Ordinary people, Extraordinary impact

by ANNETTE JOYCE

You’d have to be the Energizer Bunny to keep up with Barb Engel, who finds ways to make a positive difference everywhere she ventures.

Just about everything Engel, 76, does is guided by her incredible love for people.

“I’m a very social person. I love people and I need to have something to do,” she said.

Add in her passion for history, making new friends and being involved in the community and Engel manages to have “something to do” all the time.

Engel began her quest to make a difference as soon as she and her husband, Frank, moved to Oak Ridge about 21 years ago. Although both were retired, the couple opened a gift boutique, Sensibly Chic, in Oak Ridge Commons Shopping Center.

By the time she sold the shop five years later, Engel had endeared herself to her customers and the community at large.

“The people who were my customers are now my friends,” she said.

Retired for the second time, Engel turned her attention to other areas. Her love for history led her to become involved with Oak Ridge’s Historic Preservation Commission, where she enjoys “helping preserve what we have left of our historic area.”

She’s also a member of the town’s Special Events

Committee, which organizes several of the town’s most popular events – Light Up the Night, Veterans and Memorial Day commemorations and most recently, the 4th of July Kids’ Parade.

And… she’s involved in fundraising for the Veterans Honor Green, which will be built in the town’s Heritage Farm Park.

But her volunteerism doesn’t stop there. Engel recently joined Oak Ridge’s Heritage Day Committee and is enjoying finding vendors for the September event.

A long-time member of the Greensboro Newcomers Club, Engel gets a lot of satisfaction from being able to help new people acclimate to the local community. Having moved a lot because of her husband’s career, she knows firsthand what it’s like to settle into a new place.

“I left all of my friends behind, and I just felt alienated,” she said. “It’s a good feeling to make (the moving process) easier for others.”

Along with attending monthly meetings and socials, Engel participates in many of the club’s “interest groups,” which include everything from lunch groups to card games. When she became hooked on Mah Jongg, a Chinese tile game, Engel couldn’t find people who knew how to play so she started her own group and taught everyone the game.

An avid gardener, Engel enjoys working in the various gardens at her home. As a member of Oak Ridge Garden Club, she happily shares her knowledge and expertise with other members. And whenever the group gets together to clean up the community gardens, Engel is usually on hand to help.

Engel is a member of Union Grove Baptist Church, where she serves as assistant clerk of the congregation and works with the committee that handles church funerals. She most recently joined the Guilford Battle chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and is extremely excited about becoming more involved.

Residents of Oak Ridge, Engel and her husband will celebrate their 57th anniversary this month. The couple has two sons and three grandchildren.