By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Jodi (Smith) Sickler has always been part of a close-knit family. Born and raised in Bowling Green, she married Brad, who moved to Bowling Green in 1978, and they chose to raise their two boys here as well.
She recently joined another Bowling Green family when she was hired as the new City Council clerk in June. And she couldn’t be happier.
She brings a wealth of experience and strong skillsets from her previous positions. She worked in human resources for 10 years at State Home Savings before it closed its doors in 1994.
For 27 years she held different support staff positions at Bowling Green State University, including nearly 20 years as planning administrator for the Office of Capital Planning. She was involved with property acquisitions, and management, release of state funds, space management, meeting coordination and meeting minutes.
“I loved it because there was a lot of variety. No meeting or project was ever the same. Many of those experiences correlate well with the responsibilities for the city,” Sickler said.
She was intrigued by the city council clerk position when she saw it posted.
“How does my skillset fit in? Would I be able to contribute and bring something to the table?” she asked herself. “I already knew many of the good people at the city because of my work with capital planning.”
The position seemed like a great fit from her perspective.
“I’ve always been interested in what’s going on in our community, the new things in town and all of the activities that are available for families and individuals,” she said.
She and Brad devoted a lot of time to the activities their boys, Sean and Joe, were involved in, from baseball and wrestling to Cub Scouts and school choir. At one time she was manager and Brad was coach for three different baseball teams.
After she was hired in June, she quickly realized the best part of the job is seeing the other side of city government.
“I really had no idea of everything that goes on within the City Building. Seeing Bowling Green
from this perspective has been interesting,” she said.
She was most worried about reading legislation during city council meetings—that mortal fear of public speaking. But Kay Scherreik, who recently retired after nearly 33 years as city council clerk, offered the best advice: “It’s not like doing presentations before a large group. You are reading legislation that you have written, been working with and are very familiar with.”
That made a big difference during her first official council meeting in June.
“I look forward to becoming more familiar with all the processes and seeing how I can develop my own processes. There is so much, I don’t want to miss anything,” Sickler said.
And if knowing her favorite movie and favorite book gives you any insight into Sickler, she loves the movie “Grease” and when she has time to read, generally, you will find a mystery in her hands. However, outside of work, she and Brad spend time with Sean, Joe, their wives and four young granddaughters.
“Just like we enjoyed raising our boys, we are certainly enjoying being grandparents.”
