West Virginia Executive Spring/Summer 2020 | Page 99

1980
1985
1990
1981 Drafted by the
Texas Rangers
“I count my blessings
every day and feel I have
a God-given responsibility
to help others who have
not been as fortunate.”
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
1999 Named to the inaugural
class of Young Guns by WVE
2003 Opened Barnes Agency
2005 Inducted into
University of Charleston
Sports Hall of Fame
2011 Married wife, Susan
2018 Launched Barnes Health,
a division of the Barnes Agency
2019 Launched satellite
office of Barnes Health
in Nashville, TN
successful ad agencies in West Virginia.
There were many times I could not pay
myself because I needed to pay my staff.”
Barnes credits his wife, Susan, and
his early mentors, Lamar Wyse and Tom
Jones, with seeing him through.
“Lamar was the one person who supported
me launching my agency and
actually became my first client, which gave
me the confidence I needed,” he says.
“However, my whole world changed in
2004 when I met Susan. She became chief
operating officer of the Barnes Agency
in 2008, and that is when our growth
really began. While I may be the face of
the agency, she is the engine that drives
our success every day.”
Today, Barnes focuses on business
development and growing the agency’s
national footprint as a West Virginia-based
strategic health care marketing firm.
“I am involved in the creative process
that has allowed us to be blessed with
more than 500 regional and national
awards for marketing excellence,” he
says. “Even though I am proud of how
far we’ve come, I would say my greatest
achievement is the fact that our health
care agency has not lost one health care
client in nearly 10 years. Knowing that
90 percent of our clients are health care
providers, that is an amazing statistic.”
This success is the product of a topnotch
team, which has been cultivated
largely from the agency’s formal internship
relationship with Marshall University.
Since 2010, Barnes has served as a mentor
to more than 30 advertising, marketing
and public relations interns.
“Nearly 70 percent of our current
staff are former interns who now hold
senior level positions within our agency,”
he says.
Along with mentorship, Barnes is driven
to give back in other ways. He is a member
of the Light up the Night committee,
which addresses Putnam County residents’
growing concerns about opioid addiction;
a member of the executive committee for
Project Redskin, which has raised nearly
$1 million to renovate the outdoor athletic
facilities at Hurricane High School;
and co-chairman of the Putnam County
Animal Relief Center Fund. He also recently
served the board of directors for
the Facing Hunger Food Bank and Big
Brothers Big Sisters of the Tri-State.
In past roles, Barnes has also served on
the board of directors for organizations
such as the United Way of Central West
Virginia, Putnam County Chamber of
Commerce, Autism Society of West Virginia,
Marshall University’s Brad D. Smith
School of Business and Putnam County
Parks and Recreation.
“It is important for me to give back
because I have been blessed with so many
opportunities in life,” he says. “I count
my blessings every day and feel I have a
God-given responsibility to help others
who have not been as fortunate.”
Barnes can’t imagine living out his
dreams anywhere other than the Mountain
State because of its resilient people.
“I choose to live and work in West
Virginia because it’s always been my
home,” he says. “Unlike folks in any other
state I have been to, we are made up of
people who have tremendous integrity,
compassion and respect for each other,
and that makes West Virginia a great
place to be.” •
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