Retiring Tri-County Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Executive Director Shellie Holmes, left and incoming director Angie Fanning share a moment at Holmes’ farewell party Friday. Star Journal photo

Shellie Holmes looks back at accomplishments, changes through the years

RHINELANDER – The well-known philosopher and children’s book character Winnie-the-Pooh once said, “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

After nearly 19 years with the Tri-County Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, 16 of them as executive director, Shellie Holmes may be sharing Pooh’s sentiments as she prepares for retirement. Holmes was the honored guest at a farewell party at the Oneida County Law Enforcement Center and reflected on the past almost two decades she spent at the agency.

“I will definitely miss the people I work with; they are such an awesome group of people,” said Holmes. “They are so dedicated and so committed to the work, the victims and survivors and to each other.”

Holmes began working as a sexual assault and domestic violence advocate in 2004, and was hired as the agency’s executive director two-and-a-half years later. She had worked in management from the time she was young when Holmes helped with the family business. But this was different.

“It was a big job, a very big undertaking, especially in this field where you’re dealing with trauma and crisis and all of the reporting to state and federal funders,” Holmes said. “It was a pretty big learning curve at first, but it all comes together.”

Much has changed at Tri-County Council on DVSA since 2006. The offices and the shelter were located in separate locations. Domestic violence and sexual assault and the agency’s mission were less understood than it is today.

“In the beginning the previous director had begun working on a lot of protocols, especially with Oneida County Sheriff’s Office and the DA’s office about, how can we help make things better for victims? How does our work differ in the understanding of the dynamics of what’s happening with victims that we work with as how law enforcement works with them and sees them,” Holmes said. “So, there’s been a lot of education on both sides on understanding victims, both domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as how we can work better together to benefit the victims and our communities.”

Eight years ago the agency’s offices and the shelter were brought together under one roof and the shelter was named Lily’s House, after longtime advocate Lily Kongslien.

“That was probably the biggest accomplishment – biggest physical accomplishment – that we can point to and say, ‘we did this.’ We are very proud of that,” Holmes said.

“The other accomplishments are seeing our survivors thrive when they go through our programs, whether it’s coming out of shelter or going to support group or working with an advocate. Seeing them thrive is a real testament to the work of the advocates and the longevity of the agency,” she added.

Finally, Holmes said she is proud of the many people who worked for the agency and moved on to other positions.

“I know they learned a lot here, they contributed a lot here, and they are able to go out and do good in the world, I think, because of the things they learned here and gifts that bring and the skills that they bring here are so important.”

Holmes will stay on staff for another month to assist in transitioning the new executive director. Angie Fanning, current legal advocate and former domestic violence and sexual assault advocate for Tri-County Council, has been working with Holmes for the last eight months, preparing to step into the new role.

“She has already shown great leadership skills and ability to think clearly in the crisis situations we deal with every day,” said Holmes. “I’m so proud of Angie, excited for her as she takes this next step in her career and confident that the agency will continue to thrive under her leadership.”

Saying it has taken the entire year to wrap her head around the concept of retirement, Holmes currently has no concrete plans to fill her empty schedule. Holmes said she enjoys being at home and plans to resume playing the piano, read and knit more and spend more time with people she hasn’t had a lot of time with in the last few years.