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Wlaf1450A NOTE FROM THE GRAND ON CENTRAL: “There is so much good going on in our community, and I want to share all this good with you every Monday here on WLAF in hopes that you will start your week in a grand way making each week a Grand Week,” said Olivia Lobertini, owner of The Grand on Central.
BY CHARLOTTE UNDERWOOD
CAMPBELL COUNTY, TN (WLAF)- The Children’s Center CEO celebrates 30 years.
“Service above Self” is a way of life for Campbell County Children’s Center CEO Tracie Davis who celebrated 30 years with the non-profit organization last week.
She credits God with placing her on the right path and making a way for her and others to help the children in Campbell, Union and Claiborne Counties, which is the region that the Children’s Center serves. On a yearly basis, the center serves hundreds of the some of the most vulnerable children within the communities.
Davis said helping children has been a life-long calling of hers and that she could not have served in her many roles over the years without God and the aid of others who also believe in serving the children.
“The center used to be in Hack Ayers old office, and when I walked in the center, I truly believed it was a calling, I just knew I was supposed to be there, I took a pay cut to accept the job, but it had my heart. I didn’t know what all they did, I just knew I wanted to be a part of making a difference in the lives of children. I knew I wanted to be a part of it and that it was going to be an awesome resource for the community,” Davis said.
Over the past 30 years, Davis has “done a little bit of everything” at the center.
She began her career in 1996 at what was formally known as REACHS and is now known as Community Health of East Tennessee, CHET. The Children’s Center did not yet exist. Davis was hired part-time doing accounting.
“I did filing and assisted with payroll, I had my son, who was a year old at the time and then fast forward to 2001, I had my second son and had been on maternity leave and when the Children’s Center opened, there was an administrative person/prevention coordinator and I applied for that and that’s when I went to the center, but at that time, the Children’s Center was under the umbrella of REACHS,” Davis said.
When she started, she answered phones, did scheduling and then that is also when the prevention program at the elementary schools started. Davis was the first “prevention coordinator.”
Paul Phillips, the District Attorney General, actually gave me a box with posters and a curriculum, I had a tape recorder and a puppet and they said this is your job and you have got to make it work and I loved it, so I went to all the area Campbell County Schools and did prevention,” Davis said.
A few years later, Wanda Snodgrass was Davis’s executive director, and they were given the task to do the domestic violence center, along with the child advocacy center at REACHS.
“We would tag team that. Wanda decided to go back to school to teach and at that time, I was promoted to Executive Director and then in 2007, then Children’s Center became its own non-profit,” Davis said.
“Cindy Nance was the CEO over REACHS back in the day, and she gave me an opportunity that I wouldn’t have otherwise had, I wasn’t the most qualified, but I can outwork about anybody, I will hang in there, but at the time I didn’t have a college degree, I had not completed my bachelor’s degree yet. They allowed me to be a director as long as I signed a contract that I would complete my degree in a certain amount of time,” Davis said.
At that time, she had two kids of her own, two stepchildren, she worked full time at the child advocacy center and domestic violence center and “attended school full time”.
“It was just the grace of God, because I believe he honors hard work and that is what really got me through it. There were many nights I would be holding my youngest typing at midnight, crying and typing away. I was tired, I had classes in Oak Ridge, I knew if I pushed my way, He would honor my effort and he did. Through the years, God has really blessed me with good people in my life, with our board, with our community. We truly are a blessed community, there are so many good people that believe in our mission and not just our mission, but the mission of the community, the need and the willingness to step up,” Davis said.
Another “blessing” is her staff at the Children’s Center, which consists of six individuals.
These include Chief Financial Officer Tanya Duncan, Office Operations/Public Relations Manager Melissa Cain, Victim Advocate and Case Manager Maggie Inscho, Forensic Interviewer Megan Brown, Licensed Professional Counselor-Clinic Supervisor Pamela Jines and Prevention Coordinator, Compliance Jennifer Smith.
“The majority of my staff has been there 15-plus years and so, we are small in number, but our relationships are strong. Those ladies have helped make this work, I couldn’t do this without them, I am just one person, without all of us working together, we couldn’t do what we do; we all have a heart for what we do that complements one another,” Davis said.
She said her whole experience has been a learning opportunity.
“I have had such good support, Shirley Rogers, Ed Wheeler, so many good people that helped mold me and lead me and guide me. We had gone from being under a large umbrella agency to being on our own. It was a great learning experience, and I am very thankful to be given that opportunity. I truly believe that God can take the least, I was the least deserving, had the least knowledge, but He knew my heart and He knew I was willing to learn and work for and He placed really good people in my path,” Davis said.
The Campbell County Children’s Center provides multiple services to the three-county area that it serves including forensic interviews, mental health programs, relatives raising relatives, victim advocacy, and medical programs, along with others. In 2025-2026, the Campbell County Children’s Center provided 2,482 services for some of the most vulnerable children in Campbell, Claiborne and Union Counties.
The center has also recently expanded its school-based prevention into all three counties.
More expansion is on the horizon for the Children’s Center.
“We are looking at adding a couple of positions in the future because what we have realized as the grants fluctuate over the years, we tend to take on more responsibilities and with that we have not been able to fully meet the need. Moving forward, we need some help, there is only eight of us and so at the last board meeting, the board voted to bring in some additional positions,” Davis said.
One of the programs that will expand is the Relatives raising Relatives program.
“There is so much need for an expansion of service in that area, there are so many relatives raising kids. People need direction, they need resources and there is nobody better to provide that than Maggie, she does that well. Every time Maggie (Inscho) goes to court she comes back with four or five new clients, so, my goal is to lighten the load for some of my folks so they can focus on their niche and nobody knows the community like she does and the community loves her and she does a great job, all of the staff does phenomenal. So what I want to do is strengthen our current programs and expand with others so we can further meet the need,” Davis said.
Her hope is to “expand the mental health services, as well as expand the victim advocacy and forensic interview programs because the need is there.”
Another positive for the county is the center will be expanding mental health services to schools in the fifth district. Davis said that starting this fall, the Children’s Center will be providing some mental health services in the fifth district to “those rural mountain schools that don’t have anybody up there.”
“Our therapist is going to do a six-week curriculum with some kids in a group to meet that need, so those kids don’t have to come across the mountain for that program,” Davis said.
What moves her the most about her job is the many successes with the kids.
“I still see several of those kids in the community today and if they acknowledge me then you bet, I am going to acknowledge them … I was to dinner recently over the weekend, and I passed a table and a young lady, one of the first kids that I worked with, back when my boys were young, it was a horrific case out of another county and they ended up here. She stood up and hugged me, she is an adult now and has children and that’s to me, worth every bit of it, it just blesses my heart. I mentored them, took those kids to Bible School, ball games, I have just always had a heart for kids and God has just always placed those in my life and I just have always embraced it,” Davis said.
A NOTE FROM THE GRAND ON CENTRAL: “There is so much good going on in our community, and I want to share all this good with you every Monday here on WLAF in hopes that you will start your week in a grand way making each week a Grand Week,” said Olivia Lobertini, owner of The Grand on Central.
For bookings, email Olivia Lobertini at ohlobertini03@gmail.com. Check on avails HERE. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-07/06/2026-6AM)