A.D.V.A.N.C.E. Officers

Lieutenant Gene Joy is the Director of School-Based Programs, Bike Patrol, and Community Outreach for the Honorable Sheriff Steve Cronic. Mr. Joy is one of the founding members of the D.A.R.E. program at the Hall County Sheriff's Office serving over 40,000 children with the D.A.R.E. curriculum. In addition to his role as D.A.R.E. instructor Mr. Joy has served as President of the Georgia D.A.R.E. Officers’ Association and additional Executive Board positions since 1994.

Mr. Joy founded and developed Hall County's version of the ADVANCE ™ program after adopting the innovative curriculum from Gwinnett County. In addition, Mr. Joy founded and developed the ADVANCE Summer Camp program that has reached over 2500 special children in Hall County.

Mr. Joy is a graduate Cum Laude of Shorter College in Rome, Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Management. Mr. Joy also holds a Master of Arts Degree in Leadership from Shorter College. In addition to his college degrees, Mr. Joy has over 2000 hours of law enforcement training to include the National Incident Management Systems training.

Mr. Joy is an Honorably Discharged Veteran from the United States Army, and is a licensed helicopter pilot.

In his free time Mr. Joy enjoys spending quality time with his son Gene III who is a junior at Gainesville State College. Mr. Joy enjoys reading about U.S. history, writing, and has played drums since the age of five.

Kenny Lane has been assigned to the A.D.V.A.N.C.E. ™ Training Staff since 1996. He began his career in the A.D.V.A.N.C.E. ™ unit as a D.A.R.E. Instructor attending the D.A.R.E. training academy in Georgia. Sergeant Lane is a graduate of North Hall High School and currently serves as Supervisor of the A.D.V.A.N.C.E. Training Staff. In addition to his supervision duties, Sergeant Lane also facilitates the A.D.V.A.N.C.E. curriculum in several schools in Hall County. Sergeant Lane resides in Gainesville, Georgia, with his wife Kim, who is a ICU Registered Nurse at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. Kenny and Kim have two children Mason and Madison and are members of Yellow Creek Baptist Church in Murrayville, Georgia.

Don Parrish has been assigned to the ADVANCE ™ Training Staff since 1999. He began his career in the ADVANCE ™ unit as a D.A.R.E. Instructor attending the D.A.R.E. training academy in Florida. Sergeant Parrish holds an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Gainesville State College and is a P.O.S.T. (Peace Officer Standards and Training) Instructor. Mr. Parrish currently serves as an ADVANCE Instructor with the unit. Raised in Gainesville, Georgia, Sergeant Parrish lives with his wife Jennifer, an elementary school teacher, and his two sons Jacob and Eli. Sergeant Parrish is an active member of the Browns Bridge Community Church in Forsyth County.

AnMarie is originally from Puerto Rico and has lived in Hall County for five years. AnMarie can read and write in Spanish and speaks the language fluently. This will certainly be a blessing to our language challenged students. AnMarie has been happily married to her husband Jose for twenty four years and they have two beautiful children. She has been employed with the Sheriff’s Office since 2007, and is Georgia POST certified. She is currently being trained to facilitate the ADVANCE curriculum and we are extremely excited to have her on our team.

Tim Davidson has been assigned to the ADVANCE ™ Training Staff since 2011. He began his career in the ADVANCE ™ unit as a D.A.R.E. Instructor in 2000 attending the D.A.R.E. training academy in Macon, Georgia. Sergeant Davidson holds an Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from The University of Georgia. Mr. Davidson currently serves as an ADVANCE Instructor with the unit. Raised in Gainesville, Georgia, Sergeant Davidson lives with his wife Christy an Administrative Assistant at Flowery Branch High School, and his two sons.