[1] Stierheim first served as County Manager from 1976 to 1986 and successfully supervised a $5 billion countywide infrastructure expansion including the construction of Miami Metro Zoo, the downtown library and cultural complex, the Government Center, several regional parks, libraries, water, sewer and solid waste facilities, and the county's mass transit system - Metrorail and Metromover.
He also dealt with a number of events with national repercussions when the community assimilated more than 160,000 refugees from Cuba (the Mariel Exodus) and Haiti.
Stierheim worked with Butch Buchholz to move the Lipton International Players Championships tennis tournament to Key Biscayne in 1987.
Working with government and industry leaders, Stierheim established the Bureau's first dedicated advertising fund with a value exceeding $5 million.
For his work, he was awarded the 1996 Tourism Professional of the Year by the local visitor industry, and in 1997 he completed the required courses from Purdue and Calgary universities to become a Certified Destination Management Executive.
While conducting a national search for a permanent Manager, he led the Council through a strategic planning process and prepared the Town's first two budgets.
He was involved in or was a principal founder of major Miami-Dade civic and municipal institutions including, the Beacon Council, the GMCVB, and Metro Miami Action Plan (MMAP).
He served on the board of directors of more than 30 local, state and national organizations including Barnett Bank, SunBank, Travel Industry of America (TIA), International Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus (IACVB), United States National Tourism Organization (NTO 10) and the United Way of Miami-Dade County.
He was a member of the Orange Bowl Committee and served on the following Boards: YMCA, Zoological Society, Collins Center for Public Trust, The Beacon Council, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, GMCVB, and Mellon National Bank.