(This week The Columbian-Progress spotlights Columbia Academy bookkeeper Wendy Barnes.)
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born in Marion County on Sept. 10, 1969.
Q: Where did you attend school?
A: I graduated from West Marion in 1987, then I graduated from Pearl River Community College in 1989.
Q: Where do you work? Tell us about your job/company.
A: My primary role is as a bookkeeper. I pay the bills and receive tuition payments. I also prepare the money boxes for all athletic activities for gate and concessions. I make sure all of the officials are scheduled to come and make sure they’re paid. The part I enjoy the most is I get to give tours to the new families that are coming in to take a look around. I get to meet people and really connect with them that way.
Q: What led you to your profession?
A: Both of my children have gone to school here. After I retired from the Department of Human Services — I was there for 25 years and retired in January of 2015 — I subbed here for a couple of days for one of the other workers. I enjoyed it, but I went back home. Around July of 2015, the headmaster, Angie Burkett, called me and asked if I was bored yet. I told her I really was bored. I had worked with paperwork and budgets at DHS, and she asked me if I wanted to work here. It’s been the biggest blessing. I love it. I get to be here with my youngest child who is still in school. With my oldest child I was on the road a lot with DHS and covered a 17-county area, so I depended on the other moms a lot to help me pick my daughter up and take her to this ball game. Now I feel like I’m paying that back and can help other parents that are working. And I really enjoy the interaction with the kids. There’s never a day I don’t want to get up and come to work.
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
A: There are times when there’s a lot of things going on at one time with a lot of ball games and I order all of the teacher workbooks and supplies. When there’s a lot of things going at once, it can be a little overwhelming. Even when I’m at my busiest, it’s still something I enjoy.
Q: What is the most important lesson you have learned in your career?
A: To listen to people. That was especially true with DHS. I was with the food stamp division for 25 years. People would come in upset or irate, but when you really just stop and listen to them about what’s wrong you see that they’re really just concerned about taking of their family and children. They really just needed someone to stop for a minute and listen to them.
Q: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I wanted to be a banker. I thought that was my future. After I graduated from PRCC, I just went in a different direction.
Q: What was your first job?
A: I worked in payroll at Pioneer.
Q: Who is the person who has been most influential in your life?
A: My mother, Janet Pounds Cascio. She was 42 when my father passed away, and she has always taught me that no matter what you just get up and keep going. You always treat people fairly. She taught such a strong work ethic. When she was younger, she went to work all day and went to school at night to get her LPN degree. She was actually in school to get her RN when my father passed away, but she never gave up and kept going. She’s one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.
Q: What is your spouse’s name?
A: Stephen. He is a safety supervisor for Diamond Offshore. We’ve been married for 30-and-a-half years.
Q: Do you have children?
A: We have two daughters. Ragen is 26, and she will graduate in May with her doctorate in pharmacy. My youngest, Marlie, is currently a junior here at Columbia Academy and is 17. She actually just won the Pearl River Valley essay competition and will be going to Washington D.C. this summer.
Q: If you could have anything for your last meal on earth, what would it be?
A: My grandma’s tomato gravy. My grandma, Eliza Pounds, made the best tomato gravy in the entire world.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: I would love to go to Ireland. The pictures just look beautiful. It seems like it would be a beautiful place to visit.
Q: What hobbies do you like to do in your spare time?
A: A lot of my spare time goes to spending time with Stephen and the girls. I also love to do jigsaw puzzles of Santa. That’s the only ones I do.
Q: What do you enjoy about Columbia and Marion County?
A: I love the sense of community and that you can walk down Main Street, see someone you haven’t seen in years and pick right up like not a day has passed. I was born here and never had the desire to live anywhere else. We’re a small town, but I think Columbia has so much to offer that we make small town work.
Q: If you could have lunch with anyone from your life or history, who would it be and why?
A: That would be my daddy, Sedgie Pounds, who passed away when I was 20. I would love to be able to sit down with him and say, “Hey daddy, look how great your grandkids are” and just catch up.
Q: If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do all day?
A: After I retired and before I actually became employed here, I would come and do different things here. I would work on things for teacher appreciation or help my daughters with class projects. I really think even if they weren’t paying me I’d still be here volunteering my time to help the kids and the school.
Q: What moment in your life has had the biggest impact on who you are today?
A: When I was saved. It’s just so all powerful changing when you accept Christ and know that you have this built-in safeguard that somebody is always there for you no matter what. The second one would have to be when my husband and I met and married.
Q: What is one thing you want to do that you’ve never tried?
A: I’d like to ride a train even if it’s just that short trip that they do. I’ve never ridden on one, and I think it would be interesting.
Q: Using one word for each, what are your top three morals?
A: Compassionate, kindness and dependable.
Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: At the end of the day I hope people will look back and say she loved her family, loved her friends and could always be counted on.
—Joshua Campbell
