MIDDLETOWN — Sheri Lynn Smith helped shine the light on Middletown High School”s football field. Some six years later, the Mustangs returned the favor, casting the spotlight squarely on the person who spearheaded the drive to bring Friday night football to this community.
The 42-year-old Smith, who died on Oct. 1, 2005, after a brief battle with cancer, was remembered as the driving force of Middletown”s “light project” during an emotional halftime ceremony Friday night as the Mustangs hosted the Upper Lake Cougars beneath the very lights that have illuminated all Middletown home games since the 2001 season.
“Her and Kim Jackson were the two ladies who really spearheaded the whole thing,” longtime Middletown High School varsity football coach Bill Foltmer said. “Everybody pitched in but she (Smith) was the driving force. She was not going to be denied.”
Among those attending the ceremony were Smith”s husband, Kevin, Sheri”s parents, Lave and Nan Mazzier of Weed, son Cody and daughter Makenzi, who was presented with a bouquet of roses by Foltmer.
“She wanted her son to play on Friday nights,” Foltmer said of former Middletown quarterback Cody Smith, who guided the Mustangs to back-to-back league titles and playoff appearances in 2002 and 2003. “She made a promise to her kid and she was going to keep it.”
The “light project” began in the summer of 1999 and came to fruition in time for the start of the 2001 season. The Mustangs went on to win the North Coast Section Class A title that year, their third sectional title in five years.
“You meet some people who are get-”er-done types and she was one of them,” Foltmer said.
During the ceremony, a proclamation was read that stated: “Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to take this opportunity to honor and remember the wonderful lady who made Friday night football a reality — if it wasn”t for Sheri Smith this game would have been played on a hot Saturday afternoon. It wasn”t that long ago. Tonight as you entered this field you couldn”t help but notice the beautiful granite monument built in her honor. This monument was made possible by donations made by the friends and family of Sheri. The monument tells the story of how the light project took place — and how this get-”er-done mother made it happen ?”
As a small token of appreciation, Sheri”s family will receive a lifetime pass to all home football games at Middletown.
Attending the presentation were Middletown Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Korby Olson and board members Jim Comstock, Bill Wright and Yvette Sloan; Middletown High principal Chris Heller, athletic director Geri Giovanetti, football coaches Foltmer, Tony Hart and Moke Simon; varsity football captains Kody Rylance, Gary Dimitt, Matt Outen and Eric Tomko; and members of the Middletown High School spirit squad.
“She was a pretty special person,” Foltmer said. “We owe her a lot.”
