Strong Woman: Janice Schuerman

Senior vice president/corporate and member services/ corporate secretary for MFA Inc.

Age: 67 years young

Years in Columbia: Fifty-three years, but Columbia is my mother’s home, so I’ve been in and out of Columbia my whole life.

Original hometown: Wurtzburg, Germany. My father was in the United States Air Force and was stationed in Germany following WWII.

Family: I am divorced. I have one daughter, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Favorite restaurant to frequent: Sophia’s. Their horseradish-encrusted salmon and bread pudding are to die for.

What I do for fun: I spend time with family and my significant other, snow ski, swim, travel, read, shop and do any horse-related activity.

On a typical weekday night, I am: Racing home to change into barn clothes (feeding and watering horses), changing back into dress clothes and racing into town for a meeting or another event. (I work at MFA Inc. by day, and I own and operate a horse-boarding stable.)

Moment in my life that defined me personally or professionally: The most defining moment for me was moving from the carefree beaches of Florida to a farm in Missouri just as I entered high school. Being the oldest of six children, I learned firsthand the responsibilities associated with caring for livestock and working the fields as the weather dictated. To this day, I have nothing but the utmost respect for the men and women who devote their lives to agriculture.

In a single word, I am: Independent

The question I hate getting: Are you still working?

The person I admire most and why: My mother, Nadine Trial. She made an impact everywhere she got involved. Among other things, she was a devoted mother and wife, PTA leader, 4-H community leader, church devotee, community fundraiser, 20-plus-year VA hospital volunteer, military supporter through decades of American Legion Auxiliary leadership and a Chamber Ambassador charter member. I am not the only person to admire her. This past October, 10 years after her passing, 50 people showed up to dedicate a tree in her honor.

If I were a type of candy, I would be: Godiva candy with a hard chocolate exterior wrapped around a soft, caramel center.

What I love most about my job: The people. I work with a talented group of professionals focused on doing a first-class job every day. (I’m the senior
vice president of corporate services and the corporate secretary for MFA Inc.)

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