February 4, 2020, The Paulding County Rotary Club welcomed Ann Pennebaker to speak at this week's meeting. Introduced by club member Randy Arrowood, Mrs. Pennebaker is an author and educator turned recovery counselor involved in a local 12 step program fighting the disease of addiction. Mrs. Pennebaker comes from a highly trained and educated background. However, her passion for the fight against addiction is very personal.
Ann Pennebaker is extremely passionate about recovery. She has authored a book entitled "After the Storm" which tells the story of her son's near-fatal accident on the path of addiction, that kindled her faith and set her upon a course against the disease of addiction. She shared this story with the Rotary Club.
Mrs. Pennebaker pursues a practice here in Dallas as an LPC she offers a recovery program. It is a 12 step type of program, requiring participation and work from the enrollee. Mrs. Pennebaker acknowledges a spiritual component that is essential to a lasting recovery. As an outpatient recovery program participants are required to constantly work the program. This is to encourage them to swap their preoccupation with drug dependency with an obsession for recovery. Mrs. Pennebaker offered a call to action in the fight against the drug epidemic sweeping our nation. Without strong communities working together there will be no lasting victory. She offered harsh truths about the realities of addiction and the lengths that are required to save an individual and/or family ensnared. Mrs. Pennebaker supports the efforts of the Paulding County Drug Court and is in contact with the Family Alliance of Paulding Paulding. Additionally, she has reached out to the County education system in the hopes of eventually offering recovery based drug awareness classes for those students to present evidence of drug-related behavior. For more information about the local recovery program please call Ann S. Pennebaker 678-790-5406

Photo: Randy Arrowood, Jackie Crum, Ann Pennebaker, and George Pennebaker

After the Storm
Ann Sullivan Pennebaker, NCC, LPC, is an educator, counselor, mediator, author, lecturer and trainer who specializes in working with people and families who suffer from addictive disease. Ann began her career teaching adolescents with learning disabilities and behavior disorders. She has worked in the technical college/university system and directed a program of peer mediation in the secondary schools.