Photos Courtesy of Mark Wohlander

Topsail Island, NC - Mark Wohlander is a special guy, really special.  He’s not only a talented photographer, but a Topsail Island enthusiast who spends much of his time off enjoying the activities, sights, and sounds of the island.  His sister and brother-in-law love the island, too, so much so that they bought a vacation house to share with close family; particularly Mark, his wife, Sheri, and their children, of which they are graciously thankful.

Turning a passion into profit is usually the main objective of any extracurricular activity and Mark is a step ahead of most.  His work is gaining notoriety daily.  His picture book about Topsail Island, "Beach Signs", is full of pictures of local house signs and is available in beach shops on the island and through the website, www.topsail-island.info, in the iMall section.

"Beach Signs .  .  . Topsail Island, North Carolina" was an idea he came up with on one of his trips to Topsail Island earlier this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

                  (Above) Mark's Book "Beach Signs…Topsail Island, North Carolina"

“As I looked at all of the new beach houses being built on the island, I discovered that most of the houses lacked the magic of a beach sign which once provided just a clue as to the identity of the owner of the house,” says Mark.  “As I later explored the island, I discovered a treasure trove of beach signs which many visitors rarely have an opportunity to enjoy.  In order to carry on this wonderful piece of Americana, I decided to capture and preserve them.”

Mark’s not, however, doing it all for himself.  On the contrary, he is on a mission. A mission that is tied to his past and forges his future.

Mark started his professional career as a law clerk before being picked for the FBI, where he spent many years as a special agent chasing fugitives and investigating the usual bank robberies, extortions, and kidnappings.  After completing his training in Quantico, Virginia, he was assigned to the Violent Crimes Squad in Dallas, Texas.

He excelled in all aspects throughout his career, but there is one particular subject that Mark has a big spot for in his heart—children.  In 1985, he was chosen as the lead investigator in obscenity and child exploitation investigations for the Dallas office of the FBI.  This assignment lead him to become involved in working with the Dallas Police Department’s “Crimes Against Children” Unit, implementing one of the nation’s first on-line undercover sting operation targeting child pornography and child exploitation.

“More than twenty years ago, as an FBI special agent in Dallas, Texas, I worked the streets investigating crimes against children and adult obscenity cases.  What I experienced day in and day out was young women and girls being exploited,” Mark explains.  “Each day my heart would break knowing that many of these women would likely never experience the joy of life as a wife and mother.”

Because of Mark’s experiences as a special agent, and his compassion for the victims, he committed to do everything possible to protect them.

“I would have never imagined that anyone would be capable of perpetrating the crimes that I witnessed committed against children, “he sadly remarks.

After leaving the FBI, he ultimately accepted a position with the United States Attorney’s Office as federal prosecutor in Lexington, Kentucky, where he currently works.  Following up on his fervor for protecting women and children who are victims of sexual exploitation, he worked to establish a network of law enforcement officers who would work exclusively on crimes against children. 

With dedicated members of the law enforcement community and local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies working together, Kentucky established the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which also established a multi-disciplinary approach to making sure the victims and their families would still be cared for after their intervention.

“We wanted to ensure the victims were not lost in the system,” says Mark.  “We wanted to ensure that, even after the case was closed, the victims were still being cared for.”

                                                                                              Mark and Sheri Wohlander

Realizing that many women and children simply have no place to go if they wanted to to start a new life, Mark was led to the Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky, where he found others who share his passion to help women and their children to establish a new life.  Through their efforts, “Refuge for Women” is in the making and scheduled to be formerly announced by the end of the year. 

“Refuge for Women is still a work in progress,” says Mark.  “We already have a weekly ministry for women, but we are still a few months away from actually having a facility for women.  The Refuge will provide free health care, prescriptions, and other miscellaneous needs to the community.”

Mark plans to use his passion for photography to help raise money for the Refuge. His goal is “to use my gift to establish a training program for these women, which hopefully, will result in a photography business, where all will benefit.”

                                           (Above) Mark's photography of the island.

When Mark, Sheri, and their children first began visiting Topsail Island, Mark got up early to capture the dazzling sunrises along the beach.  He plans on continuing to spend some of his free time pursuing his love of photography—the Topsail Island kind.  But after more than thirty years, Mark has decided to leave federal service soon and is looking forward to developing a private practice, while continuing to develop a wide variety of products from his Topsail photographs.  He and Sheri, his wife of thirty-three years, hope to relocate to Topsail Island one day and join other photographers in capturing the beauty of the many hidden treasures of the island.