Our Staff
SMS Office Assistants
Pictured from left to right: Sheryl, Valerie, Mary Jo, Pam, Ron, Mark, Carolyn, Colleen (not pictured: Ronna Friedrich)
Sheryl Staver
Sheryl has worked with Swine Management Services for 13 years. Her roles include farm data entry, Growing Pig Program Reports and translating forms into Spanish.
Sheryl has been married for 27 years to Perry and they have two children. A son, Scott, who graduated from the University of Nebraska – Kearney with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Exercise Science. He is a Wellness Coach and Personal Trainer. He will be getting married in 2018.
She also has a daughter, Ashley, who is a senior in Fremont High School. She will be attending Wayne State College next year and entering the Graphic Design program.
Sheryl and her husband have enjoyed traveling the last 2 years to Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee and Colorado.
Colleen Hartman
Colleen has been part of the SMS team for 16 years. She has been married for 44 years and her and her husband enjoy spending time with their four grandchildren.
Mary Jo Hartung
Mary Jo Hartung grew up in Fremont, NE. She graduated from Fremont Senior High School and continued her education at Mount Marty College in Yankton, SD.
Mary Jo and her husband continue to live in Fremont. They have two daughters, Elizabeth and her family live in Hastings, NE, and Jean and her family live in North Platte, NE.
Mary Jo enjoys spending time with family, friends and crafting projects. Her interest in the swine industry comes from her grandfather who owned hogs. At a young age she was out helping her grandfather take care of the hogs.
Ronna Friedrich
Ronna Friedrich grew up on a farm. She is married with two children. She left her career in finance for the most rewarding job of a stay-at-home mother. Missing the farm community, she joined the staff with Swine Management Services.
Pam Ketchem
Pam (Sitzman) Ketchem grew up in Sioux City IA and that is where she met her husband, Ron Ketchem. They married in 1983 and moved to St. Louis MO, then to Lafayette IN.
Pam ran a small PigChamp bureau while their three boys were in elementary school. They moved to Fremont, NE in 2000 and she began working part-time for Swine Management Services. Pam now works full-time as an Accounting Associate for Fremont Public Schools and continues to work part-time for SMS, handling payroll, A/R, and A/P.
Carolyn Rix
Carolyn was born in Nebraska, and raised in Oklahoma City. She graduated from Bethany College in Kansas. She met her husband, Mark, in Oklahoma City, where they married in 1976.
They have two adult children, Matthew and Gretchen. Carolyn has worked for SMS since 1995, assisting with data collection and entry into the Benchmarking program. Carolyn enjoys crafts and church choir.