Neighborhood Ambassadors
The Neighborhood Ambassadors provide a local presence to the River Line Historic Area nonprofit by serving as a liaison between their respective neighborhood and the 6-mile Historic Area. Neighborhood locations containing historical assets can be found on the Neighborhoods Page
Brookmere
Brookmere West
Farmington
West Village
Buckner Road
Michael A. Jones, Buckner Family Patriarch
Park Avenue Homes
Park Avenue Homes
Providence
Olde Ivy
Woodland Preserve
Riverline Hill
Vinings Cove
The River Line Historic Area, Inc.
A 501c3 IRS approved nonprofit
Board of Directors
Roberta Cook
Executive Director
Board Member
President
Roberta is a land conservation and historic preservation activist who conceived the River Line Historic Area in the year 2000 to balance a development boom in SE Cobb County. The historic area progressed from concept to a working Master Plan with assistance from neighbors, government, land developers, the RLHA Master Plan stakeholders, the Georgia Battlefields Assn., the Sierra Club, a variety of interested parties, and particularly the Mableton Improvement Coalition, Inc.
Julie Schrodt
Community Outreach Board Member Secretary
Julie Schrodt, a 20-year Smyrna resident from Iowa, developed an interest in The River Line Historic Area (RLHA) a couple years ago upon moving to Park Avenue Homes and volunteering at historic Shoupade Park located in her community. Her increasing enthusiasm for local history motivates her to share it with friends, Home Depot colleagues, and expansion of public education through RLHA Community Outreach. Julie thrives outdoors enjoying Georgia PATH trails, parks, festivals, markets, and supports increased land conservation for public use.
Richard Nichols
Board Member Historic Site Preservationist
Ron Wendt
Board Member Shoupade Preservationist
Richard enjoys connecting with historical sites by working with the River Line Historic Area to maintain and preserve them for future generations. Richard grew up in Atlanta enjoying the outdoors, hiking, biking and rafting the Chattahoochee River. He has a lifelong interest in history, especially military history. While attending Mercer University Atlanta for graduate school, a course entitled Civil War History, taught by the late Carroll Gates, ignited his interests in the battlefields and historical locations of that period. Richard imagines how fascinating it must have been for the small, rural populations of Smyrna, Vinings, and Roswell to witness the impact of two armies numbering some 170,000 moving through the local landscape in 1864.
Ron Wendt is a self-taught Chattahoochee River Line Battlefield historian who teaches economics in the International Baccalaureate program at Cobb County Campbell High School. As a lifelong student of history, he began volunteering at historic Shoupade Park in 2025 by clearing excess vegetation from the Civil War fortifications to enhance the park’s visitor experience. This activity led to his appreciation and ongoing preservation of the Shoupades within The River Line Historic Area. Ron engages with the Civil War community as a member of the Cobb County Civil War Round Table and Board Member of the Atlanta Civil War Round Table.
Volunteer Support Staff
Gould Hagler
Chuck Hoskins
Civil War Liaison
Gould Hagler serves as a liaison between his Civil War organizational affiliations and The River Line Historic Area in volunteer recruitment efforts to improve the visitor experience at Shoupade Park . He leads with pruners in hand!
Gould is a member of The Civil War Round Table of Cobb County and the Atlanta Civil War Round Table. In addition, Gould is a past president of the Atlanta Round Table and its official photographer.
Waterways Manager
Chuck credits his neighbor, Wayne Waldrip, for expanding his interests to Civil War history and participation in the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Neighborhood Water Watch Program. As Waterways Manager for The River Line Historic Area, he and his team collect weekly water samples from Nickajack Creek to the Riverkeeper for analysis. Chuck enjoys exploring local trails and is inspired to help preserve nature for future generations.
AFFILIATED SUPPORTERS
Michael K. Shaffer
Civil War Consultant
Michael K. Shaffer is a Civil War historian, newspaper columnist, lecturer, instructor and author of Washington County, Virginia in the Civil War. His memberships include the Society of Civil War Historians, Historians of the Western Theater, and the Georgia Association of Historians.
He serves The River Line Historic Area and The Friends of Camp McDonald as a Civil War consultant. Michael holds a BA and MA degrees in Military History and currently teaches Civil War courses at Kennesaw State University's College of Continuing and Professional Education.
Barry Brown Heritage Tourism Specialist
Barry Brown held the position of Heritage Tourism Specialist with the Georgia Department of Economic Development for 10 years. He received his M.A. in Heritage Preservation and B.A. in History from Georgia State University.
During Mr. Brown's 6 years with the Georgic Civil War Commission, he supported the evolving River Line Historic Area with preservation efforts of Cobb County's Johnston's River Line and other projects such as: Cobb County's Wallis House, Gordon County's Resaca Battlefield acquisition and Fulton County's Cascade/Lionel Hampton Park acquisition. Mr. Brown is the co-author of the recently published Crossroads of Conflict: A Guide to Civil War Sites.