perfect 4.0. “We were graded on one exam that covered the entire book. I think I made a B-minus, but I don’t remember the class.”
Brown is from Nichols, Fla. a little town in Polk County eight miles from Bartow. That area is best-known around here for being where Circuit Court Judge Charles Arnold moved the Joshua Phillips trial. Phillips was tried and found guilty for killing Maddie Clifton several years ago.
Brown ended up with the City after being recruited. She also got a little push from a professor and mentor at FAMU. After several years as a research assistant, Brown was promoted to chief of research. Six years ago, she was named Council director/secretary.
“I love it,” she said. “It’s something different every day. I get to meet new people and there are a lot of rewards. It’s very gratifying.”