The Pickens County Retired Educators Association has awarded its 2009 Golden Deed Award to Stan Barnett. Janella Brand presented the award to Barnett during the association's December meeting, Wednesday, the 9th, at Dunn's Restaurant on State Highway 108.
"I think most of you know him and all of the service he does here in the county," Brand said as she bestowed the award plaque.
Barnett serves the community all over. He is executive director at Keep Pickens Beautiful. He manages the Community Thrift Store and serves on the Thrift Store board. Barnett serves on the board of Pickens County's local Habitat For Humanity affiliate. In addition to his workday duties, he teaches Sunday School classes at both Jasper United Methodist Church and First Baptist Jasper.
Asked how he manages that feat, when Sunday School occurs at about the same Sunday hour in both places, Barnett explained he serves as a substitute. An itinerant teacher, he fills in as long as he is needed, then moves on to where he is needed next.
Brand said three people nominated Barnett for the Golden Deed Award: his longtime friend, Francis Stewart, and Barnett's next-door neighbors, Wesley and Ginger McGuire.
“He's the best neighbor you could ever have,” Ginger McGuire said. And their grandchildren enjoy Barnett as much as they do, she said. “Stan is a great neighbor, and he volunteers, I guess, for everything in Pickens County. I don't know what Pickens County would do without him.”
Francis Stewart, once a pastor and for many years in public service with the state, said he and Barnett hold some experiences in common from their work to assist the needy. "We've travelled some of the same roads––he might not want to share with you––in trying to help our fellow human beings," Stewart said.
"Thank you very much for the recognition," Barnett said as he accepted the award. "I have been singled out by retired educators before," he noted. "My grandfather was a teacher and principal, and he frequently singled me out and gave me appropriate attention."
Barnett recounted some other attention he received once at the hands of an educator. From Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Barnett was a student at Istrouma High School when his geometry teacher, Hattie Garrett, a head taller than Barnett, grabbed him by his jacket lapels one day and slammed him against a wall of hall lockers.
"You didn't do it, did ya?" Garrett demanded right up in his face. Barnett confirmed something to that effect, at the same time going over in his mind all of the things he might be guilty of. Garrett asked again: "You didn't do it, did ya?" Barnett affirmed he had not.
"I didn't think it was you," Garrett concluded, unhanding Barnett and walking away.
Barnett said he found out later the local newspaper had run a story, reporting his cousin, also named Stan Barnett and also a student at Istrouma High, had robbed a hardware store. It was nice to realize his teacher had so much confidence in his character, Barnett quipped.
"I get way more recognition than I deserve," Barnett told his audience. "But it's nice to be here," he said. "I came here to Pickens County about 15 years ago on purpose," he said. The community he discovered here is a great one to serve and to belong to, he said.
Presented yearly by the Pickens County Retired Educators Association, the Golden Deed Award tags an honoree chosen for their stellar community service. Nominations are accepted from the general public. Names of nominees are submitted to a committee of local civic club leaders (from Kiwanis, the Rotary, and Lions), and those leaders choose the most deserving recipient. |
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| PHOTO BY JEFF WARREN |
| Stan Barnett receives the Pickens County Retired Educators Association's Golden Deed Award for 2009, presented by retired educator Janella Brand |
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