{"id":27995,"date":"2026-02-12T09:54:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/?p=27995"},"modified":"2026-02-12T09:54:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:54:04","slug":"sheridan-honored-for-decades-of-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/2026\/02\/sheridan-honored-for-decades-of-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheridan honored for decades of service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Heather Michon
Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors began its Feb. 4 meeting with a standing ovation and a formal proclamation honoring longtime Commissioner of the Revenue Mel Sheridan, marking the close of a public-service career that stretched more than three decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proclamation recognized Sheridan\u2019s tenure from January 1994 through December 2025, first as Columbia District supervisor and later as commissioner. He served 10 years on the Board of Supervisors before being elected commissioner in 2004, a role he held for 22 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheridan announced his retirement in the summer of 2025. In November, Deputy Commissioner of the Revenue Lauren Ryalls Sheridan won a special election to complete the remainder of his term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to the board, Sheridan said the path that brought him back home to serve the county wasn\u2019t something he could have predicted when he left the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo I finished in \u201998, and I had no clue what I was going to do,\u201d he said, later adding that he \u201cfound my way into the commissioner\u2019s office\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite describing the work as sometimes grueling, he said serving had always felt worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 10 years on the Board of Supervisors \u2026 lots of bumps in the road, but you feel like you\u2019re contributing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back, Sheridan highlighted one decision from his time on the board that he believes will outlast them all: the purchase of Pleasant Grove Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought that it was a significant achievement \u2014 it was being a part of the purchase of Pleasant Grove,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recalling the scale and price of the acquisition, he added, \u201cI\u2019d like to see another 996 acres for about $1,043,000. I think in 100 years from now, Pleasant Grove will still be considered a good county asset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also credited the people behind the scenes, saying the office\u2019s success depended on staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve met, worked with, and became family with some of the most dedicated people,\u201d Sheridan said. \u201cAnd I can tell you, the best thing I ever did was hire them\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supervisors praised Sheridan\u2019s institutional knowledge, professionalism, and steady leadership, presenting him with a plaque before transitioning to the evening\u2019s regular agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After years of numbers, deadlines, and tax seasons, Sheridan told the room he\u2019s ready for a slower pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to the next chapter,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Heather MichonEditor The Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors began its Feb. 4 meeting with a standing ovation and a formal proclamation honoring longtime Commissioner of the Revenue Mel Sheridan, marking the close of a public-service career that stretched more than three decades. The proclamation recognized Sheridan\u2019s tenure from January 1994 through December 2025, first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":27987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[132,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-government"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27995"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27995"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27996,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27995\/revisions\/27996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}