Farewell issued to family violence chief

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

When victims of domestic violence needed help, Bonnie Campbell has been there.

For the past two years, Campbell has counseled victims, helped them get protective orders and arranged emergency shelter through her position as executive director of the Fayette County Council on Domestic Violence. Previously, she helped victims navigate the court system at the Fayette County Solicitor-General’s office for four years.

But Friday was Campbell’s last day on the job, as she is getting married and moving to California.

At a meeting of the family violence task force for the Griffin Judicial Circuit, Superior Court Judge Tommy Hankinson said Campbell played an integral role in helping start up the task force.

If it weren’t for Campbell, “the task force as we know it certainly wouldn’t exist,” Hankinson said. “I think we owe her a great deal of appreciation for all her work and effort. She has done a wonderful job.”

Campbell said she will miss the area greatly but noted that it takes “a whole community ... to work together to stop domestic violence.”

“I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to work with you all,” Campbell said.

Campbell was presented with a framed drawing of the Fayette County Justice Center as a going-away present.

“We hope when you put that on the wall in California,” the judge said, before Campbell good-naturedly cut him off and replied: “That the earthquake won’t knock it down!”

Campbell introduced her replacement as executive director of the council: Sonja Strickland, who was recently executive director for Fayette Youth Protection Homes, Inc.

Strickland has trained with Campbell for two weeks and will take over the position full-time.