In Memoriam: Sheryl R. Vermont

It is with immense sadness that PAEA announces the passing of Sheryl Vermont on Tuesday, May 23. As many of you may know, she had been battling breast cancer for the past few years.

Sheryl joined PAEA in October 2011 as our meetings manager and quickly moved into the director of meetings role. For the past five years, she was not only a familiar face at our annual Education Forum, she was the driving force behind the event — the person who organized most of it and kept things running smoothly. She made it her mission to continuously come up with new ways to engage members and bring people together and won a 2016 Changemaker Award from MeetingsNet for her innovative work.

“Sheryl was a greatly respected and loved member of the PAEA family,” said CEO Timi Agar Barwick. “For many of our members, she was the face of the organization — the person who made our Education Forum and other meetings happen. She was always energetic, positive, and ready to go the extra mile for members. We have lost a special person and an irreplaceable colleague.”

Since first starting with PAEA, she also worked with the Conference Council (formerly the Conference Curriculum Committee), as well as with the Faculty Development Council (formerly the Faculty Development Institute), the Workshop Committee, and the Forum Review Task Force.

Sheryl is survived by her husband, Dave, and their four children, ages 12-18. She was an avid fan at their sporting events and spent much of her time organizing trips and traveling to their ice hockey and lacrosse games and tournaments. Our thoughts are with them as we extend our deepest condolences to all of Sheryl’s family and friends. She will be greatly missed by all of us.