Schlomer Chosen as WSU Mom of the Year

PULLMAN, Wash. — When it comes to family, Sharon Schlomer of LaCrosse has always
been “dedicated 100 percent,” says her daughter Tricia Camp. The Washington State University
senior in communications submitted the winning letter nominating her mother for 1999 WSU
Mom of the Year. The award was announced Saturday, April 17, during the annual Mom’s Day
Brunch in the CUB Ballroom.
Camp remembers her mother always volunteering to be a room mother at school for any
holiday, inviting neighborhood kids over for cookies and milk, and teaching multiplication tables
and reading stories to her and her sister. But her dedication to her daughter really showed last
summer when Camp was involved in a near-fatal car accident outside of LaCrosse, three days
after they celebrated Schlomer’s birthday.
Throughout Camp’s recovery — including two surgeries at a Spokane hospital to repair her
broken neck — Schlomer was right by her daughter’s side, washing, dressing and sometimes
feeding Camp when the first surgery left her with no feeling in her right arm and she couldn’t turn
or lift her neck.
“I am okay because of my mom. I would not be here for my senior year if it was not for her
love, kindness, perseverance and caring heart,” Tricia said. “Maybe the doctors saved my life,
but my mother saved the person that was trapped inside of my body and nursed me back to
health.”
Schlomer is involved in the LaCrosse community, especially church, where she has been
youth director for the last 20 years and teaches Sunday school. She also participates in a reading
club, LaCrosse athletics and the school booster club. Schlomer is a certified K-12 teacher and
substitutes in her free time.
Schlomer and her husband have six daughters in a blended family, including WSU students
April Camp, a sophomore in education, and Ann Schlomer, a freshman.
A total of 33 mothers were nominated for WSU Mom of the Year. The three other finalists
were Ernestina Mendez, Othello, nominated by her daughter Veronica; Gail Anderson,
Snohomish, nominated by her daughter Ashley; and Ginny Boyle, Albion, nominated by her
daughter Tamara Lynne Tremblay.
The winner was selected by a committee of faculty, staff and students representing the
WSU Parents Program, News and Information Services, Student Activities and Recreation,
Multicultural Student Services, and the Mom’s Weekend Planning Committee. Weighing
heaviest in the criteria was the student’s letter, which included the mother’s unique
characteristics or accomplishments, contributions to her family, and special memories or shared
relationships. Other considerations included the mother’s contribution to her community and/or
the WSU community.
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