By Deborah Welky
The Village of Wellington began its 25th anniversary year with a new village manager, Jim Barnes, who is now celebrating his first anniversary as the village’s top official.
Since incorporation in 1996, Wellington has had three permanent village managers. While the first, the late Charlie Lynn, was recruited from Kentucky shortly after the village’s incorporation, the other two have both been hired from within existing village leadership — Paul Schofield, who took over for Lynn in 2008, and Barnes, who most recently served as Schofield’s deputy village manager.
Barnes first arrived in Wellington in 2003, and he has served in a number of key village positions. “My professional career has been a series of opportunities found — a series of right times and right places,” Barnes explained.
Barnes, 55, was born in Manila, in the Philippines, and moved to Palm Beach County in 1977. He attended St. Vincent Ferrer School in Delray Beach and graduated from Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, receiving an associate’s degree from Palm Beach Junior College, now Palm Beach State College, and a bachelor’s degree in geography from Florida Atlantic University.
However, he has learned as much from life in the workforce as he did in the classroom.
“My first job was as a clerk at a Marshalls department store, well before ‘brand names for less’ [Marshalls’ slogan] was as cool as it is now,” Barnes recalled. “I learned that it’s best to get to work early, because if you’re early, you’re on time, and if you’re on time, you’re late. I also learned that no job is too menial, and, lastly, that ‘love at first sight’ does exist.”
It was while working at Marshalls that Barnes met a girl named Kim, a Palm Beach County native. Though only 16 at the time, he knew she was “the one.”
“I knew right away that she was a catch,” Barnes said. “It took her four years to notice me, but that’s OK. I play the long game. The rest, as they say, is history — we just celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary.”
After graduating from FAU, Barnes went to work as a planner for Palm Beach County’s Planning, Zoning & Building Department. But he didn’t stay long.
“Within two years, I was lured to the private sector and worked for a multidisciplinary consulting firm on planning, environmental and land development projects,” Barnes said. “That afforded me the opportunity to work for local, state and federal agencies, as well as for private clients.”
But his time with Palm Beach County wasn’t quite finished.
“I eventually returned to work for Palm Beach County’s Facilities Development & Operations Department and, in 2003, started my career in Wellington as the assistant director of community services,” Barnes said. “What brought me to Wellington can be summed up in four words — Paul Schofield, Tom Wenham. Mr. Schofield presented me with an opportunity and, once I accepted, Mayor Tom Wenham reinforced why I made the right decision.”
Since then, Barnes has collected a number of post-degree credentials. He is a certified planner with an advanced specialty certification in environmental planning by the American Institute of Certified Planners, a certified parks and recreation professional by the National Recreation and Park Association, and a credentialed manager by the International City/County Management Association.
In 2005, two years after accepting his first job with the village, the Barnes family moved to Wellington.
“We were looking at locations, and it became increasingly clear that Wellington was a special place. Our children attended Wellington Elementary School, Wellington Landings Middle School and Wellington High School,” Barnes said. “They participated in co-curricular and extracurricular activities at school, as well as in community programs offered by the village. Now, having experienced it first-hand, I can say with conviction that Wellington is truly a great place for families. Notwithstanding its growth, it still remains a close-knit community.”
Today, with their family and their hometown firmly behind them, son Kyle, 24, is a graduate student at the University of Michigan, and daughter Devyn, 21, is a senior at the University of Central Florida.
Barnes himself has advanced as well. Since his initial hiring, he has held several leadership positions with the village — deputy director of environmental and engineering services, director of parks and recreation, deputy director of operations, director of operations, assistant village manager and deputy village manager.
“Then, I was fortunate enough to be selected by the council to succeed Paul Schofield as village manager,” Barnes said. “I am grateful to everyone along the way who afforded me the many opportunities from which I have benefited, and I am hopeful that I left every stop a little better than I found it.”
That goal — to leave things in an improved state — is just one of the many mantras Barnes lives by. To live with authenticity is another.
“It’s important to be yourself,” he said. “It’s important to be exactly who you are, not just a replica of someone else or a filtered-out version of who you think other people want you to be. As a child, you are who you are, and you don’t care. That’s important. Authenticity — the real you — is what builds connections and relationships. It’s also important to just be happy! As a child, you just default to ‘happy’ and, as an adult, you can and you should. Your mood is actually up to you. It is a choice you can make any time of any day in any situation. A smile is a powerful little movement. It relieves stress, reduces blood pressure and can change your mood.”
Barnes is very grateful for Wellington’s hardworking staff members, particularly after these difficult pandemic years.
“It’s great to work with a group of people who know their collective ‘why,’” Barnes said. “The last 19 months have been challenging, and they continued to deliver best-in-class services to our residents and customers. I thank them for their amazing energy and effort.”
He also had thanks for Wellington’s residents and many visitors.
“To the residents, I’d say that the leadership of Wellington wants to continue to create an environment in which both our residents and businesses can thrive,” Barnes said. “It takes all of us working together to make that happen. Together with you, I am happy to call Wellington home… To visitors, whether you are here for business or pleasure, we hope you were able to experience all our great hometown has to offer.”
