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Sexual Assault Center of NWGA Board of Directors appoints new executive committee for 2021

December 12, 2020–3:45 p.m.

NEWS RELEASE

The Sexual Assault Center of Northwest Georgia Board of Directors has appointed the following executive committee members for the 2021 calendar year: Tannika King, president; Ghee Wilson, vice president; Joe Costolnick, secretary; and Lisa Self, treasurer. Past President Diane Warner will continue to serve as a member of the executive team as well.

“The Sexual Assault Center of Northwest Georgia is blessed to have a dedicated, experienced, and active Board of Directors,” said Kimberly King, executive director. “The nature and depth of our work can sometimes be challenging. Having a strong group of leaders to help support and guide our efforts impacts our ability to best serve. I am looking forward to working closely with our new team of executive board members. Their combined years of experience in their respective career fields as well as their years of service and leadership on the board will undoubtedly benefit the work of the Sexual Assault Center.”

Tannika King, a board member since 2011, is director of communications at Darlington School and has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing and public relations. She is a graduate of the Rome Floyd Chamber’s Leadership Rome Class of XXIV, the Floyd County Government’s Focused on Floyd 101 citizens academy and the Lynda Brannen Williamson Foundation Inc. Leadership Academy. Additional civic involvements have included service on the SPLOST Citizens Advisory Committee, Rome-Floyd Citizens for Progress, local organizing committees for Hospitality House’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes and Tour de Georgia, the Board of Directors for the Greater Rome Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Rome International Film Festival, and as a mentor with Rome-Floyd Communities in Schools. She has also participated in Harbor House Child Advocacy Center’s Adult Spell Off fundraiser and A Night to Remember: An Adult Prom to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. In 2019, she received a Heart of the Community Foundation Award of Honor.

“It is truly an honor to serve the Sexual Assault Center,” said Tannika, who also served as board president in 2012 and 2013. “Our staff works tirelessly to provide the best possible care and support to sexual assault survivors. They offer around-the-clock crisis support, they work hand in hand with law enforcement, they facilitate ongoing counseling for survivors and their families, they build awareness in our community, they teach prevention education in our schools, and so much more. With hundreds of crisis calls fielded and forensic exams performed in 2020 alone, the Sexual Assault Center is a critical resource, and I look forward to working with my fellow board members to further our mission.”

Ghee Wilson, a special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, has 19 years of experience in law enforcement, which also includes the Georgia Department of Corrections and the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office. Prior to joining the Sexual Assault Center’s Board of Directors in 2018, he was a member of the organization’s Friends of the SAC advocacy group and was a contestant in the 2016 Rome Celebrity Dance Challenge. Wilson currently serves as a member of the Floyd County Planning Commission and the Salvation Army Board of Directors. His previous service has included the Coosa Valley Fraternal Order of Police as past president, the SPLOST Citizens Advisory Committee and Rome-Floyd Citizens for Progress. He has also participated in the Floyd County Government’s Focused on Floyd 101 citizen’s academy and A Night to Remember: An Adult Prom fundraiser to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.

“It’s always a pleasure to serve Rome and Floyd County in any capacity,” said Wilson. “After becoming acquainted with the good work the Sexual Assault Center does in this community – in being a voice for those who are scared to speak and in the prevention education programs our advocates teach students in our schools – I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. The work and outreach preformed by the SAC has the potential to change lives, and if I can help the staff of the SAC in their mission to help survivors of sexual assault, I want to do that.”

Joe Costolnick has served as executive director of Harbor House, The NWGA Child Advocacy Center Inc. for the past three years and has 16 years of previous experience with the Rome Police Department, retiring as lieutenant and supervisor of the Criminal Investigation Division. Prior to joining the Sexual Assault Center’s Board of Directors in 2014, he was a contestant in the 2013 Rome Celebrity Dance Challenge. He is also vice chairperson of the Floyd County Drug Court Advisory Board and a member of Rome Rotary Club.

“Serving as a board member and community advocate for the Sexual Assault Center of NWGA over the past six years has been an awesome experience, one that I wish everybody had the opportunity to experience,” said Costolnick. “Victim services agencies and their personnel, like many of our local public service and frontline medical heroes, are performing such important work each and every day that truly makes an impact, not only to the victim and his or her family, but within our community as well. Serving as the secretary for this amazing organization is an honor, and I am proud to be able to continue to work alongside the wonderful people at the SAC and the Board of Directors as they continue striving to make a positive difference in the lives of so many survivors and their families. Thank you!”

Lisa Self, who joined the Board of Directors in November, is owner of Seven Hills Nutrition and has 15 years of experience in accounting. A loyal supporter of the Sexual Assault Center of NWGA, she has volunteered at the Rome Celebrity Dance Challenge for the past several years. She is also an active member of Kiwanis Club and Ducks Unlimited.

“I am honored to work with the board in the coming years,” said Self. “The services and support provided by the SAC, along with their educational partnerships with our schools, are vital to our community.”

Other members of the Sexual Assault Center Board of Directors are Frank Beacham, Tina Brinson, Dr. Ryan Cox, Melissa Hickman, Martha Jacobs, Dr. Dan Pate, Jill Pate, Beth Pollard, Danny Price, Dave Roberson, Rita Smith, Dr. Larkin Swartz, Andy Taylor, Amos Tuck, Randy Turner, John Uldrick, Dr. Jamey Vick and Chase Watterson.

The Sexual Assault Center of Northwest Georgia – which serves Bartow, Chattooga, Floyd, Gordon and Polk counties – seeks to facilitate healing for victims of sexual assault and their families through on-going crisis intervention services; to promote community awareness of the Center’s services; to educate our students and community about the nature of sexual assault; and to foster strong partnerships with all agencies involved in dealing with sexual assault. For more information, visit www.sacnwga.com, find them on Facebook, or call 706-292-9024.