Page 30 - Suburban Living Fuquay-Varina

Fuquay-Varina HerosBT ob Barker A Fuquay-Varina Pillarhere are people in our community that youmight hear about in the papers, or see photos of on social media, that you don’t really know that much about. They are pillars in the community and have served faithfully for years and years, yet the average citizen isn’t aware of all the sacrifices and selfless acts of kindness that have molded and shaped the community and given it the flavor and substance it enjoys today.One of those unsung heroes is actually not “unsung” in the eyes of the more-involved residents of Fuquay-Varina. But because his work in the community comes from the heart and isn’t wrapped up in making a name for himself at the expense of others, many residents are not familiar with his accomplishments and his life of service.Bob Barker graduated from Campbell Universityin 1965 and began working as the publisher andeditor of a small newspaper in Apex, just north ofhere. It became apparent that the Apex downtownneeded revitalization, so he got involved withtrying to bring business back to Salem Street andended up becoming the Mayor of Apex as a part of that effort. In 1972, he was part of a committee to secure candidates for the state senate from western Wake County, and when they couldn’t find anyone, he felt obligated to run for that office himself. He derived a great deal of satisfaction from serving at that level during his tenure as State Senator, and helped set up an Energy Department while he was in office.In 1974, he stepped away from politics to concentrate on his business, eventually selling the newspaper and getting into the restaurant equipment sales business. In the early 1980’s, Bob’s company expanded into jail suppliesand quickly grew into a regional operation covering much of the southeast. His business had a tremendous run in the 1980s, as the country’s drug culture transformed the jail population nationwide and everything in institutions had to be furnished by the government to keep drugs out of their facilities. That was a huge boom to the Barker’s business, and sales grew in double digits for a number of years.In 1986, Bob moved the fast-growing company to downtown Fuquay-Bob with wife Pat and Fuquay-Varina Mayor John ByneVarina, which at that time had about 3,000-4,000 residents. To his dismay, he quickly realized that the town was dying. Shops in the two downtown areas were empty and nothing was happening to attract new business to the community. “There was no vision for the future,” Bob remembers. Passionate about downtown revitalization, and capitalizing on his experience in Apex, Bob moved his family to Fuquay-Varina in 1988 and got involved with the Chamber of Commerce. After serving as President of the Chamber’s board of directors, he became mayor of Fuquay-Varina and helped the Fuquay-Varina New Century organization pave the way for what is now the Fuquay-Varina Downtown Revitalization Association. All of this work came out of an innate desire to serve his community, and Bob used his business leadership skills tocreate a lasting difference in the downtown areas of our community.Bob’s greatest success has been the growth of his company and the fact that his two children, Robert Barker Jr. and Nancy Johns, have decided to join him in the family business. He takes great pride in the fact that The Bob Barker Company is now recognized worldwide in the detention field and as the #1 national supplier to prisons and detention centers. The company actively sells in India, Pakistan, China, South America, and Mexico, and is currently working to enter theEuropean market as well. He feels his children and grandchildren will carry on the legacy built by him and his wife Pat over 40 years. But his passion for service and giving back to the community has never been more visible. “I enjoy that I have built a successful company,” he explains, “and it’s always been important to me that we give something back to the world. Gratitude is such a great thing – it brings such satisfaction and joy, that you can really appreciate doing a lot of things you wouldn’t normally do. It’s a better blessing to do something for someone else rather than myself.”Page 28 | Suburban Living Fuquay-Varinawww.suburbanlivingmag.com