| OTTUMWA - World-renowned car builder, Cherielynn Westrich announced today she will be seeking election to the Iowa House in District 81 which includes Ottumwa and rural parts of Wapello County. Westrich was born in Missouri and grew up in a small town outside of St. Louis. She has made a career out of building and restoring cars and is one of the most well-known female car builders in the world. For the better part of 10 years Westrich worked on Overhaulin' an American automotive reality television series filmed in California, where work is done on cars, unbeknown to the owners who are often deserving people such as veterans or people who have inspired and or helped others. However, she has held many different jobs including work as a janitor, waitress, and nanny to make ends meet. She also has experience working in marketing and as a bookkeeper. Following her desire to return to the Midwest, she moved to Ottumwa five years ago. Since then, Westrich has been working as a correspondent for Rev'n TV an all automotive channel where she hosts their news program and reports on car shows around the world. Most recently, Westrich started a small business in Ottumwa, MalWood USA LLC where she manufactures hydraulic clutch pedals, which she is manufacturing locally at DeJong Manufacturing Company, Inc. in New Sharon, Iowa. As a small business owner with a diverse background in many different fields, Westrich will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Legislature. "Having built over 65 cars and worked in many shops, my experience in building cars has helped me develop a skill set of working together as a team towards a common goal" said Westrich. "I will view working with the citizens of Ottumwa and rural Wapello County as a team and strive to create good government that serves them. I will work to grow our local economy and invest in a skilled and competitive workforce by bringing back trades in high school. When I moved from California, I could have moved anywhere and I chose to live here. I love this part of the state and want to do my part to better the lives of everyday hardworking Iowans." During her time in California, Westrich played in many bands. She played the bass, keyboard, and sang vocals. Madonna signed her band The Rentals to a record deal with Maverick Records. She toured all of the United States and Europe. Their videos were in the top spots on MTV and she guest hosted as a VJ for MTV. She has lived in several states from California to New York, has traveled to nearly every state, and over 20 countries. |