Tarboro native receives four awards

May 14, 2008 11:21 am

— A Tarboro native living in Georgia has received several awards for his work, all coming with less than one year on the job.
James Barbe, 41, has received four awards from the Georgia Extension Association of Family & Consumer Services. The awards given to Barbe were for his work educating consumers about the most cost-friendly ways to purchase natural gas in Georgia.
He began working at the University of Georgia last June by way of a three-year grant from the Georgia Public Service Commission.
One of the awards Barbe won was for a poster he designed that explains what is written on a natural gas bill.
After the state of Georgia deregulated the natural gas market, a law mandated what information has to appear on the gas bills. Barbe said there are now 11 different gas companies serving Georgia consumers, and that their itemized bills all look different.
He said it was rewarding when he helps people understand what that means for them when the bill comes.
"You like it when you can talk to somebody and the lightbulb comes on over their head, and they say 'Aw, I get that,'" Barbe said.
Barbe said that educating people about the natural gas market in Georgia is a job he enjoys, and people seem to appreciate him for it. "People like to save money, so they like to see me come" and speak about how they are affected by the gas market, Barbe said.
Dr. Don Gardner, Glynn County Extension coordinator and Barbe's supervisor, said he was happy to have Barbe as an employee.
"He's got a good head on his shoulders, meets people very well. He's always very helpful on the phone," Gardner said.
Gardner said he was looking to hire Barbe to a full-time position with the university before his working grant expires in two years.
Barbe retired from the Navy in October 2006 after 20 years service. He served as a missile technician on board nuclear-class submarines and was based out of Kings Bay, Ga., Charleston, S.C., and Bangor, Wash.
He said the last time he came to Tarboro was last summer, for a friend's wedding.
"One of my friends finally got married at 40, and it's his first marriage," Barbe said, happily, about the occasion.
Barbe received a bachelor's and a master's degree, both in education, from Valdosta (Ga.) State University in 2002 and 2003.
His parents, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Barbe, live in Tarboro as does his sister, Susan Fecho.
Susan is the chairwoman of the Department of Art at Barton College in Wilson.
Susan’s twin, Dr. Mary Barbe, is a professor in the phyiscal therapy department at Temple University in Philadelphia.