Page 178 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2021

FINAL SAY
RON
BARNES
President & CEO, Coast Electric
In 2017, after more than 20 years as a vice president at Coast Electric, I became the cooperative’s president and CEO. In 2020, I added CEO of our phone and high-speed internet subsidiary, CoastConnect, to my job title. Both roles are fulfilling because I believe what we are doing is important for the people we serve and for the success of our community. They are also demanding, but I am proud to lead a group of people who are up for the challenge of powering and connecting our community.
Becoming CEO was a long journey. Each job I’ve had, the people who took a chance on me, and those who mentored me along the way, have shaped my work ethic and leadership philosophy.
Growing up in Jackson and spending a lot of time on our family farm, I learned the value of hard work and service at an early age. Of course, as a kid, I didn’t always appreciate the lessons I was learning. I was a kid doing chores because that’s what was expected. Now, all these years later, I recognize all I learned from watching my father.
Working beside him and my mother taught me that while gardening and farm work is hard work and can be tedious, it can also be deeply satisfying. To start with an empty field, nurture and care for the land, and finally see that your efforts helped sustain your family is quite a reward. When you see your work isn’t just the task, but that the task is tied to a result, and that result helps others, it gives you drive and purpose.
Of course, helping at home wasn’t a job I was paid for, and I got my first taste of the corporate world delivering documents for a law firm, which I did on my skateboard. It was fun to zip around Jackson taking important documents back and forth, but it also taught me that the details, and the people at every level of an organization are important, even the kid on his skateboard.
In college, I learned the value of kindness and serving others as a waiter at a Mexican restaurant in Hattiesburg.
That restaurant is also where I met my wife, Angel, so it might just be the best job I’ve ever had. I also enjoyed our early days of marriage when I worked for the Boy Scouts of America, an organization that mentors young men and gives them the confidence to lead.
I am proud to be part of this issue that recognizes men who are leading our communities. I am a benefactor of their examples and mentorship. I have also been blessed to have my wife, our four children and now, a granddaughter to guide my path. They have given me the desire to make my community a better place. They taught me that leadership takes listening, compassion and never forgetting that at the heart of every business, of every community, are its people. May all the outstanding men in positions of influence in our community remember that the most important thing we can do is serve others.
178 | October 2021
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living