Kelly Barnett has been working in Franklin County for more than 20 years, serving the community and industry through her sales manager job at Clark Pulley Industries, but for the past four years she has also been involved through the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce.

Barnett is serving her third year as secretary for the Chamber’s Board of Directors.

“It is quite an honor to have been nominated and elected by my peers on the Chamber Board of Directors as secretary for the third consecutive year,” she said.

Barnett has typical secretarial duties, like keeping the minutes of the board’s meetings every month, but she is also on the Watermelon Festival Committee, Pageant/Holly Day Committee, and Parade/Egg Hunts Committee.

“Before I joined, I didn’t really know how much people on the board did,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, but I enjoy it.”

Because of the committees she is on, Barnett said she gets the chance to interact with a wide variety of people, including the entertainment acts for the various events put on by the chamber, and she said she loves that part of her job.

Barnett said she would like people to know that the chamber is about more than just fun events like the Watermelon Festival. It “provides a number of services to our community that most people are not aware of.” “The chamber is continually referring and promoting Franklin County businesses and tourism,” she added.

Barnett said one way that promotion is accomplished is through the Franklin County Partnership Awards Banquet, which “is a way for the community to show their appreciation and recognize outstanding businesses and citizens with awards, including Beautification, Distinguished Service, Business of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Hall of Fame Award, Unsung Hero Award and Best Kept Secret.”

“You feel like you’re even more a part of the community when you’re involved with the chamber,” Barnett added.

She is a lifelong resident of Russellville, and she and her husband Jason have two sons, Shawn Williams and Eric Boutwell.