MURFREESBORO — Child Advocacy Center Director Sharon DeBoer, Family Services Coordinator Jennifer Gamble, and Accountant Jessica Wauchek presented the 2024 Hometown Heroes Awards at the 9th Annual Hometown Heroes Walk for Children on Friday morning to seven community leaders who have dedicated their careers to making our community a better place for children.
“We are blessed to have some of the very best people in Rutherford County serve on the Child Advocacy Center Board of Directors, the Child Protective Investigative Team, and the Child Protective Investigative Management Team,” De Boer stated. “Each of these Hometown Heroes are strong advocates for child abuse victims.”
The awards were presented during the annual Child Abuse Prevention Month event. The 2024 award winners were: Tammy Greer, Sharon Reddick, Chelsea Wade, Lt. David Durham, Assistant Chief John Liehr, Hollye Gallion, and Elizabeth Benton.
Tammy Greer graduated from MTSU. She is a Certified Public Accountant and volunteers as a Tennessee Achieves Mentor helping high school seniors get into college. Greer serves as Treasurer of the Child Advocacy Center Board of Directors. She is a valuable resource to the CAC staff and board and is instrumental in the success of the Center. She reviews the monthly financial records and reports. She communicates regularly with the accountant, director, and the CAC’s accounting firm. She stays up-to-date on new financial laws and tax codes. She helps the CAC staff understand taxes, reporting, and the Department of Labor requirements. She assists with audits and tax returns and was key to securing the PPP Loan and loan forgiveness. Tammy Greer is a critical thinker and she helps the board explore all sides of an issue and come up with outstanding solutions to problems.
Sharon Reddick has bachelors and master’s degrees from Vanderbilt University. She completed her graduate work in theology in 1992. She began working as a Victim Witness Coordinator for the District Attorney’s Office in Nashville in the Domestic Violence Division. She earned her law degree in 2003 from the Nashville School of Law and was promoted to Assistant District Attorney. From 2007-2014, she worked in the Child Abuse Division where she quickly became one of the most well-respected child abuse prosecutors in Tennessee. She spent two years in private practice. She returned to her career as a child abuse prosecutor in 2016, joining the staff of the District Attorney General Jennings Jones. Sharon Reddick is a well-respected member of the Rutherford County Child Protective Investigative Team, where she aggressively prosecutes child abuse cases and seeks justice for child abuse and child sexual abuse victims.
Chelsea Wade is a proud alumna of Lane University with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology. She began her career with the Department of Children’s Services as a case manager 1. She is a dedicated and hardworking individual striving to uphold the Department’s motto of “Children First.” Working as an investigator with Child Protective Services, she investigated severe allegations of abuse and neglect. She worked to ensure children’s safety, while holding those responsible accountable. She transitioned into a role with the newly developed Safe Baby Court program in Rutherford County with Family Support Services. As the safe baby court worker, she worked with families during difficult times, helping them regain their footing and celebrated with families who graduated from the program. She was promoted to a Child Protective Services Team Leader where she supports her employees. She has led the “split” team supervising both severe and non-severe cases. She receives praise from the families she helps. Her honesty, genuineness, and passion for the helping children and families shines through. Chelsa Wade helped plan the 2024 DCS Pinwheel Ceremony.
Lt. David Durham graduated from MTSU, with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a double minor in psychology and political science. While attending MTSU, he interned at La Vergne Police Department. He began his law enforcement career as a patrol officer at Vanderbilt University Police Department before joining La Vergne Police Department as a patrol officer. He was promoted as a Narcotics Division detective and later transferred to the Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB) as a general detective. In 2010, he was promoted to CIB Corporal and earned Officer of the Year from Rutherford County Crime Stoppers. He was promoted to CIB Sergeant and graduated from Northwestern School of Police Staff and Command. He currently serves on the Child Protective Investigative Management Team. He genuinely cares about La Vergne children and families. He has a passion for effective leadership and continuous personal growth. Lt. David Durham has attended many training courses to develop his leadership and communication skills which led to his promotion to Lieutenant of the Criminal Investigations Bureau.
Assistant Chief John Liehr holds an associate degree from MTSU, Bachelor's Degree from St. Leo University, and Master's Degree in Criminal Justice from Nova Southeastern University. He has served with the Smyrna Police Department since 1994. He worked his way through the ranks of the department, serving as a patrol officer, Field Training Officer, Corporal and sergeant in the Patrol Division, detective and Sergeant in Narcotics, and Detective Sergeant of the Detective Division. He serves on the Child Protective Investigative Management Team where he shows his compassion for Smyrna children and families. Liehr graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia in 2023. The National Academy is held at the FBI Training Academy, the same facility where the FBI trains new special agents and intelligence analysts. Smyrna Police Chief Jason Irvin said he was excited to promote him to the position of Assistant Chief of Police over Investigative and Administrative Services. He has been a dedicated employee of the Smyrna Police Department for over 28 years. Assistant Chief John Liehr works extremely hard every day to make the Smyrna Police Department one of the best in the state.
Hollye Gallion received her Nursing degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She began her medical career caring for critically ill infants, where she learned that her career path was working with children. She completed the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program at Belmont University. A family member who did a clinical rotation at Our Kids recommended her to do a clinic rotation while she was in graduate school. She fell in love with the philosophy of the clinic. She liked that children get outstanding medical care and a chance to talk about what happened to them with someone who genuinely cares. She has been with Our Kids ever since. She performs medical exams on children of all ages and talks to them long after the exam is over about the child’s needs. She testifies on behalf of children in state courts and has even testified internationally. Today, Holleye Gallion serves as lead investigator on medical research at Our Kids, publishes research findings, presents her findings at national conferences, and teaches others in the field of child sexual abuse.
Elizabeth Benton received a Bachelor’s degree of Social Work from MTSU and a Master’s in Social Work from Union University. She has had a wealth of experience as a social worker. She began her career working with homeless teens providing case management and support groups. She worked with refugees proving medical case management and teaching health information classes. She worked in the school system as a behavioral educational assistant. She investigated child abuse referrals for the Department of Children’s Services. She came to the Child Advocacy Center in 2018 as the forensic interviewer and has conducted over a 1,000 forensic interviews of child abuse and child sexual abuse victims. She serves as the Rutherford County Child Protective Multi-Disciplinary Team Coordinator. She testifies in child abuse and child sexual abuse trials and hearings for the District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Children’s Services. She presents at conferences and trainings, serves on child abuse panels, and educates social workers and student interns on child abuse and child sexual abuse. Elizabeth Benton is a passionate advocate for children and has dedicated her career to keeping children safe.
“All of these Hometown Heroes have never desired any recognition for their accomplishments because it has never been about them,” concluded De Boer, “It has always been about the children.”
