ABOUT US
Our History
Service to others, a vital component of the Christian faith, was embraced at a local level in Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) churches for many years through church-based Dorcas Societies.
Dorcas volunteers gathered regularly to mend donated clothing. They would then either use the clothing to minister to local needs or package it for shipment to places stricken by war, famine, or natural disaster.
For an extended period of time, the Collegedale SDA Church (located in Collegedale, Tennessee) maintained an active Dorcas Society that operated from the oldest building on the Southern Adventist University campus. This small society would eventually become the Samaritan Center we know today.
As time progressed, new approaches to helping local people in crisis were explored, efforts that could unite and magnify the endeavors of multiple churches. In 1981, five area SDA churches decided to combine their church-based community service programs in a centralized location. Construction of a building, located on Old Lee Highway in Ooltewah, Tennessee, began in 1983.
Prominent local businessmen Bill Hulsey, Chick Fleming, Harry Hulsey, and several others were pivotal in guiding this process. Kitty King, the leader of the Collegedale Church’s Dorcas Society, also did much to further the cause. Finally, Adventist Community Services (ACS, later to be renamed the Samaritan Center) opened its doors to the public on October 22, 1986.
After nine years, ACS programs and services were prospering so heavily that they overflowed out of the present building and into a series of storage trailers. When the space occupied by a Red Food store in Ooltewah became available, ACS moved to the new location in 1996. The new facility was renamed the Samaritan Center to honor the many community Samaritans who make it possible for the Center to assist people in need by sharing time, money, and donations.
The Samaritan Center employs case workers to determine who is in need of how much assistance, helping people based on their financial situations, not their religious affiliations. The supplies that the Center uses to help others are sometimes purchased with donated funds, sometimes shared by people in the community, and other times collected in drives by area churches, schools, businesses, and other organizations.
The Samaritan Center operates in the spirit of the inn in the biblical story of the Good Samaritan. It is a community resource where individuals and families from more than 70 area agencies, businesses, civic organizations, schools, and churches of all denominations come together to minister to people in crisis.
Board of Directors
The Samaritan Center is grateful for those who generously lend their time, support, advice, and talents to this ministry as board members:
CHAIRMAN: J. Franklin Farrow – Chief Operating Officer, Independent Healthcare Properties, LLC
VICE CHAIRMAN: Sam Walter – Retired, Principal at Soddy Daisy Elementary School
TREASURER: Jon Wentworth, M.Tx – Retired Professor of Business
CHAIR EMERITUS: Benjamin R. Wygal, PhD – Assistant to the President, Southern Adventist University
EMERITUS: Herbert E. Coolidge – Retired Professor and Businessman
SECRETARY: Tony Dahlberg – Executive Director, the Samaritan Center
Kurt Allen – Vice President for Finance, Georgia Cumberland Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Luis Biazotto – Director of ACS/Disaster Response, Georgia-Cumberland Conference
Jackie Brown
Jay Cole – Church Administrator, Collegedale Seventh-day Adventist Church
Danny Garcia – C.E.O., Deron LLC / CA-TN
Dawson Halliday – Owner & Operator, Ooltewah Chick-Fil-A
Bruce Jacobs – Director of Guest Services, Cohutta Springs Youth Camp
Peter Kulakov – Senior Pastor, Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church
Andrew Morkert
Cindy Nash
Rev. Louisa (Lou) T. Parsons – Rector, St. Francis of Assisi
Marc Walwyn
Staff
Tony Dahlberg
Executive Director
Erin Barthle
Associate Executive Director
Keith Heming
Director of Operations
Sharon Smith-Hensley
Social Services Director
Sherri Poston Smith
Communications Director
Sally Fisher
Accountant
Bethany Mathew
Volunteer Coordinator
Brandi Dixon
Community Relations Coordinator
Lyndon Blackman
Volunteer Recruiter
Seventh-day Adventists Believe…
Though religious beliefs play no role in the Samaritan Center’s provision of services, our ministry was founded on Seventh-day Adventist principles and is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Some of the key beliefs of the Adventist Church include the following:
The Bible is the word of God.
God has a plan for our lives.
Jesus is the Son of God.
God cares about the quality of our lives.
God wants to spend time with us.
A complete listing of the Seventh-day Adventist beliefs may be found on the Church Website.
Annual Report
Check out our 2022 Annual Report. Keep checking back for our 2023 Annual Report.