STATE THE FACTS

State with the most KA Governors: with three of Chief Founder James Ward Wood, inducted Governor Tomblin. After being asked to kneel, he received the provincial cross, and was congratulated by Knight Commander William E. Dreyer (Alpha Delta–William Jewell '57) and Executive Director Larry Stanton Wiese. Your Journal editor was present, along with Stephen Foster (Beta Chi–West Virginia Wesleyan ’60), and Bill Brewer (Alpha Rho–West Virginia '73).

Most KA Points of Engagement

South Carolina’s Henry D. McMaster (Rho–South Carolina '71), even without the political leadership background, is a strong KA leader. He served 14 years as province commander in South Carolina, the longest-serving ever. He is the recipient of the Knight Commander’s Accolade, the highest award for leadership and service in the Order. And he is one of five KA brothers in his family. They include, left to right in the photo from the Spring 1980 Kappa Alpha Journal: Frank Barnwell McMaster (Rho–South Carolina '78), Henry, William Gourdin McMaster (Rho–South Carolina '71), George Hunter McMaster (Rho–South Carolina '69), and Joseph Dargan McMaster (Rho–South

Three Assumed the Governorship

Oramel Hinckley Simpson (Psi–Tulane c. 1890) became Louisiana Governor upon the death of Henry Fuqua on October 11, 1926, Kenneth H. (Buddy) MacKay, Jr. (Beta Zeta–Florida '77), became the Florida Governor upon the death of Lawton Chiles on December 12, 1988, and Earl Ray Tomblin (Alpha Rho–West Virginia '71) became West Virginia’s Governor on November 15, 2010, after then-Governor Joe Manchin was elected to the U.S. Senate. Tomblin subsequently won a special election, and a regular, four-year term election.

13 13

Earliest KA Governor

Number of States with KA Governors

19 19

Number of Chapters with a KA Governor

Richard Allan Barnes was born in Tallahassee, Florida, on August 30, 1940, to Terry and Maude Barnes. Dick’s father, who was from Tennessee, was in manufacturing, and had met his mother before the beginning of World War II. Dick had four brothers and sisters. While still a young child, Barnes and his family moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where his father had taken a new job. In Murfreesboro, he attended Crichlow Elementary School and graduated from Central High School. He then entered Middle Tennessee State University where he majored in Education and was greatly influenced by his speech professor, Layne Boutwell. At MTSU, he and twelve friends formed a local fraternity, Phi Epsilon, acquired a house, wrote bylaws, and created a ritual. The fraternity grew, and in 1969, was chartered as the Delta Lambda Chapter. Barnes and his brothers, including H. Lynn Greer, Jr. (Delta Lambda–Middle Tennessee State ’69), a KAOEF Trustee Emeritus, were then initiated. Barnes obtained a master’s degree at Middle Tennessee State majoring in School Administration and taught at a middle school while attending MTSU.

After graduation, Barnes became the President of the Kappa Alpha Alumni Association in Murfreesboro, and during a visit of then–Knight Commander Richard T. Feller, he fell into a conversation that resulted in a job offer from the Order. On April 1, 1970, he joined the administrative staff as a Traveling Chapter Advisor reporting to then–Executive Secretary William E. Forester (Gamma Gamma–Memphis ʹ49). He was responsible for developing the Kappa Alpha Manual for Pledges into The Varlet, promoting scholarship, and transforming the National Officers’ Training School into the National Leadership Institute.

In 1980, he was promoted to Assistant Executive Director, and in 1985, he was named the Order’s 4th permanent Executive Director, since the position was created by the 37th Convention in 1933. As Executive Director, Barnes received his first assignment from recently elected Knight Commander Idris Traylor—to move the administrative offices from Atlanta, Georgia, where they had been for 31 years, to Lexington,

Virginia. This task involved finding a suitable, if temporary, location for office space; hiring a new staff; and packing up and moving files, archives, memorabilia, and furniture over a long distance—and doing it within five months.

During his time in Atlanta, before moving to Lexington, Barnes had been encouraged by his old friend Tommy Tune to develop an interest in antiques and architectural restoration. Tired of urban surroundings, Barnes purchased three old log cabins in Tennessee, transported them to Roswell, Georgia, joined them together, and created his home. This experience proved to be an inspiration for the transformation of the dilapidated jailhouse into an impressive showplace in the middle of Lexington. In 1992, the restoration was the subject of a laudatory article in Historic Preservation magazine and received an award from the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities for the best preservation project in 1992.

Lee University documentary film, Grain to Gold, the story of Brownsburg’s history and culture, has recently wrapped up production there. Barnes was awarded with the Founders Award by the Historic Lexington Foundation in 2020.

Barnes was a member of several Courts of Honor, a member of the KAOEF Building & Grounds Committee and the KAOEF Crimson & Gold Society, and a recipient of the Knight Commander’s Accolade. He was a recipient of the Fraternity Executives Association (FEA) Distinguished Service Award, and an FEA Honorary Life Member. He passed away on May 9, 2023 in Lexington, at age 82.

For the next five years, the Knight Commander, the Executive Council, and the Executive Director searched for a building with the appropriate attributes for the Order. After a number of delays and changes of plan, at last a suitable location was found—the old Rockbridge County Jail, which had been designed by Thomas U. Walter in 1839. On September 10, 1991, Dick Barnes and the KAOEF Executive Director William E. Garner (Alpha Upsilon–Mississippi ’81) signed the paperwork to purchase the building. Barnes, who had a lifelong interest in preserving and restoring old buildings, played a major role in the building’s renovation.

On November 3, 1995, it was announced that Dick Barnes was retiring. Barnes has kept up his interest and involvement with the Order since that time. He moved to the quaint village of Brownsburg, near Lexington, and while restoring yet another old house slated for demolition, Barnes stored his furniture in an empty storefront. Soon neighbors began inquiring when he was going to open his antiques store and he decided it was a fine idea. Thus, Old South Antiques was born and still thrives. In conjunction with his interest in old buildings and antique furnishings, in 2004, Dick Barnes became involved with his neighbors in establishing the Brownsburg Museum, of which he served for many years as the director. A Washington and

Dick Barnes—A Life of Service

Following Dick’s passing, pursuant to the Regulations, Knight Commander C. Douglas Simmons III declared an official period of mourning for thirty (30) days which concluded on June 7. During that time, members wore a hatchment (black ribbon, ½ inches wide and ¾ inches long) behind their official badge, and the Order’s flag was flown at half-staff at the National Administrative Office.

Kappa Alpha Order

Charter Member, Delta Lambda Chapter National staff, for 25 years

First Director of Chapter Services

Executive Director, 10 years

Director of 15 National Leadership Institutes

Editor of three editions of The Varlet, and its predecessor

Recipient of the Knight Commander’s Accolade from Idris R. Traylor, Jr.

Interfraternal & National 1997 FEA Distinguished Service Award Recipient, honorary life member

Adapted from The Compendium History of Kappa Alpha Order (2018) Interview with Richard A. Barnes, May 11, 2017; Kappa Alpha Journal 113, no. 3 (Fall 1996): 30; Kappa Alpha Journal 114, no. 1 (Winter 1996): 5; Wiese Memo - Passing of Former Executive Director Richard A. Barnes (May 9, 2023).

FEA Liason to the Southeastern Interfraternity Council (1988–1994)

National Vice-President, MDA

Alma Mater & Community Staff Member, Middle Tennessee State University (1965–69)

Middle Tennessee State University Foundation Trustee

Rockbridge Regional Library Foundation Trustee

Historic Paxton House Foundation Trustee

Former President, Brownsburg, Va. Community Association

Chairman, Brownsburg, Va.

Historic Museum Committee

Member of the Board and Worship Committee Chairman, New Providence Presbyterian Church

Owner, Old South Antiques, Brownsburg, Va.