Hometown Heroes: Lifting spirits through cheer

LIBERTY— Giving her all to her students and to the community, Stormi Meche inspires young girls to be the best they can be and to always support one another. 

For 15 years now, Stormi’s Cheer Studio has inspired young girls to work together as a team and to always lift each other’s spirits up. 

“It’s so important to me just being a girl’s girl,” Meche said. 

For Meche, learning life skills is just as, if not more, important as learning cheer and tumbling skills. 

Focusing on teamwork and leadership, Meche said there is no level of competition amongst the girls. 

Meche also noted the importance of leading a group of young girls. 

“One or two words could discourage kids from wanting to do this again,” Meche said. “I would never take that risk.” 

While the gym doesn’t compete during the regular season, the skills they learn are unmatched. 

Currently, two past students, Cherish Robinson and Kennedy Taylor, are instructors for the National Cheerleaders Association after going through an in-depth interview process and intense tryout process. 

While Meche supports schools competing, she found through personal experience that skill-based training was less restrictive as students can move up at their own pace. 

Meche sees about 100 girls each season with about 1,500 passing through her studio. 

Just this year, she is starting to see second-generation students, noting how special and rewarding it is to her. 

Meche brought cheer to Liberty for the same reason her mother, Debbee Meche, did, which was for young girls to have a place closer to home. 

“She was definitely my inspiration,” Meche said. “It’s kind of full circle.” 

At the age of 3 or 4, Meche was traveling for an hour after school for practice, sometimes into Houston. 

When Meche was about 8, her mom opened a cheer studio in Liberty, and in her second year of business, Meche outgrew the small building behind her house and moved into the same building her mom had. 

Meche also took inspiration from her mom on how to treat people with kindness and support, saying her mom wanted everyone to be their best. 

The two big events for SCS are the Liberty’s Christmas parade and the end-of-season showcase. 

The Santa trophies are the “pride and joy” of SCS, and during the showcase, Meche ensures each girl feels special by giving out individualized awards, homing in on her students’ successes and personalities. 

Recently, Meche organized a fundraiser for the Burgess family after John and Julia Burgess lost their lives in the flooding in Kerr County. 

Meche shared in a Facebook post that their daughter, Jenna, is a student at SCS and she is “always sporting a bow,” which led to “The Jenna Bow.”  

“It goes without saying that in just one morning, she lost what probably feels like her entire world,” Meche said in the post. 

Meche is no stranger to loss as she shared in an interview that in 2021, she lost her mother and about eight cheer parents. That year, SCS held a special showcase, themed “For the Love of Cheer,” in honor of the people they lost. 

“I’m very grateful for Liberty County always showing up every year,” Meche said. 

If interested in joining the studio, email Meche at stormicheer@hotmail.com or visit facebook.com/stormischeer. 

Check out the 2025 Hometown Heroes edition and learn about the local folks that make Liberty County a better place.