Barker leads the way as Gold Rush Grand Marshal

By Sharon Hall
The Nugget

Brigette Barker, executive director of the Lumpkin County Family Connection, will be riding in the car leading the way as the Grand Marshal of the 2022 Gold Rush Days Parade Saturday, Oct. 15.
It will be the second time Barker has been so honored. She also performed the Grand Marshal’s duties in this year’s 4th of July parade.
But Dathan Harbert said it was the obvious choice for him.
“Service to others” is what come to mind when Barker’s name comes up, he said. That’s why he nominated her for the distinction this year.
“Her passion for serving the needs of children and families in this community goes above and beyond,” he said.
In Barker’s role as head of Family Connection for Lumpkin County she has often worked closely with Harbert in his role as a member of Gold Rush Days Festival, Inc. Board of Directors—the former Jaycees. The name was changed several years ago to better reflect what the organization does—organizing Gold Rush each year. But they do it for the same reason the Jaycees did—to help with the needs of people in the community.
 “We continue the tradition of the festival event started in 1954,” he said. “The funds we raise through the sale of booth spaces, parade entries, and commemorative T-shirt sales are used to support the community in need. All of our service acts support citizens of Dahlonega-Lumpkin County. We do college scholarships, empty stocking, random acts of kindness and more. Brigette is an awesome supporter of our group and often helps us connect with people in need.”
Barker said the festival is crucial tool for helping the community.  
“I have worked a lot with the Gold Rush Days Festival, Inc. and I realize how important this festival is to help them do what they do—they help where sometimes we can’t,” she said. “And I want the community to know that too.”

HELPING HANDS

LCFC’s overreaching goal aims to make every child successful in school. To do that, however, often takes addressing the root causes of barriers in a child’s way. That's poverty, family illiteracy, a lack of parenting skills and other problems that stand in the way of a student being able to learn.
Barker’s current position spans nearly 10 years. In that time she achieved several things that bring her a feeling of satisfaction. She reinstated the mentoring program. It’s a critical part of success in school, Barker said. “It’s been found that the common denominator between all first college students in a family is that they had a mentor.”
The Backpack Buddies Program she established in 2014 provides meals for students on weekends and over school holidays who are food insecure.
The program has “grown tremendously,” Barker said. “Last year we sent home 47,000 pounds of food.”
Nearly all that is given away is from local contributions and shelved, bagged and boxed by volunteers.
The Family Resource Center is perhaps the biggest achievement. With the help of Superintendent of Schools Dr. Rob Brown, Barker and her team of student advocates, school employees and volunteers turned what used to be the high school, then middle school cafeteria—plus a few added offices—into an outreach center. The school social worker, parent development specialist, counselors and nurse can all be accessed in the same location, as well as clothing, school supplies and hygiene closets. There is also space for weekly parenting groups. A grant Barker obtained provides a coordinator for the facility and its programs.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Barker’s passion for helping her fellow Lumpkin Countians, especially the children, started long before she became executive director of LCFC. It began in 2009, when she was working for the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office as the Victims Services Coordinator. There, she often worked with battered women and their children. While in that role she took the position to a full time role and expanded its services. She helped initiate the Christmas bicycle giveaway program at the LCSO. She set up a multi-disciplinary team that included all agencies that worked with child abuse cases—the sheriff’s and District Attorney’s offices; Department of Family and Children’s Services; and others, “so that everyone could be on the same page,” she said.
When she attended a public meeting on child sexual abuse from a group called Stewards of Children—that taught people what to look for and how to respond to a child who approached them with a story of sexual abuse—her passion for the plight of children grew. Impacted by the information she received, she became a facilitator so she could present the program to others in the community.
“The whole idea was to inform enough people to make a difference in the community, and we did,” she said. “In fact, the first night of the training I had someone report a case to me.”
Lumpkin County was the first in the state to have a fully trained school staff, from teachers to bus drivers and cafeteria ladies. Today, the county leads the nation in the number of trained individuals for its population.
“And training continues. There were 40 people at the last training in April,” Barker said.
She also served on the group that started the South Enotah Child Advocacy Center, which now provides the Stewards of Children training online, although Barker is still a facilitator. It also provides forensic medical exams and interviews, family advocacy, parent education and  free mental health therapy for victims and their families. They are also part of the multi-disciplinary team for Lumpkin County victims.
Born and raised in Lumpkin County, Barker has lived here most of her life. She said she loves living in a small town.
“You can’t walk down the street without a hello from a friendly face,” she said. “This sense of community makes my work with Family Connection very easy as we have a wonderful and caring community always wanting to help each other.”

‘WELL DESERVED’

A graduate of UNG, she earned her Master’s in forensic psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. She has been married for 15 years to her husband, Derek, and the couple has two boys, 13-year-old Devin and Tavish, who is 5.
Barker said she was surprised when told she she had been chosen as Grand Marshal.
“I wasn’t expecting it. I’m very surprised and honored. Gold Rush has been a big part of my life since I was little. My parents always took us, and now I take my two boys. My family has a long rich history here, ” she said. “But I’m just doing my job. I love this community and I enjoy working to make the community thrive. I’m sure there are others who deserve to be honored.”
Harbert said she’s the perfect choice.
“Brigette is constantly promoting causes to support those in need, hosting educational workshops to create awareness of issues our community faces and creating partnerships with community leaders to help with food insecurity, mental health, access to resources and more,” he said. “Dahlonega-Lumpkin County is lucky to have a leader as passionate as Brigette at the helm of Family Connection. If you know her, then you know why having her represent Dahlonega as Grand Marshal is a well deserved honor.”

The Gold Rush Days Parade takes place Saturday, Oct. 15, 3 p.m. on the Dahlonega Public Square.