A RO UND TOWN
by Charlotte Kovalchuk photos courtesy Robin Barfield
A Grateful Farewell to Robin Barfield Jarrell Champion, Advocate & Fan
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This and other community organizations, as well as helping guide Jarrell’s growth, were some of Robin’s goals on the City Council dais. “Jarrell is in a really exciting place right now...and depending on who’s leading the community, it could go really great or really bad,” she says. “We’re getting to the point where a community of this size should have an HEB, lawyers, dine-in restaurants, and other amenities that make it feel like home. We have two dentists, a vet, two doctor's offices, and a Bluebonnet Clinic. That’s great but we need so much more.”
obin Barfield doesn’t believe in complaining about a problem. “I’d rather be part of the solution. If I don’t like something, I have the power to change it,” she says as she sits inside the Jarrell Community Library—one of several civic endeavors she has been involved in during her time in Jarrell. “I really had this drive to shape the future of the community and think about what Jarrell will look like 20 years from now.” When she and her family moved here from California almost 30 years ago they got to work making a difference in their community. Her husband Russ was president and assistant fire chief of the then volunteer fire department, while Robin was a City Council member and volunteer at the Jarrell Community Library.
GRATEFUL FAREWELL
LITERARY LOVE A lifelong reader with fond memories of frequenting the library as a child, Robin was drawn to a Facebook post about an effort to start a public library, not only for her love of literature but also her enthusiasm for getting involved on the ground floor, building things up, then allowing others to take them to the next level. For the next four years, she fought to secure a location, funding, and city support alongside several other volunteers. She remembers when they started with “a whole bunch of books, but not a whole lot of money.” Thanks to great community support, the library has thrived—gaining not only a location at the Sonterra
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Top: Receiving 2020 Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year award • 2019 American Legion convention • Below: Playing a pig at the library Homecoming parade entry for which they won the Spirit Award.
MUD building, but also city funding, a recent $54,000 grant from St. David’s Foundation for adult mental health services, and accreditation from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission—a rare feat for a library less than five years old. She has loved seeing the library take off and become a place for residents to hang out and enjoy programs like Storytime, Senior Gals, Gab and Games, ESL, and textiles classes.
J U LY 2022 M Y JA R R ELL M O NT HLY
She and her husband are leaving Jarrell for the next stage of their lives in Comanche but Robin hopes others will pick up where she left off. “One thing I know is Jarrell takes care of Jarrell even with newer people here. If something bad happens, we step up for each other. I’m hoping that continues after I leave and more people are inspired to step up and make this a better place. We’re at a crossroads—are we going to be a great community or a community in which the residents have no real connection? In order to be that great community, people need to step up and step outside their comfort zone. We’re all busy, but you will make time for the things you care about. There’s so much personal satisfaction in doing good things for your community.”
