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State Representative Debbie Wood was appointed House Liaison for Member Family Services on March 8. 

Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter made the announcement Wednesday in a press release. During the organizational session this year, the House approved new rules that allowed the speaker to create this position. 

The position provides support to all 105 House members and their families. With the role of state representative comes stress and sacrifice, which the House Liaison will help support.

“He appointed me as the Family Member Services Liaison, which means that I will actually go out and mingle with the members to see if they’re in need of anything, if their family members are experiencing some type of trauma, if there’s any way that we can stay connected when we’re not in session to ensure that the body feels cared for by leadership,” Wood said.

Though the speaker of the house is voted on by the majority, they still speak for the body as a whole, both Democrats and Republicans. 

“This position is not a caucus or a bipartisan position. I think that’s the most important thing,” Wood said. “So I’m actually a liaison for not just the Republicans, but also the Democrats, because the speaker’s the speaker for both.” 

As the Family Member Services Liaison, Wood will be a support system and avenue for communication between house members and leadership. 

“It’s actually a position that takes care of the body. So it’s nonpartisan. It’s an opportunity for us to make sure that we care about each other, regardless of our politics.”

Wood has taken on the role in her second term as state representative. Before being elected, she served on the Chambers County Commission for 16 years. She was the first woman to be elected as a commissioner of Chambers County. 

“It’ll give me an opportunity to love on people and to show that we care about them,” Wood said. “I think this is the perfect role for me.”