Sylvia I. Fetter

For 10 years, Sylvia Irene Harp Fetter has been vice president of STF, Inc. of Elkhart, Indiana, a management company she co-owns with her husband, Tom. Before 1990, she was a noted educator and advocate for disabled adults and children in Cass County. She began her career as a social studies teacher in the Edwardsburg schools. She joined the staff of Aux Chandelles private school in Elkhart, where she was preschool director and special education teacher. In 1974, she joined the staff of Cass County Mental Health and for 15 years served as advocate, developmental disabilities specialist, case manager, and program director and manager for citizens with disabilities. In these roles she established a home-bound program for children with special needs, the first adult activity program, an adult work activity program and the first Cass County Alternatives to Institutional Settings residence for severely mentally challenged adults. Fetter has been an active 4-H volunteer in Cass County for more than 45 years and has served 4-H as a four-term trustee on the Michigan 4-H Foundation board of trustees. She also commits her time and talents to the National Management Association and is a former president of the Cass County chapter of that organization. In memoriam October 13, 2009.