This past week at the annual banquet president William Stone passed the Union County Rotary leadership gavel to Dr. Patricia Barnes. Dr Barnes grew up near Flemington, New Jersey. In 1978 she attended the United States Military Academy at West Point where she graduated in 1982 with a degree in engineering. Subsequently she attended the Air Defense Artillery School at Ft. Bliss, Texas en route to airborne school followed by flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Upon Graduation she was sent to Stuttgart, Germany as a UH-1H helicopter pilot where she was also tasked with translating French and German as the S2 Intelligence Officer for her battalion.
Upon her return to the United States Dr. Barnes was assigned to Fort Rucker as a helicopter instructor pilot, teaching both US students and EURO/NATO students advanced maneuvers. She has achieved her commercial helicopter pilots license and private pilot’s license for fixed wing aircraft.
Dr. Barnes then applied to veterinary school at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Auburn University, graduating in 1993. She then moved to Blairsville where she worked with a veterinarian for a year before setting up a hospital in 1994. The Union County Veterinary Hospital has since grown to be a 6800 square foot facility treating animals with surgery, dentistry, internal medicine and basic wellness.
Dr. Barnes will follow in the footsteps of William Stone who has led the Rotary Club for the past year. The Rotary Club has had a year of outstanding accomplishments under Mr. Stone’s leadership. This past year’s accomplishments include support and contributions to a long list of projects and organizations including two local Boy Scout troops, the local Girl Scout troop, an adult literacy program, scholarship provision to UCHS, Woody Gap and Young Harris College students, support of the Young Harris College Baseball Team, North Georgia Technical School’s Rotaract Club, The Towns Union Reading Program (TULIP) as well as support for the Georgia Rotary Student Program including sponsoring an exchange student from Scandinavia, sponsorship of 4 students to Camp RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards). The club also supports the Rotary Foundation which carries out service projects all over the world.
The Rotary Club of Union County meets each Thursday at noon in the community room at Cadence Bank in Blairsville.