Join us Saturday morning February 22, 2025 at 10:30am at Ridge Ferry Park near the ECO Center for the annual Heart of the Community Heart Walk presented by AdventHealth Redmond and our friends at TRED of Rome/Floyd County! Take a heart-healthy walk or bike ride along the AdventHealth Redmond ECO Greenway. We will even have a craft station for kids to enjoy. This fun family event is FREE and open to the public – rain or shine. Grab your friends and enjoy a heart-healthy morning as we celebrate our 2025 Heart of the Community Award recipients and Grant recipients!
Marquita Levette Wright-Davis – Award of Honor
Marquita Levette Wright-Davis is a passionate community leader, activist, educator, and advocate committed to education, mentorship, and social justice. She has been married to Phillip Davis for 17 years, and they are the proud parents of three children: Diella, Kingston, and Caleb. Marquita holds two degrees in Computer and Information Technology and has earned eight certifications in the field, showcasing her commitment to lifelong learning and professional growth. She is the owner and founder of 4D Computer Repairs, a business that provides free repair services to nonprofits and churches, and she uses her technical expertise to support several churches and nonprofits with complimentary web design and social media assistance. She currently also serves as an Administrative Assistant at the Rome Transitional Academy of Rome City Schools.
Outside of her professional endeavors, Marquita enjoys writing poetry, singing, and youth empowerment. Guided by her faith, she believes that everyone has a God-given purpose. She strives to fulfill her mission with heart and spirit, making a positive impact on her community.
• Received a grant from the South Rome Alliance to strengthen the community through free tutoring services, which led to the establishment of the South Rome Free Tutoring Program, offering free tutoring for Rome City School students in kindergarten through 12th grade
• South Rome Community Association – Secretary
• Rome NAACP – Executive Board Member and Youth Advisor
• A Voice for Votes (non-partisan organization) – Chair of campaign to advocate for voter education and engagement
• AIM at Main Mentorship Program – Co-Founder of the program, providing additional support and guidance to students
• One Community United – member
• Volunteer with local political parties assisting both state and local candidates
• Testimony Board Ministries (non-profit organization) – Founder and Director sharing testimonies, resources, and spiritual beliefs while highlighting areas of community support for families
• REACH Ministries/Bloodline Believers – Volunteer
• Healing Scars with Scarves – Volunteer crocheting hats for those in need
• iFocus Mentoring Program – Secretary and Volunteer for 3 years
• Keion Harper Foundation (non-profit organization against gun violence) – Volunteer
• Collaborates with organizations including One Community United and the Rome NAACP to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in Rome
• Recognized in 2024 by the Floyd County Board of Commissioners during Black History Month for her significant contributions to our community
Mimi Weed – Award of Honor
Mimi Wood Weed is the co-owner of mel&mimi. A Rome native, Mimi is a graduate of Coosa High School. She was married to the love of her life, Robert Weed, for 19 years until his death in October 2014. Family is everything to Mimi. She remains very close with her stepsons and their wives, Marc and Jackie, Stephen and Sherry, and her grandchildren, Christian and Marshall. Also close to Mimi’s heart are her mother, Teresa Martens Dulaney, and sisters Tessa Davis and husband Steve and nephew Adam (Virginia), and Anna Ward Martens and nephew Lester (Atlanta). In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and finding new experiences and adventures with dear friends, as well as fashion- naturally!
• Friends of the Marshall Forest (Board Member)
• Annual Robert Weed Memorial Marshall Forest Walk (partnership with The Nature Conservancy and Federated Garden Clubs of Georgia, 10th Walk/2024)
• Rome Area Heritage Foundation (Board Member)
• Cancer Navigators (Board Member)
• Rome Celebrity Dance Challenge 2023 (Winner, People’s Choice/Fundraising for Sexual Assault Center of Northwest Georgia)
• Brighter Birthdays Dessert Challenge 2022 (mel&mimi Winner, Fundraising)
• Keep Rome Floyd Beautiful (mel&mimi adopt a mile)
• Historic Desoto Theatre Foundation/ An Evening on the Runway (mel&mimi)
• Rome Symphony Debutante Ball (past Board member/ Fundraising)
• Floyd Chamber of Commerce (small business events)
• Relay for Life (Board Member/ Organizing Survivor’s Dinner hosted by Harbin Oncology)
• Open Door Home (past Board member)
• Junior Service League (past member/Fundraising for Chieftains Museum and other local nonprofits)
• Heart of the Community (former member/Board of Governors)
Dave Roberson – Award of Honor
Dave Roberson comes from a family of public servants: father, Lonzo Roberson – Deputy Chief Rome Police Department; brother, Brad Roberson – Deputy Chief Rome Fire Department; and cousin, Brandon Roberson – Sergeant, Georgia Northwestern Technical College. Dave Roberson was elected as Sheriff of Floyd County in 2020 and was recently re-elected to his second term effective January 2025. He has 30 years of continuous service with the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office.
• Certified as a jail officer, peace officer, general instructor, and crisis intervention training (CIT) instructor through the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council (P.O.S.T.)
• 2022 Georgia Department of Community Supervision Public Stakeholder Award
• 2018 Greater Rome Convention & Visitors Bureau Superstar of Service
• 2005 Field Services Deputy of the Year
• Graduate, Leadership Rome Class of XXXVI
• Member, Coosa Valley Fraternal Order of Police
• Board of Directors, Community Criminal Justice Foundation
• Board of Directors, Sexual Assault Center of NWGA
• Board of Directors, Harbor House Child Advocacy Center
• Board of Directors, Blood Assurance Rome
• Board of Directors, Vital Grace
• Advisory Board Member, NextDoor at LivingProof Recovery
• Committee Member, Walk to End Alzheimer’s (Rome)
• Member, Noon Optimist Club
• Member, Exchange Club of Rome
• Volunteer, Rome GA Cares Disaster Relief Efforts
• Volunteer, Rome-Floyd Parks & Recreation Challenger Baseball & Basketball Leagues
• Volunteer, Special Olympics of Georgia
• Floyd County Sherriff’s Office Community Programs: Sheriff Santa, Santa for Seniors, and F.R.E.E.D.
• Past Mentor, Rome Middle School Habitudes Program
• Contestant, 2017 Rome Celebrity Dance Challenge
Virginia Barrow Harman – Award of Honor
Virginia Barrow Harman is a Senior Partner at McRae, Smith, Peek, Harman & Monroe LLP. Virginia is widowed, having lost her beloved husband and high-school sweetheart, Tracy, to cancer. She has three children – Ginni Poole of Rome, Kate Harman of Rome, and Billy Harman of Key West, Florida. Her grandchildren are Evan and Ella, who attend Rome City Schools. Virginia cares deeply about access to justice for all of the communities of Rome and Floyd County, and the environment in which they live. She has handled countless pro bono matters, particularly as they relate to the cleanliness of our rivers. Overs the years, Virginia has served our community through her volunteerism with multiple organizations.
• Served as Chair of the Board of the local chapter of the American Red Cross
• Served on the Capital Fund Raising Committee for the Salvation Army local facility expansion
• Serviced on the Planned Giving Committee for the Floyd Healthcare Foundation
• Served on the Board of Harbor House
• Served as co-host for the annual Pig and Paddle event for many years, benefitting the Coosa River Basin Initiative
• Long-time member of the Coosa River Basin Initiative
• Served the Georgia and Rome Bar Association as an officer of the Rome Bar, helping for many years to provide a local, free legal clinic for U.S. veterans
• Served as a member of the State Bar of Georgia’s Disciplinary Board’s Review and Investigatory Pannels
• Served as a member of the Committee on Lawyer Assistance Program for attorneys facing mental health crises and/or substance abuse issues.
• Assisted Dr. Matt Mumber in creating the legal framework for the organization which has grown over the decades into what we now know as Cancer Navigators, Inc.
• Served as a long time Cancer Navigators, Inc. Board Member, general counsel, as well as two terms as Chair of the Board
• Dedicated to the effort of assisting cats and dogs in animal shelters, particularly in rural shelters with few resources.
• Since 2017, transported over 300 dogs and cats to rescues all over the southeast and has been a part of relay transports to relocate dogs and cats all over the country to adopters and licensed rescue.
• Member of the Board of Trustees of The Georgia Conservancy since 2018, serving as Chair of the Board of Trustees for two years ending this past June 30th. She will finish this year serving on the Board as Immediate Past Chair and a member of the Executive Committee.
Lynn Green – Award of Honor
Lynn Green is Graduate of Michigan State University with a BS in Park, Recreation, and Tourism Resources. In 2002, she was hired as a case manager for the Division of Family & Children Services in Floyd County. She currently works as the Child Welfare Program Director for DFCS, serving six counties in northwest Georgia, and is the founding President of PFLAG Rome.
• Georgia Professional Human Services Association (GPHSA) Vice President 2020 – 2022
• GPHSA Foundation President 2018 – present
• Technology Committee Chair 2018 – present
• National Child Welfare Workforce Institute Leadership Coach 2020 – present
• Child Welfare Information Gateway Peer Reviewer
• DHS leadership Academy Graduate, UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government June 2014
• Leadership Rome participant – Class of 42
• PFLAG Rome GA – Founder/President 2021 – present
• PFLAG National Chapter of the Year nominee, 2023
• Best of Rome – Rome Pride (Best Local Event) October 2022
