East Washingtonian - Your Hometown News Source

POMEROY–Garfield County Hospital District is proud to announce April's Employee of the Month Cheryl (Cheri) Lane, who was nominated by her co-workers for being a valued employee and a dedicated worker.

Cheri was born in Clarkston, Wash. As a youngster, her childhood was spent living in Texas with her father and Idaho with her mother. She attended several different schools growing up but developed a great attitude and on a positive note said, "It was a good way to know how to get along with people, and I got to see a lot of country, so that's good." Her senior year, Cheri lived with her grandparents in Indiana and graduated from Munster High School in 1987 with a 4.0.

During her senior year, Cheri helped her grandpa in various maintenance/electrician jobs. She would help him run errands at the apartment complex where he worked. She liked working with her grandpa and learning basic maintenance skills but admits, "The one thing that scares me is electricity."

After graduation, she moved to Pullman, Wash., and was hired as an in-home caregiver. Cheri would accompany the woman she cared for to her job at WSU in the Zoology Dept., observing snakes and their interactions with mice and WSU paid Cheri during that time. "I had a job within a job." Her sole duty at WSU was to count the licks of the rattlesnakes, cobras, and various other venomous snakes after striking a mouse. "It was so much fun!"

After caregiving for a year, Cheri later felt the need to return to school and enrolled at LCSC to pursue teaching in special education for the next five years.

Later she began working at Early Bird Supply as the Office Manager performing various duties such as HR, payroll, Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable.

While living in Clarkston, Cheri met the love of her life and was married. Her husband, builds hot rods and does custom painting and currently works at Lewiston Auto Body, restoring cars and trucks. In May of 2021, Cheri was hired as a dishwasher operator in the Dietary Dept. In this position Cheri said, "I liked this job because I got to spend more time with everybody serving the patients, walking around, and chit chatting with them."

After just six months, she was moved into her current position as a cook. One of her duties is to make breakfast for the patients in the Dayroom. One day a week, Cheri shares her cooking skills as the homemaker, preparing and serving breakfast. In this role, she gets to interact with the patients while creating a home-like atmosphere, which she enjoys. "I get to spend a little more time with the people. I love the people, oh my gosh, they are just so amazing! They are so adorable and cute, even when they are cranky." The rest of the week, she performs her duties as the evening cook. "As a cook, I don't necessarily get to see the patients, just when I am out of the kitchen, during their supper."

Cheri has a natural ability to light up the room wherever she goes. Her sweet personality is a warm welcome among the patients and the staff. Those she works with have said, "Cheri Lane is a great worker, great to be around, and a great person." She is always cheerful and joyful and really enjoys being around people."

In her spare time, Cheri enjoys hunting and fishing with her husband and her family and used to be a guide in the northwest region. She also loves rafting and spending time reading.