Hungry But Humble

From a young age, Sherri Reese knew who she was.

“People who knew me 20 years ago, 30 years ago, I’m still the same person,” Reese said.

From her time growing up in Opelika, through the many journeys she had in the military, to the time she has spent back home since retiring, Reese said she has been humble — but hungry.

Furthermore, as an only child raised by a single mother, Reese said she learned the value of hard work at an early age.

“Growing up here in Opelika really shaped me,” Reese said. “I never really heard my mom complain, she just did what she had to do for me. Seeing that, I just thought that’s how it goes, that’s what you are supposed to do.”

Reese’s hard work manifested itself in a state championship during her time as a track & field star at Opelika High School. Her track plaudits earned Reese a college athletics scholarship, but the speedster’s time at a higher learning institution didn’t go exactly as planned, she said.

“The scholarship paid for stuff, but I still wanted to eat,” Reese added. “It was like ‘oh ... this is still a struggle.’ And because my mom was a single parent, I didn’t want to keep going to her.”

Reese’s early struggles with university life led her to the decision to join the Army Reserves. When she arrived at the recruitment office, Reese said the recruiter did what any good recruiter does — convinced her to join the Army full time.

“The recruiter did exactly what he was supposed to do, he sold me the Army,” she explained. “He was like ‘you can run track in the Army.’ I said I’m only going to do this for two years, and then the next thing you know …”

Over the next 24 years of active service, Reese participated in multiple tours to the Middle East, earned numerous honorary medals, was featured as Sports Illustrated’s “fastest woman in uniform” and traveled to multiple corners of the world, from Portland, Oregon, to Egypt and many places in between.

From her first day in the Army to the last, Reese said she loved every minute.

“My adaptability skills have always been great,” she said. “So, going into the Army wasn’t like a shock. I was already physically fit. To me, it was great. It was easy. The Army was 24 years of greatness for me. The friendships that were forged, some of those people are like my best friends in the world.” Despite her swift adjustment to service, Reese admitted that she was somewhat timid on her first assignment — a trip South Korea. After coming home and returning to Seoul on account of the Army track team, however, Reese’s whole mindset changed. “I just got out and started seeing everything, really just putting myself into the culture,” she said. “And I really enjoyed it.” Throughout the rest of her journeys — abroad and domestic — Reese said she did her best to embrace the change of climate,

culture and responsibility.

After Korea, Reese returned to the states working for three years in the airborne school at Fort Benning in Cusseta, Georgia, just a 50-minute drive up Interstate 85 from Opelika.

She then proceeded to Portland, Oregon, working at the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). Next, she was a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson, in Columbia, South Carolina.

“Being a drill sergeant is the best job in the Army,” Reese said. “You get them fresh off the streets and you have nine

weeks to turn this person into a soldier, you teach them everything. I did that for two years and I loved every minute of it.”

Following Fort Jackson, Reese returned to Korea for just over a year. She then moved back stateside to Fort McPherson in Atlanta and served as an inspector general, a position that she called the “eyes and ears” of the generals themselves. It was then that Reese was first deployed. Roughly 7,244 miles from her home state of Alabama, Reese headed to Kuwait.

“I loved my time in Kuwait,” she said. “It was high alert, but to me, it wasn’t really different from any duty station I had been at.”

By far the hardest part of Reese’s three years in the Middle East was the absence of her son, who at the time of deployment was just six months old, she said.

“Keeping in touch with home was very important for me at that point,” Reese revealed.

Upon her return to the U.S., Reese rejoined her son and spent time in Atlanta working as a detail recruiter. It was then that she was promoted to the rank of master sergeant.

“Now I outranked the people I worked for,” she said. “So I was placed back in the big Army.”

From Atlanta, Reese and her son traveled to Fort Drum, New York, where she was deployed again — this time to Iraq — came home, was commissioned as an officer, deployed to Japan for three years (this time with her mother and son accompanying her) and then returned to Atlanta.

“From Atlanta, my son and I went to Hawaii,” Reese said.

The unfortunate passing of Reese’s father brought her and her son back home, but soon after Reese would buy a house and begin to settle in “paradise”.

It was at this time that Reese’s active-duty military service reached what she calls “the endpoint.”

Less than two weeks after her retirement in 2016, 18 months after the passing of her father, Reese was back in Hawaii when she received the news of her mother’s passing.

“My mom had been my backbone for all of these years; she was my biggest fan,” Reese said. “It was almost like, everything that happened — the retirement, her death, the timing — I don’t think I could have [gone] on in the Army without that.”

After grieving, the newly-retired Reese and her son returned to the Aloha State for another two years, earning her master’s degree in the process.

“But I [noticed] that I’m starting to get homesick,” Reese

said. “I wanted to come back. I wanted to give back to my community.”

Reese and her son officially moved back to Opelika in 2018.

“I wanted to bring my son back so that he could get to know some of his family members because he has always been with me in the military,” Reese said.

Back in her hometown, Reese immediately began volunteering her time. Naturally, the first place she found a fit was with the OHS track team.

“I do a lot of behind the scenes, admin stuff, because that’s what I’m good at,” Reese explained of her role under Opelika track & field coach Jimmy Johnson, whom she jokingly calls the G.O.A.T. “Basically whatever he needs me to do, I am there.”

Now, 29 years after enlisting in the Army, Reese is taking what she learned from her time as a service member — and as a civilian — and continues to use it to give back to her community.

“This is my home,” Reese said. “I always think about the opportunities that I missed because I didn’t know what I didn’t know. So, I wanted to come back and help the people who are like me. And that has been my biggest passion since I’ve been back.”

Reese also serves as a member of the Lee-Russell Transportation Board, and recently volunteered her time with the non-profit Girls STEPS Inc., speaking to girls about her time in the service and encouraging them to be bold in life.

“I love that they empower girls,” Reese said of Girls STEPS. “Being with those kids and being around those kids and being able to share my story with those kids, letting them know it’s okay to go out in the world and learn things, and better yourself ... Opelika is going to be here. Your family is going to be here. You go out in the world and learn things and then come back and pay it forward. That’s what I want to do.”

In the future, Reese said she hopes to take her philanthropy to the next level. She said she one day hopes to run for city council or even something “bigger.”

In the meantime, she will continue to share her wealth of knowledge and encourage youth and those around her to live their dreams.

“Don’t set limits on yourself,” Reese said. “Don’t let somebody else set limits on you. You go out, you set goals and you achieve those goals. Once you achieve it, don’t be satisfied. Stay humble but stay hungry, that’s the biggest thing I want these kids to remember.”