Henrico County honors Shirley Lyons after decades leading developmental services programs

County Manager John A. Vithoulkas recognized Shirley Lyons on June 23 for more than three decades of service to Henrico Area Mental Health and Developmental Services. Vithoulkas recounted Lyons’s start as a supervisor at Hermitage Enterprises in 1991, her promotion to manager of all-day services in 1998, and her role leading the program through redesigns during the COVID-19 pandemic and a transition to community-based activities in 2023. He presented Lyons with a gift from the Board of Supervisors.

Vithoulkas said the program maintained yearly profits from 1992 through 2020, built capital funds used for individual service needs, and earned multiple awards under Lyons’s leadership, including nine National Association of Counties awards and one VACO award. He credited Lyons with shifting group employment models toward individualized hires and expanding Pre-Employment Transition Services for students; the Board noted that 98% of individuals now engage in community experiences and more than 80% go out over four times each quarter. Lyons thanked the Manager and Board, saying she loves her job and will retire to spend more time with family and travel with her husband while she still has the opportunity to do so.

The recognition was ceremonial; no formal board action or policy change accompanied the presentation. The Board and staff praised Lyons’s statewide committee work and mentorship of staff who later advanced to new roles across the county and beyond.