Meet Our Board 

A Cobb County native, Samantha graduated from Kennesaw State University. Her 30-year career in the printing and marketing field has taken her from working with the nation's largest fortune 500 companies to stepping out on her own ten years ago as the founder and owner of a successful printing and marketing firm. 

Samantha has graduated from both the Cobb County and Powder Springs Police Citizens Academies. She has served on the board of the Paulding County Chamber and was the recipient of the Chairman's award in 2016. She has also served on many other local business and non-profit boards. She is the 2018 President of the West Cobb Business Association and is the current Gov Affairs/Public Safety Director for WCBA.  She was the founder and organizer of the West Cobb Community Fun Fest, the annual WCBA Public Safety Appreciation Gala, and has raised significant funds for various public safety charities.

In 2018 she proudly accepted the Citizen of the Year award from the Cobb County Police Department and also received the community partner award from the City of Powder Springs PD.  In 2021 she was awarded special recognition from the Powder Springs Police Dept. for her unwavering dedication to supporting law enforcement. In 2022 Samantha received the 2022 Citizen Spotlight award from the Cobb County Police Dept. for her partnership, dedication, and unyielding support of the Police Dept.  

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Samantha's hope is that the good works of this foundation will be a lasting memorial to the hero that her father was to her.      

Donnie Glass is a native of  Cobb County and attended Chattahoochee Technical College.  Donnie has spent 20 years in the graphic design and media industry and was the owner of a media firm in Marietta, GA.  In 2012 he and Samantha established their own print, marketing, and media firm which has always had a mission of giving back to and supporting the local community.   

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Donnie has served as a diplomat for the Douglas County Chamber. He was a graduate of Leadership Paulding and served as an ambassador for the Paulding County Chamber. He has years of experience and a wealth of knowledge from serving as a director on boards of many business organizations and non-profits. 

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Donnie is a talented graphic design artist, an avid musician, bass guitar player, and enjoys helping with our efforts to support our law enforcement and public safety heroes. 

Wayne Newland spent his career in Safety and Compliance at Georgia Power for almost 30 years.  Upon retiring he and his wife, Lesley poured themselves into their very successful investment advisory firm, Lighthouse Investment Advisors, Inc.  

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Wayne is a graduate of Mercer University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

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​Wayne is very active in the local business community. He brings a wealth of knowledge to not only the financial aspects of our organization but has also established and operated his own non-profit board in the past, Making a Difference Ministries. A non-profit that served the orphans of Haiti by providing housing, meals, and education for over 100 orphans of Haiti and also provided training for church staff and evangelistic events in Port-au-Prince. 

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​Wayne and his wife Lesley have two children and are proud new grandparents.

A 19-year veteran of the Cobb County Police Department, LT. Fuller is a supervisor in the Community Affairs Unit,  which helps build a bridge enabling residents and law enforcement to communicate, collaborate, and work together to build safer, more caring communities. In addition, he is a police negotiator on the Crisis Negotiation Team. He has also served in the Police Motor Unit, and Crimes Against Persons as a homicide detective and has also trained police recruits as a Field Training Officer.

Matt is a military veteran who served our country in the United States Marine Corps as a Military Police Officer for 4 years. He holds an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice and is currently enrolled at Columbia Southern University to finish his Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice.

Matt is a member of the Iron Pigs Motorcycle Club which consists of retired and current police officers and firefighters. The club is nationwide and participates in several charitable functions and events.

Matt’s wife, Laura, also works for the Cobb County Police Department and they have two children. 

Major Barry Little is a 29-year veteran of the Cobb County Police Department and is the commanding officer of the Department's Special Operations Bureau which includes the Bomb Squad, K9 unit, DUI Task Force, Motors Unit among other specialty units in the CCPD.  He served for 17 years on the SWAT team in leadership roles and as Tac commander for many of those years.  He has also served as the commanding officer at CCPD Precincts 3 and 5. 

Major Little also serves as the executive director of the Cobb County Police Chaplains Program, a 501c3 non-profit that supports officers in need and provides peer support and counsel for officers through chaplains of all faiths dedicated to the Cobb County Police Department. He has also served as a director on the West Cobb Business Association board and serves his church in youth and adult ministries.   

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In 2018 the Barry Little Community Anchor Award was established in his honor and a proclamation was made by the Cobb County Commissioners and recognized by US Congressman Barry Loudermilk. This annual award goes to public safety heroes who over the course of a long and distinguished career have provided strength, support, safety and security to the communities they serve. 

South Cobb Arts Alliance President, San Miller began volunteering with SCAA at a 5K race –and has been off to the races ever since!  San is a retired administrator from Georgia State University, she served as an elected GSU Staff Council Officer and University Senator.

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She spent 3 years in Japan as a higher education administrator, language consultant, and supervisor. While teaching, at the 6-12 grade levels, she performed in-service presentations and training to groups of 90-200 educators and received awards, grants, and citations from Arts and Entertainment, Foxfire, and the Atlanta Historical Society for her curriculum development and program implementation. She has additional post-graduate work, a Masters's from Georgia State University, and a Bachelor's from the University of Dayton, OH.  

San comes from a family of law enforcement officers. Her father was a Chief of Police and her Grandfather served as Sheriff with an Uncle who was commander of the Ohio State Troopers. She is a much-appreciated member of our board, bringing her knowledge of non-profits and grant writing to our team. 

Joseph Rousey is dedicated to carrying on the legacy of his grandfather's love of family and community.  Joseph is an integral part of the foundation's events planning team. 

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He has spent the last 20 years of his career in the flooring business and runs a successful flooring design firm in Austell. He is an active member of the Spirit of Life Church in Powder Springs and serves as a mentor to young adults. 

His hobbies include automobiles and car shows and also boating and fishing when time allows. 

Joseph has three children, Taylor 21, Nevaeh 17, and Liam 9 and enjoys spending time with his family.  He is a Cobb County native and still lives in the South Cobb area where he grew up close to his grandfather Jess.

Sergeant Jared Gunter is a 10 year veteran of law enforcement. First beginning his career with the Paulding Marshals, he later transferred to the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office. He has served in the Uniform Patrol Division, the DUI Task Force and Crime Suppression Unit, and the Office of Professional Standards. He was promoted to Sergeant of the DUI Task Force in 2017, later becoming the Crime Suppression Unit, and now serves in The Office of Professional Standards as the Recruiter and Background Investigator. In addition, he served as a logistical officer for the SWAT Team for 3 years and served on the Honor Guard Team for 6 years.

Sergeant Gunter is most proud of his family. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has two wonderful children. He also serves at New Season Church on The Production Team and leads a Married Families Small Group.

In addition to serving on the Jess Rousey Honoring Heroes Foundation Board, he serves on the Paulding Public Safety Board, and on the Advisory Committee for Chattahoochee Technical College Criminal Justice program.
 

Sergeant Ashley Henson is a lifelong resident of Paulding County.  In 2002, he graduated from the University of West Georgia with a Master of Arts in Sociology with an emphasis on Criminology. He began his career with the Paulding County Sheriff's Office in September of 2002.

After beginning his career with the Paulding County Sheriff's Office as a Jailer he transferred to the Uniform Patrol Division, then was later laterally transferred to the K-9 Division. Sergeant Henson worked K-9 Grep where the two were responsible for locating hundreds of pounds of drugs and numerous criminals.  In January of 2012, he was promoted to Corporal and tasked by Sheriff Gulledge as the full-time Public Information Officer for the Paulding County Sheriff's Office.   In March of 2012, he joined the SWAT Team where he was assigned to the sniper element.  Currently, Sergeant Henson is the sniper team leader where he oversees and directs sniper operations for the SWAT Team.

Sergeant Henson is responsible for being the point of contact between Sheriff Gulledge, the Sheriff's Office, and the community in the media and the public.  Sergeant Henson also maintains the Sheriff's Office Social Media pages and the agency website.  He is also responsible for the creation of the uniform policy as well as the commendation and awards policy at the Sheriff’s Office.  

Sergeant Henson is very active in the community and serves on several boards and organizations including Wellstar Hospital, and Paulding County School district, among others. He is also the 2022 Chairman of  United Way of Pauling County.  

Ashely is married to his college sweetheart Jodie and they have two teenage boys, Asher and Breck. They are members of the Dallas First United Methodist Church.  He enjoys coaching and watching youth sports and spending time with his family. 

Sergeant Thomas LeHolm is a 15-year veteran of the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office and is the Unit Commander of the Department’s Crime Suppression/Traffic Unit. Sergeant LeHolm also aids in the responsibility to coordinate and assist the Department’s Drug Task Force, D.E.A, A.T.F and G.B.I .He served for 5 years on the SWAT team where he received the Commander’s Award in 2013. Outside of his primary duties, he also serves on the Honor Guard and Special Response Team.
 
Sergeant LeHolm is currently enrolled at Columbia Southern University seeking his Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice. He enjoys hunting, fishing, corvettes and playing softball at a competitive level. He also travels the nation doing executive protection during his off time.
 
Sergeant LeHolm is a proud father of 3 boys, Elijah 20, Isaiah 18, and Jayden 11. He was born and raised in Paulding County where he still resides today.   John 15:13