Cherie Berry

Nora Cherie Killian was born in Newton, North Carolina, on December 21, 1946, to Earl and Lena Carrigan Killian.{{sfn|North Carolina Manual|2001|p=277}} Her father gave her the name Cherie after the French phrase "mon chérie" (English: my darling) which he had heard in France on his way home following his release as a prisoner-of-war of World War II.{{cite news| last = Queram| first = Kate Elizabeth| title = The improbable rise of the 'Elevator Queen'| newspaper = Winston-Salem Journal| location = Greensboro| date = September 10, 2017| url = http://www.journalnow.com/news/state_region/the-improbable-rise-of-the-elevator-queen/article_ed4c5626-eef1-558b-a7af-77cb72a65a0f.html| access-date = February 5, 2018}} Killian graduated from Maiden High School in Maiden, North Carolina, in 1965{{sfn|North Carolina Manual|2001|p=277}} and then moved to Boone, North Carolina, where she worked wrapping Christmas presents at a department store and selling advertisements for, writing for, and delivering newspapers.{{cite news |last=Warren-Hicks |first=Colin |date=September 5, 2017 |title=The woman in the elevator, Cherie Berry, is "a bit of an icon" for Millennials |newspaper=The Herald-Sun (Durham, North Carolina) |location=Durham, North Carolina |url=http://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/counties/durham-county/article171222777.html |access-date=February 5, 2018}} She attended Lenoir Rhyne College, ending her studies there in 1967. She also studied at Gaston College in 1969 and Oakland Community College in 1977.{{sfn|North Carolina Manual|2001|p=277}} She married Norman H. Berry Jr. and took his last name.

In 1985 Berry and her husband founded LGM Ltd., a company based in a former billiard hall that manufactured spark-plug wires for cars. After initial financial uncertainty, the venture became very profitable. Norman H. Berry Jr. died in 2006.{{cite news| title = Norman H. Berry Jr. Obituary| newspaper = The News & Observer| date = February 5, 2006| url = http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsobserver/obituary-preview.aspx?n=norman-h-berry&pid=85843439&referrer=1878| access-date = February 5, 2018}}

File:Representative Cherie K. Berry.gif

Berry served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1993 to 2000, where she chaired the welfare reform committee and co-chaired the commerce committee.

In November 2000, she was elected state labor commissioner, the first woman to hold the post and the first Republican elected to the post.{{Cite web |title=T. Avery Nye, Jr. - Commissioner of Labor |url=https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/ncpi/view/11484 |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=North Carolina Periodicals Index |publisher=East Carolina University}} Berry was sworn in as North Carolina Commissioner of Labor on January 6, 2001. She was the only Republican on the Council of State between 2001 and 2005, and defeated Democrat Wayne Goodwin to win a second term in the 2004 statewide elections. Berry narrowly defeated Mary Fant Donnan to keep her seat in the 2008 election. Berry won a fourth four-year term in November 2012, defeating former Labor Commissioner John C. Brooks by more than 280,000 votes.{{Cite web |url=http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/42923/114645/Web01/en/summary.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-04-17 |archive-date=2013-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130505090556/http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/42923/114645/Web01/en/summary.html |url-status=dead }} Berry won a fifth four-year term in November 2016, defeating former Raleigh mayor Charles Meeker by more than 476,000 votes, her largest percentage margin of victory.{{Cite web | url=http://er.ncsbe.gov/?election_dt=11/08/2016&county_id=0&office=COS&contest=0 | title=NC SBE Contest Results|website=Er.ncsbe.gov}} On April 2, 2019, she announced at a Council of State meeting that she would not seek reelection.{{cite web |date=April 2, 2019 |title=North Carolina Commissioner of Labor Cherie Berry says she won't run in 2020 |url=https://abc11.com/politics/cherie-berry-says-she-wont-run-for-6th-term-in-2020/5230360/ |access-date=April 2, 2019 |website=ABC11.com |publisher=WTVD}} She endorsed Pearl Burris Floyd to succeed her.{{cite news| last = Campbell| first = Colin| title = Cherie Berry's legacy looms large in race to replace her. So does the elevator photo| newspaper = The News & Observer| date = February 13, 2020| url = https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article240223491.html| access-date = July 21, 2020}}

Berry was criticized in a newspaper report on poultry plant oversight.{{cite news |last=Alexander |first=Ames |date=9 March 2008 |title=Berry plans no changes after stories on poultry |newspaper=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110973719/ncdol-2008/}} In 2008, The Charlotte Observer found that at least half of contributors to Berry's reelection campaign were the executives and managers of business inspected by the department she leads.{{cite news|title=For donors to Berry, breaks on fines are larger|url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/article9014573.html|access-date=19 October 2011|newspaper=The Charlotte Observer|date=5 October 2008|author=Alexander, Ames|author2=Ingram, David}} The same report also found that while Berry's department reduced fines for workplace safety violations as a matter of routine, "Berry's contributors have usually gotten bigger-than-average breaks."

During Berry's first term as North Carolina Commissioner of Labor, her spokesman suggested that she include a portrait of herself on inspection forms displayed in elevators in the state "to put a face on government". Berry initially rejected the idea, but decided to implement it after winning reelection.

Berry has received a small following among younger North Carolinians due to her catchy name and her picture inside elevators in North Carolina. Her picture and signature appeared inside all elevators in North Carolina on the Certification of Operation leading to her receiving the unofficial title of "The Elevator Queen." A paper published in a political science journal attributes her success above that of other Republican politicians to the presence of her name and picture in elevators across the state.{{cite journal |doi=10.1177/1532673X15602755|title = The Elevator Effect|journal = American Politics Research|volume = 44|issue = 3|pages = 496–522|year = 2016|last1 = Smith|first1 = Jacob F. H.|last2 = Weinberg|first2 = Neil|s2cid = 156042718}} In 2018 Elon University conducted a poll on photographic recognition of North Carolina politicians. Most of the respondents who correctly identified Berry referred to her as the "Elevator Lady" or the "Elevator Queen" instead of using her name.{{cite news| last = Chemtob| first = Danielle| title = Elevator Queen aside, most state leaders are a mystery to voters| newspaper = The News & Observer| date = February 23, 2018| url = https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article201887344.html| access-date = April 4, 2019}}

In 2007 musician Dan Bryk recorded a song, Cherry Berry, about the "gal in the elevator" after seeing Berry's photograph in an elevator. He released it under a pseudonym, Tha Commissioners, on a MySpace page and supplied a copy to a disc jockey at WKNC-FM, North Carolina State University's student radio station. The music director at the station played it frequently, and Berry said of it, "I just think it rocks."{{cite news |last=Beckwith |first=Ryan Teague |date=July 7, 2007 |title=Ode to Cherie Berry redefines elevator music |page=1 |newspaper=The News & Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110973796/berry-2007/}} The band Alternative Champs also released a song about her, entitled, Cherie Berry.{{cite news| last = McCorkle| first = Raven| title = An Ode To Elevator Queen Cherie Berry| newspaper = Old Gold & Black| publisher = Wake Forest University Media Board| date = January 25, 2018| url = http://wfuogb.com/2018/01/an-ode-to-elevator-queen-cherie-berry/| access-date = February 7, 2018}} A Raleigh shirt company released a shirt with the words "Cherie Berry lifts me up" printed on the front. A Durham restaurant also listed a "Cherie Berry's Elevated Tea" on its menu. In 2019 two North Carolina breweries released cherry-flavored beers in homage to Berry.{{cite news| last = Jasper| first = Simone| title = Cherry Berry? Brewers give nod to North Carolina 'elevator lady' with themed beers| newspaper = The News & Observer| date = April 17, 2019| url = https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article229363914.html| access-date = April 17, 2019}}

Following her departure from the labor commissionership, Berry moved to Toledo, Ohio.{{cite web| url = https://www.wral.com/story/going-down-elevator-pictures-of-nc-labor-commissioners/21123239/| title = Going down: Elevator pictures of NC labor commissioners| last = Fain| first = Travis| date = October 30, 2023| website = WRAL-TV| publisher = Capitol Broadcasting Company| access-date = October 31, 2023}}

{{Reflist}}

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• {{cite book| title = North Carolina Manual| publisher = State Department of Archives and History, North Carolina| date = 2001| location = Raleigh| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aqpLAQAAMAAJ| oclc = 898149266| ref = {{harvid|North Carolina Manual|2001}}}}

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• [https://files.nc.gov/ncdol/documents/files/labor-ledger-november-december-20.pdf From Linthead to Queen : Labor Ledger]

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{{s-bef|before=R. Tracy Walker}}

{{s-ttl|title=Republican nominee for North Carolina Commissioner of Labor|years=2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016}}

{{s-aft|after=Josh Dobson}}

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| before = Doris Rogers Huffman
Walter Stine Isenhower

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{{s-ttl

| title = Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 45th district

| years = 1993–2001

| alongside = Charles Preston, Joe Kiser

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{{s-aft

| after = Mark Hilton

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| before = Harry Payne

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| title = Labor Commissioner of North Carolina

| years = 2001-2021

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| after = Josh Dobson

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Category:1946 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from Newton, North Carolina

Category:Lenoir–Rhyne University alumni

Category:Women state legislators in North Carolina

Category:20th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly

Category:21st-century North Carolina politicians

Category:20th-century American women politicians

Category:21st-century American women politicians

Category:Republican Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives

Category:North Carolina commissioners of labor