“We do a service project where we go once a month and play bingo with the residents of Limestone Manor and we build with Habitat for Humanity,” she said. “Once a year we do Iron Chef Wesley, which is a cooking contest. Once a year we have karaoke night at the Beasley Center. We work with the Student Government Association on campus and we have Bible study every Tuesday night at ASU.

“We have dinner and a movie night at our home and we have game night. We host college students from out of state who come to work on the Habitat houses. One of the really fun things we do is we host scary outdoor movies on campus at Halloween. Also, the students come over to our neighborhood in costume and take the children of the neighborhood out trick-or-treating so their parents can stay home and answer the door. Then they all come back to our house for dinner.

“Three of our members have become youth directors in their own churches and one of our members will be going to seminary in the fall.”

Sherri said the group is also planning to work with Big Brothers & Big Sisters organization.

Following through

Mike Stonbraker, district superintendent of the United Methodist Church, who nominated Sherri for the Denman Award, said, “Sherri has been a prime example of following through without conference priorities on training and equipping a new generation of Christian leaders.”

At First United Methodist, Sherri is a member of the Knitting Ministry, the Chancel Choir and the Fellowship Sunday School Class.

“I just love Athens,” she said. “We feel very much at home here and I am so honored to work with this good bunch of kids. I feel hopeful when I am around them. They are all committed to Christ and they are always glad to help out in the community.”