Lives of Consequence
Cheryl Johnson ’70 and David Vermilya ’70
When Cheryl Johnson ’70 approached David Vermilya ’70 on the steps of Coxe Hall one cold, drizzly September day during their senior year, neither could have anticipated the lifelong partnership to come.
Cheryl, who had transferred to the Colleges from Nazareth College, had never before spoken to David, though when she introduced herself, she explained that she had wanted to meet him for a long time. David was completing a major in political science. Cheryl was on track to graduate with a B.A. in Greek and Latin studies.
The two began dating following winter break, as the war in Vietnam escalated alongside student demonstrations. While the external world was undergoing dramatic transformations, David and Cheryl prepared for the changes of their own, marrying in St. John’s Chapel the day before their graduation from the Colleges, surrounded by friends and family.
In the decades since, this story has become well known at the Camillus Town Shop Youth Center in Camillus, N.Y., where Cheryl and David have made their home and career.
Following graduation, David and Cheryl lived and worked in the Geneva area until a career opportunity emerged to work at a developing youth center in Camillus. In February 1971, they drove to Camillus for the interview, which, in a characteristic move, was conducted by the local youth members.
“We came in wearing matching flannel shirts into a room of nine other applicants wearing shirts and ties, but all the other people who were to interview us looked just like us,” Cheryl explains.
“We were there to work with people and honor their ideas,” David says.
In the early years of the Town Shop, David and Cheryl worked to combat judgment on the part of other adults within the community, who often appeared to have highly negative perspectives surrounding youths. Many in Camillus predicted a lifespan of one to two years for the center.
Committed to providing “a rich and consistent array of the ingredients (people, places and possibilities) that young people need to encourage and support their personal growth and development,” the Town Shop recently celebrated its 43rd anniversary of offering a safe and drug-free environment full of trust and absent of judgment.
With David and Cheryl at the helm, the youth center has evolved to meet the interests of its participants. During a typical week, the Town Shop offers young people, regardless of background, opportunities to volunteer at a local soup kitchen, devote time to a horse rescue, attend hiking trips around Central New York, kayak along a local creek and catch up with friends old and new in the Town Shop itself.
During its years in operation, the Town Shop has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including The Association of New York State Youth Bureaus’ 2009 William (Bill) J. Bub Award (2010); the Syracuse Commission For Women Youth Service Award (2007); the Cornell Cooperative Extension Cooperator of the Year (2002); and the Post Standard Millennium Achievement Award (2000), among many, many others.
The growth of the Town Shop and the care that David and Cheryl have given to its participants over the years is reflected in their own admiration for each other.
Cheryl’s honesty, David says, “is a remarkable example for young people to see, to be around someone who’s always honest.”
“You answer the phone, and your voice is so loving and giving, and it just pulls at the heartstrings,” Cheryl says to David. “You have a true volunteer spirit, and I’m proud of you.”
For these life-long community activists, the reward of their work is “feeling that the people we’ve had a positive influence on are going to make a difference in the world beyond us. Our legacy is all the good work, good deeds, good influence we’ve had on people that will manifest itself in their lives.”