ABOUT US

Our History

The Samaritan Center was birthed out of a branch of the Seventh-day Adventist-based Dorcas Society more than 90 years ago. Ladies from the Collegedale SDA Church in Apison, Tenn., would gather and mend donated clothing to help meet local needs or send it to places stricken by war, famine, or natural disasters.

In 1981, five local SDA churches came together to expand their community service programs in one centralized location. Under the guidance of Bill Hulsey, Adventist Community Services opened its doors to the public in October of 1986 off Old Lee Highway with one paid employee and several dedicated volunteers.

After just ten years, the programs and services provided by Adventist Community Services had grown so much that it was time for a move. In 1996, a space in what had been Red Food Store in Ooltewah, Tenn., became available, and the ministry and mission moved to its current home we know today, with a new name: the Samaritan Center.

As of 2024, the Samaritan Center employs 50 full-time employees and has hundreds of volunteers who help by sharing their time, money, and donations. The ministry continues to operate in the spirit of the inn of the biblical story of the Good Samaritan. We are 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: Erin Barthle – 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