Shirley Mott has lived in Batavia since 1990 and can truthfully say she loves her town. Although she has a degree in journalism, she considers Patch.com as the first "newspaper" she's actually worked for. Through the years she has been an editor at a communications firm, worked at several commodities firms, at a manufacturing firm, with her husband at his industrial supply firm and now operates her own copywriting and editorial services business: The Write Word.

In Batavia, Shirley serves on several committees for Batavia MainStreet, is on the board of directors for Batavia United Way and is active with the Batavia Chamber of Commerce. She also served on the planning committee for Ignite! Batavia this past year and values all the people she's met and the relationships built while volunteering for the Batavia schools and Marmion Academy. Shirley and her husband, Doug, are parents of two boys. She also hopes to report the addition of a new dog to the family soon; as the family's English springer spaniel died in August.