Sheryl Walsh
The Voice of the City

“A person is as happy as they make
their mind up to be” - Abraham Lincoln

Have you ever met one of those people that always seem to be having a great day? Novi’s Sheryl Walsh is that person. As the Community Relations Manager for the City of Novi, her complex critical role requires her to interface with people from all walks of life, all personalities, and all types of situations.

Her motus operandi is simple: “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” These sound like simple words, but they have a profound effect when they manifest themselves as a daily practical matter.

Sheryl Walsh makes it work because she lives by a personal credo; “You are stronger than you seem, you are smarter than you think, and you are braver than you will ever believe.” As such, she is keenly aware of one of life’s greatest secrets. You may not be in control of what happens to you, but you are always in control of how you react.

Given this healthy persona, it enables her to represent Novi with a high degree of confidence and professionalism.

A Michigan native, after graduating from Utica Eisenhower High School, she attended Michigan State University an earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Marketing and Communications. It was a perfect fit for her, and her natural born abilities.

Admittedly, she wanted a profession that allowed her to interact with people, and not merely be confined to a desk.

Immediately following college, her odyssey took her to Oklahoma, and her first entry into the world of Communications and Community Relations was as a marketing representative for a psychiatric clinic. “It was a great experience,” she recollects. A smallish community with a population of 25,000, the slower pace was refreshing as the people were rich with pride and culture. “It was a great way to grow up,” Sheryl acknowledged.

As an entry position, working for a handful of physicians, it prepared her for the coming wave of managed care, and soon she would find herself as part of a much larger organization, that featured over 400 physicians.

In 1995 she landed at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Clinton Township as a marketing rep for this very substantial Health Care Entity. Her goal was to market the Hospital and it’s benefits to a community of doctors and health care professionals of various specialties. In addition she organized events, wrote the newsletter, and she was promoted to Communications Specialist in 1996.

After seven highly productive years, she arrived at her current home, the City of Novi, in 2002. As the Community Relations Manager, her responsibilities are significant, and they are also being observed by the masses. Sheryl, however, handles this pressure with grace and aplomb, and she has a great ability to capitalize on every challenge, leaving all parties satisfied with their ego intact.

It hardly seems possible that she combines all of her functions into one day, but in addition to overseeing the city’s website, all written communication, and media relations she also devotes a lot of time to many other functions as well. She compiles press releases, letters to residents, quarterly reports, video shoots, and of course she is heavily involved in all Cable TV productions for the City of Novi and local Channel 13.

This year, the Community Relations Office did some stellar work on an annual event entitled “Fall for Novi,” taking the lead on the project originally started by colleague Cindy Uglow and Neighborhood Services. Each September, this event invites civic organizations, and all citizens of the community to attend an Open House, which essentially serves as a Town Hall Meeting. Attendees have a great opportunity to have genuine one-on-one interaction with all of their Civic Leaders.

In addition, Sheryl Walsh is the liaison to the Novi Youth Council, a group that was formed in 2005 by the City Council. And when she’s not engaged in all of these activities, she finds time to coordinate the ‘State of the City’ address.

On top of all of this, it is not uncommon for her to receive calls from concerned citizens that inquire about everything from road construction, to a sewer backup, to a water main break, or even just questions about a noise ordinance or building permit. Sometimes, people just need to vent and they want to hear a friendly voice on the other end of the phone.

Suffice it to say, Sheryl Walsh is perpetually busy in her extremely demanding career, but it is a labor of love, and any day she is busy, she is having a great day.

And it is a great day for Novi, Michigan, anytime Sheryl Walsh is on the job.