Cheryl Littlejohn was appointed to fill the vacant seat for Ward 4 by the Gastonia City Council on January 7, 2025. Littlejohn graduated from Hunter Huss High School, received her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. There she played basketball for the legendary coach, Pat Summitt and was on the first national championship team. She also graduated from the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
Professionally, Littlejohn served as Assistant Coach at NC State University and the University of Alabama, as well as head coach for the University of Minnesota and Chicago State University. After serving as a basketball coach, she served as the Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Gastonia.
Among her many achievements, Cheryl was named to the 2017 Gaston County Sports Hall of Fame; the Epsilon Upsilon Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Citizen of the Year in 2022; she was also featured on the front cover of the 2022 Jan/Feb issue of Gaston Lifestyles magazine. She is the recipient of Socialite Charlotte’s 2024 Queen Charlotte’s Humanitarian ‘Hope’ Award. Cheryl is a life coach, mentor, philanthropist, and the proprietor of Smith’s Soul Food Bistro, Legacy Event Center, and Executive Coaching Enterprises.
