Beech Tree News Network

Marty and GeorgeAnn Treece were named the Adoptive Family of the Year for 2012 for the Two Rivers Region. They were recognized at an Adoption Reception in Frankfort on November 1, 2012.  November is adoption awareness month. 

Marty and GeorgeAnn live in Edmonson County in Smiths Grove. They have four biological children and eight adoptive children. 

They were approved as foster and adoptive family in 1994; they adopted one child in May 2003, a sibling group of two in June 2004 and another child in October 2008.  They decided to close their foster/adoptive home in November 2008.  They had kept in contact with the birth mother of the sibling group of two over the years and one day the birth mother called her to tell her that her four children were placed in foster care.  Marty and GeorgeAnn contacted the office as this sibling group of four are biological siblings to the two children they already adopted.  They were very eager to help this family and drove several counties to complete the PS MAPP classes again even though DCBS could not guarantee that these children would be placed with them. 

They were reapproved as foster/adoptive parents in May 2009.  They were also approved as a medically fragile foster home in September 2010 as one of the children had been deemed medically fragile.  The children were not placed in their home as a foster care placement until March 2011 and they were adopted by Marty and GeorgeAnn in July 2011. 

I have worked with Marty and GeorgeAnn for several years and they took these children in their home because they love them and want to provide a safe nurturing home for them.  They know that birth family connections are important to the children and they try to maintain that connections even after the adoption if it is in the best interest of the children.  In this case, they fought hard and long for this sibling group of four and were willing to do whatever the Department wanted them to do.  They had a lot of patience with the Department and other community partners because they knew that the children needed to live with their siblings.  Both Marty and GeorgeAnn worked in partnership with each other when the four children came to their home because that made a total of ten children in their home.  They bought a 15 passenger van so they could all ride together.  They would take the children out to eat, shopping or to the park just like any family.  They will admit that they did have people staring at them when they would go out.  When I would make home visits to the Treece’s home, it was not chaotic or wild but rather organized and calm. All of the children appeared to get along great with one another which I witnessed each time I visited with the family.  Marty and GeorgeAnn worked with the therapist weekly for the children as the three older children had several behavior issues. However several months after the adoption the children no longer required counseling any more.  The Treece’s are amazing people with a HUGE heart for children and our agency was so lucky to have had adoptive parents like them. 

They did close their foster/adoptive home in August 2011 and GeorgeAnn keeps me updated on the children through email and pictures. 

If you would like to be a foster or adoptive family or would like more information, please contact Michaelle Johnson at 270-526-3833, classes will begin on January 10th 2013.