Whether driving classic cars or competing in 5ks, this woman is always “on the run.”

If you’ve ever met Shellie Geer, you know she is full of energy (and at 74, she stays on the go)! She’s the president of the Huntsville Cruisers Classic Car club; an active member of the Seven Hills Running Club; and after 41 years of service, continues to work for the Adult Education department at the Region 6 Educational Service Center. After her retirement in January 2022, she returned to the Region Center in March 2022 to work part-time. “I must love it,” she said, “otherwise I wouldn’t still be there.”

Shellie is originally from Erie, Pennsylvania, where she claims it snows 100 inches every year! She is the daughter of Sylvia and Victor Pfeffer, the oldest of their two children. Her younger brother Mark and his wife Susan live in North Carolina. Shellie attended Academy High School and graduated in 1966. Today, the school is called Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy, and it is still on State Street in Erie.

How did you and your husband meet?                                                                                                                 

It was during our tenth year in high school. We met in history class. John told me he had a driver’s license, and I didn’t believe him, so he pulled it out and showed it to me. We began dating, and married a couple of years later. Shortly after, John joined the Army and served in Vietnam. During his second tour in Vietnam, he was wounded, so he spent 9 months in Walter Reed Army Medical Center; then we were relocated to Ft. Belvoir in Alexandria, Virginia.  Our second child, John Jr., was born at hospital there. We stayed at Ft. Belvoir for about a year, then moved back home. Our oldest daughter is Wendy. She and her family now live in the Austin area.

What did you do while living in Erie, other than raising your children?

I worked for Avon. I was a manager, a salesperson, and a distributor. I was pretty involved with it, and I did this to be able to make my car payment. When gas prices went up to $.70 per gallon, it was horrible! John and I each bought a motorcycle. John had a 450 Honda, and I had a Kawasaki 100. I rode it everywhere to deliver my Avon. I would deliver it through snow or ice. Looking back, I can’t believe I did that!  When we moved to Huntsville, we brought our bikes, but eventually ended up selling them.

Huntsville is a long way from Erie, Pennsylvania. What brought you here?

My husband was working in a machine shop in Erie during the economic crisis. My kids were probably about 8 or 9 at the time, and we began looking for better opportunities. That’s when we happened to see in the Houston Chronicle there was a job at a machine shop in Huntsville. So, in 1981, we moved to Huntsville, and John began working at Quality Valve as a shop superintendent. Huntsville has been home to us ever since.

You and your husband are big classic car enthusiasts. How did that come about?

John was always interested in cars, even when we were just dating. It wasn’t uncommon to find him working underneath a car, and me standing beside him, carrying on a conversation. After we settled in Huntsville, John and I became members of the Conroe Cruisers Classic Car club. At that time, we each owned our own classic car. My first was a ’67 Ford Fairlane GT. Today, we own 7 classic cars: a ‘71 Torino GT 302, a ‘70 Torino 429 Cobra Jet, a 351 Cleveland GT, a ‘69 original orange Roadrunner 283, and a ‘67 red Fairlane. We also had a ‘67 blue and white striped Mustang Fastback, but we ended up trading it for a ‘67 Ranger 100 Pickup.

In ’95, we wanted to start our own club in the Huntsville area.  We weren’t sure how to go about it, but we took a chance and started Huntsville Cruisers Classic Car Club. Our club has grown since then, and we now have approximately 100 total members.

What else can you tell me about the Huntsville Cruisers?

We meet once a month. We used to meet at Golden Corral, and that was wonderful because we would have the cars in their parking lot, and people would stop by just to look at them. In 2020, after COVID, we stopped meeting for a while, but then once we started back up, Golden Corral was no longer there, so we began meeting at McKenzie’s BBQ. Now we meet at Whataburger on Saturday mornings, from 8-10 am. Anyone who has an interest in classic cars is welcome to attend the meetings.

You mentioned that you are the president of Huntsville Cruisers, are there other committee members?

Currently, the vice president is Vern Bradford, Eric Johnston is the treasurer, Jim Young handles social media, and Chelsea Young is the secretary.

Are there local events where car enthusiasts can go to see the classic car collection?

The main event is the Fair on the Square Classic Show held in Huntsville, which usually takes place on the first Saturday during the month of October.  There’s always a great turnout at this event. We also participate in the Huntsville Christmas parade, as well as other nearby local events in Fairfield, Trinity, Crockett, Bryan, Lovelady, and Wolf Creek. The dates and times for these events are listed both on our website: huntsvillecruisers.com, and on our Facebook page.  In January, we’ll be getting together at Brays Motors in Madisonville. There’s also the Fall and Winter Conroe Swap Meets. The Winter 2024 Swap Meet will be held on February 16-18. For more information you can go to www.hotrodsoftexas.com. We also have an Annual Christmas party.

Tell me about the Seven Hills Running Club.

The Seven Hills Running Club was formed in 1985, and it was originally led by Ken Johnson and Cheryl Sewell. Ken was elected president and Cheryl vice president. Jill Baine was elected secretary and Dr. Armond Start, treasurer. Ms. Sylvia LaRue, who was not a member of the club, came up with the name “Seven Hills Running Club.” The current club officers are: Darren Grant, president; David Keithley, vice president; Steve Allen, registrar; Ken Johnson, treasurer; and Mary Meaux, secretary. To find out more about the history, upcoming races, or how to join, you can visit https://7hills.us.

How did you get started?

I’ve been an active member for about 8 or 9 years now. I’ve always enjoyed running, but one day “Dr. Z” (Brian Zemlicka from Region 6) saw me running, and told me about the Seven Hills Running Club. I joined, and have been running the 5Ks ever since. My time used to be 39 minutes, now it’s more like 44, but it’s still better time than walking. We have a race every month, and I try to run all of the races, including some that are not part of the Seven Hills Running Club.

Shellie Geer is truly an inspiration. She is a leading example of someone who is “living life to the fullest,” and loving every minute of it! According to Shellie, what she loves the most about doing all the things she does is the people, and getting to know them.

Shellie is also a proud grandmother to Lauren, Colton and Sydney, and a great-grandmother to John and Walker, and only wishes she could see them all more often.