OKEECHOBEE -- Born in Santiago, Chile in 1937, Code Enforcement Officer Fred Sterling spent some of his childhood in Lima, Peru and some in Miami. He explained his parents were actually U.S. citizens living in Chile when he was born. Officer Sterling graduated from Warren School in Olney, Md. in 1956, and he says he really enjoyed football.



His favorite class was History, but he was never a big fan of math. He enjoyed several extracurricular activities such as 4-H club, ROTC and Boy Scouts. His favorite things about high school were sports and spending time with friends, if only he didn’t have to get out of bed to do it, he would have been a truly happy kid, he says.

Working as a bag boy at Piggly Wiggly was his first and also his worst job, he explains.

Business Administration was his major in college, but he realized that wasn’t the career for him.

Officer Sterling credits his father as the biggest influence in his life and he moved to Okeechobee in 2003 in order to be closer to his family. He has been happily married for eighteen years and he and his wife have four children between them.

Becoming a code enforcement officer was not a life-long dream, but he needed something to do, so why not? Although it wasn’t the job he dreamed of as a child, he has worked in this profession for over 13 years and feels it has created value in his life.

When he is not working, Officer Sterling is active in Masonic and Shrine activities and has spent the last 25 years in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. He enjoys water sports and spending time with his family and his two dogs.