COBB VETERANS MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
Board of Directors
James d. Bankers
Maj Gen, USAF, Ret.
President & CEO
Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation
Board of Directors
James D. Bankers
Maj Gen, USAF, Ret.
President & Ceo
OVERVIEW
Maj. Gen. Bankers is a veteran of nearly 38 years in the United Air Force. He received his commission as a Second Lieutenant through the ROTC program at North Dakota State University. He is a Command Pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours including 200 combat missions in Southeast Asia flying the A-37. His career included command of two bases and three Airlift Wings to include the operational testing and evaluation of the C-17, the Air Force’s newest airlift aircraft. Other assignments included Chief of Staff/ Assistant Vice Commander, Air Force Reserve Command at Robins AFB, Georgia. He retired as the Commander of 22nd Air Force, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 1999.
EDUCATION, SERVICE AND/OR PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor of Science, North Dakota State University, 1968
- Air Command and Staff College, 1982
- Air War College, 1987
RELEVANT PERSONAL AND/OR COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Since his retirement, Maj. Gen. Bankers has served in a number of positions mostly regarding military and veteran’s issues. He has served as a member of the Georgia Military Affairs Coordinating Committee, Chairman of the Atlanta Regional Military Affairs Council, Military Family Support Center as well as President of the Department of Georgia Reserve Officers Association.
Maj. Gen. Bankers and his wife, Dorothy have made Georgia their home for more than 20 years, the last 18 years in Kennesaw. They have 3 grown children, Stacy, Brad, and Sarah and 6 grandchildren.
It has been my honor and privilege to work with some of the finest people our country has to offer. People, who have, together with their families, volunteered to protect and defend the rest of us. They represent a small percentage of our citizens and yet their service and sacrifice is well out of proportion to their numbers.
It is our honor to be a part of building a lasting and sustainable memorial to the spirit of service and sacrifice of all veterans and their families. We hope you will join us in this effort.
Shelley o'Malley
LCDR, U.S. Navy (USNA ‘87)
Vice President
Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation
Board of Directors
Shelley O’Malley
USN (1987-1997), LCDR
Vice President
OVERVIEW
Shelley has served both as a naval officer and Navy wife, and now has the distinct honor of being a Navy and Marine Corps mom. She received her commission from the United States Naval Academy and served as a Naval Aviator flying the C-2(A) and the C-9 for 10 years. Shelley is currently a pilot for Delta Air Lines and has served as an instructor pilot as well as a pilot mentor during her time with Delta. She has dedicated her life to ensuring the next generation has the tools to be prepared for purposeful lives. Building this memorial takes on special meaning in her desire to not only thank veterans and their families, but also to inspire future generations to lives of service to their community.
Donna Rowe
CPT, Army Nurse Corps
Secretary
Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation
Board of Directors
Donna Rowe
CPT, Army Nurse Corps
Secretary
MILITARY SERVICE
- Entered the US Army in 1964 through the Student Nurse Corps Program (ROTC)
- Commissioned a 2nd Lt. in February 1966
- Basic Training: Fort Sam Houston, Texas
- Assignments:
- Brooke Army Medical Center, Ft. Sam Houston, TX
- Womack Army Hospital, Fort Bragg, N.C.
- DeWitt Army Hospital, Fort Belvoir, VA with attachment to
Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington, D.C. - Vietnam: 3rd Field Hospital, Saigon (Head Nurse, Emergency Room/Triage Area), 1968-1969
- Promoted to Captain June 1968
- Decorations: Vietnam Service Ribbon and the Army Commendation Metal
- Honorable Discharge June 1969
- 1st WOMAN Inductee – GA Military Veterans “HALL OF FAME” – Nov. 2016
PERSONAL
- Widow of Col (Ret.) Al Rowe, (Married in April 1967)
- Mother of a son, Richard and a step-son, John
- Red Cross Nurse 1969-1999 (Served at Womack Army Hospital, DeWitt Army Hospital and South Eastern Disaster Response Center)
- R.N. Volunteer: GA Homeland Security, GA Nurse Alert System (2001-2009)
- Profession: Real Estate Broker (1983-2016) Presently with Coldwell Banker
- 1994 – 2001 Vice President, Buckhead Brokers REALTORS
- 1994 President Cobb County Assoc. of REALTORS
- 1989, 1992, 1997 REALTOR of the YEAR (Cobb)
- 2009 Cobb Association of REALTORS President’s Award
- Member, First United Methodist Church, Marietta
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Donna has served her community in many organizations including: Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross, CASA (Abused Children), GA Regional Transportation Authority, Atlanta Regional Commission (Environmental Collaborative), Fannie Mae (Executive Board), Cobb County Development Authority, various schools’ PTSA, GA Vietnam Veterans Alliance (Director), Cobb County Republican Women’s Club (President 2003), Cobb Assoc. of REALTORS (President 1994), GA Assoc. of REALTORS and the National Assoc. of REALTORS. Donna is featured in “The Kathleen Story” segment of the World Film Festival’s award winning Vietnam War documentary film, In The Shadow of The Blade, which was released on Veterans Day and continues to be shown on the “Military Channel” and the “Discovery Channel”. “The Kathleen Story” segment of this film has been selected by The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. to run during the permanent display of the Vietnam War Exhibit in the American History Museum. Donna has been the Keynote speaker for many important events throughout the United States including the GEMA/FEMA Regional Conference, Lockheed Veterans Dinner, and National Cemetery (Canton) Commemorative Event and was a Program participant at the VIP Veterans Festivities at the Ronald Reagan Library in California.
David Hambrick
Capt. U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.
Treasurer
Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation
Board of Directors
David W. Hambrick
Capt, U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.
Treasurer
OVERVIEW
Dave is a retired combat veteran Marine Corps officer having served 21 years in various commands and post overseas and in CONUS. After his retirement from the Marine Corps he served as Plant Manager at a Cryogenic Vessel manufacturing facility and then served as a division level manager in the Structural Testing Laboratories at Lockheed-Martin Aeronautics Company for over 23 years where he was responsible for the technologists, research mechanics, highly skilled general machinists, welders and instrumentation testing employees for the sophisticated F-22 aircraft at the Marietta site, and the same disciplines for the F-35 aircraft at the Ft Worth, Texas site. He brings to the Board over 50 years of various levels of management experience.
EDUCATION, SERVICE AND/OR PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
Dave holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Management with post graduate studies in Operations Management and is a Certified Manager from James Madison University in Virginia.
RELEVANT PERSONAL AND/OR COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Dave is of Scot/Irish and Cherokee descent and he, his beautiful wife Gail of 46 years, reside in Marietta and they have one son Matt (33) who resides in Columbus, OH. They have lived in the Marietta area for over 40 years. Their son Matt attended Sprayberry High School and is a graduate of the University of West Georgia.
Over the past ten (10) years Dave has been actively involved with many of the State and County veteran organizations.As one of the founding members of the Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation he is a strong believer that the tens of thousands of Cobb Veterans need, want and certainly rate a first class memorial to be used as “their” place of respect for the multitude of sacrifices that they, and their families, have experienced for their steadfast service to this county, the state, and the United States of America.
Recently when talking to a veteran of Cobb County, and discussing this memorial he was asked “Why did it take so long”? And for that, Dave had no answer, so it is time to correct this wrong, and make things right! This is just one way, the right way, to simply say “Thank You”.
Robert T. Morgan
SGT, U.S. Army
Board Member
Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation
Board Member
Robert T. Morgan
SGT, U.S. Army
Board Member
OVERVIEW
Bob is a native Georgian. He has traveled to many states and countries but has lived in Georgia, except for 1966 -1967, when he served in the military. He had three duty stations: Basic Training at Fort Benning, Georgia; Advanced Training at the Armor School at Fort Knox, Kentucky; and the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam. In Vietnam he was assigned to a tank company where he served as a tank crewman. After his discharge Bob enrolled in college taking advantage of the GI Bill to help with the expenses. Upon graduating with a BBA in accounting he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and then to Cobb County to practice his profession. He has provided accounting services, tax preparation, and financial consulting to clients in the automotive, banking, construction, and manufacturing industry, as well as providing tax advice to countless individual clients.
EDUCATION, SERVICE AND/OR PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
BBA Accounting Georgia Southern, 1970
Received CPA certificate, 1973
Member American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Member Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants
Member of the North Atlanta Chapter of Certified Public Accountants
Relevant Personal and / Or Community Activities Information
- Charter member and member of Board of Directors of the North Atlanta Chapter of Certified Public Accountants
- Treasurer and member of the original Board of Directors of the Southwest Cobb Youth Soccer Association
- Board of Directors of Calvary Children’s Home
- President of the Cheatham Hill Farms Home Owner’s Association
- Distinguished President of Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club
- Campaign Treasurer for candidate and Congressman Phil Gingrey
- Campaign Treasurer for Cobb County Commission Chairman and Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens
- Vice Chairman of Development Authority of Cobb County
- Treasurer and member of Board of Directors of Franklin Gateway Community
Improvement District - Managing Partner of the Accounting Firm Cerqueda, Morgan, & Collins –
Established in Marietta, GA in 1952
Bob is married to Toria Estes Morgan from Waycross, Georgia. They have lived in Cobb County since 1970 and have two children — Paige and Rob. They also have one grandchild, Thai Johnson, who is a student at Columbus College. Bob enjoys traveling, fishing, hiking, and gardening.
Kathy M. Collar
Widow, U.S. Army
Board Member
Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation
Board Member
Kathy mchugh collar
Widow, U.S. Army
Board Member
Kathy was an Army Wife for 47 years married to LTC (Ret) Roy A. Collar. Kathy worked in various positions for the Army in Turkey, Alaska, Hawaii and finished her 30-year career as the Executive Administrative Officer for the Director, Information Management, Headquarters Army Reserve Command, Fort McPherson, Georgia.
Kathy remains active in the community and is currently Executive Assistant for the Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation and continues to be the secretary for the Georgia Vietnam Veterans’ Alliance, Chapter One. Kathy resides in Kennesaw and has a son and four grandchildren.
Curtis Williams
Maj Gen USAF, Ret.
Board Member
Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation
Board of Directors
Curtis L. Williams
Maj Gen, USAF, Ret.
Board Member
OVERVIEW
Curtis Williams has been a member of the Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation Board since October 2019. He is a retired Major General having spent over 40 years in the United States Air Force with service in both Active Duty and the Reserves. Most of his experience is in the Logistics, Civil Engineering, Maintenance, and Planning career fields. He has been a Commander multiple times and served both stateside and overseas. His last assignment was as the Deputy Director for Political-Military Affairs for Africa Strategy on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, Washington DC.
He holds a Bachelors Degree in Criminology from Saint Leo College, Florida and a Masters in Public Administration from San Angelo State University, Texas. He is also a Post Graduate of Executive Leadership Programs from the Maxwell School of Public Policy, Syracuse University, New York; Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, Virginia; and the LogTech Executive Program, Ken-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
He is active in the community through volunteer work and community social organizations and associations.
General Williams and his wife Ramona reside in Acworth, Georgia. They have four grown children, Damon, Chanel, Radaja, and Khala. They are the proud grandparents of 11 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.
General and Mrs. Williams are excited and thrilled to be a part of an initiative that both honors and recognizes the contributions and sacrifices of Veterans and their families.
Executive Director
Dan Valentine
LTC, U.S. Army, Ret.
Executive Director
Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation
Executive Director
Dan Valentine
LTC, U.S. Army, Ret.
Executive Director
Lieutenant Colonel Dan Valentine (retired) is a veteran of 25 years in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve. Commissioned as a second lieutenant from the University of Georgia, Dan was an infantry officer for three years before attending flight school and becoming an army aviator. After seven years on active duty, he transitioned to the U.S. Army Reserve and served for the next 18 years in various aviation assignments including commander of the 145th Air Ambulance Company (medevac) at Dobbins ARB.
Dan has lived in Marietta for 37 years, has been married to his awesome wife, Lindy, for 30 years with whom he has two grown daughters. For most of that time he worked as a sales executive at corporate technology firms. Most recently, he was the Director of Development for Veterans Empowerment Organization (VEO), a non-profit that helps homeless veterans. During this time, he has also been very active in a number of different non-profit/volunteer activities in the community. Dan had the privilege of leading several teams from his church to New Orleans to help local residents recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. He also was a co-founder of a 501(c)(3), IMPACT!, that was a forum for informing Marietta citizens of issues, elected official stances and options for action.
Dan believes that his life consists of three laps. The first lap was military service, the second lap was corporate sales and the third lap is giving back. In being the Executive Director of the Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation, he wants to make sure that ALL veterans and their families know that the Cobb community understands and appreciates what they did to secure the freedoms, security and prosperity we enjoy in America today.
.