A Strong Mother ' s Influence
Lynn Sherman grew up in poverty in Jacksonville ' s Blodgett Homes . She was raised by a strong , community minded mother who single handedly raised 10 successful children .... 5 girls and 5 boys . Many are familiar with her little brother , Otis Smith who played basketball for JU and the Orlando Magic . He is a great guy as are the rest of her siblings which is a tribute to their mother , Mildred Coleman .
My first job at age 15 was serving lunch to the homeless at the Clara White Mission and performing clerical duties for the executive director , Mrs . Bateman . Later as a single parent , I had my share of struggles while raising my daughter , Dionne Turner Williams . I ' m like many others who work hard to raise their children and provide for all of their needs and some of their wants
" My mother impressed upon us the value of hard work and the importance of serving our community . Her influence on my interest in political leadership began when she persuaded us to write letters to our city leaders to encourage them to pave the dirt roads that we played and walked on daily . Our family had moved into a neighborhood with dirt roads and whenever it rained , our streets would flood and we had to roll up our pant legs and wade in the water to get to and from school . She told us , if we didn ' t like it and wanted to do something about it , we should write a letter to our city officials and we did . Eventually our streets were paved , and we were convinced that it was the letters we wrote that persuaded them to do it . It was then I began to see what civil service meant to people like me ."
Front Cover Feature Lynn Sherman City Council , Businesswoman , Community Leader Baptist Hospital Jacksonville , Florida New Year ' s 2015
From my mother , we learned to be servant leaders . Servant leadership was modeled for us every day and we understand that sometimes you have to create the life you want . For my family at one point in time , our flooded streets were our crisis . For families in our communities today , the crises are different and just as important and heartfelt . From unemployment to unsafe neighborhoods , Jacksonville need fresh leadership and new direction and I want to be a part of that change ."
Lynn and her husband of 10 years Grady Sherman