Alumnus profile: D. Michael Sherman ’74
Mike Sherman just can’t seem to get away from the bagpipes.
The 1974 Alma College graduate lives in a Ft. Myers, Fla., community that employs a Scottish theme and bagpipes logo. He’s come full circle from his Alma Experience in Scotland USA.
Sherman is owner and chief executive officer of Dawson Companies, which has seven offices in Ohio and two in Southwest Florida, and employs 250 employees. He has worked at Dawson in various positions since 1978, becoming president in 1982 and purchasing the company in 1986.
He credits his student experiences and business education at Alma for his successful career.
“I was born and raised in the small mid-Michigan town of Potterville, so when I came to Alma, it was actually a bigger town than what I grew up in,” says Sherman. “I played football for a couple of years, and then my son Jason was born toward the end of my sophomore year. I spent my remaining college years juggling married life and a young son.”
After graduating, he was hired by an insurance company and transferred to Cleveland, Ohio, where he lived for the next 22 years. He also achieved an MBA from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.
Sherman re-engaged with his alma mater when President Tracy called on him during alumni visits to Florida. Most of his financial gifts to the College support the Center for Responsible Leadership.
“I became excited about the Center for Responsible Leadership,” says Sherman. “The whole issue of business ethics and doing-the-right-thing attitude has been overlooked by a lot of academic institutions in the business world. That’s what prompted me to support the Center."
“Alma is on the right track with its emphasis on responsible leadership and is positioned to make an impact in this area,” he says.
Sherman was a member of Dr. Tracy’s President’s Advisory Council and then was invited to join the Alma College Board of Trustees earlier this year.
“I accepted the invitation to join the Board out of respect for the things that Alma College stands for and to participate at a higher level with the College,” he says.
In addition to his professional work with Dawson Companies, he is active with the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, Independent Insurance Agents’ Association, National Association of Surety Bond Producers, and the Bobby Nichols/Fiddlesticks Charity Foundation.
