A new month brings with it a new president for the Berry Alumni Association. Barbara Pickle McCollum, a 1979 graduate of Berry College, begins her two-year term after one year as president-elect under Frances Richey-Goldby.
A native of Menlo, Ga., McCollum brings nearly 30 years of banking, human resources and community service experience to one of Berry’s highest volunteer leadership positions.
“I am very practical and organized by nature,” said McCollum, who graduated from Berry with a degree in business education. “I like things to be efficient, and I like there to be good communication. I believe in goal setting and can be a task master – my student work experience at Berry definitely helped me develop these skills.”
Currently business manager of the Emile T. Fisher Foundation for Dental Education in Georgia, a non-profit organization that raises money for dentistry and dental hygiene students, McCollum previously served as human resources director of Cardiology of Georgia, P.C., in Atlanta; assistant vice president/assistant cashier at Mountain National Bank in Tucker, Ga.; and executive secretary at National Bank of Georgia in Atlanta, among other positions.
Her volunteer activities have included service as a mentor at both Livsey Elementary in DeKalb County (Ga.) and Pepperell Elementary in Floyd County, as well as terms as co-president of the Camp Creek Elementary PTA and fundraising co-chair for Trickum Middle School, both in Lilburn, Ga. She also has held the posts of first vice president of the New Romans Club in Rome, Ga., and district representative to the Executive Board of Young Bankers of the Georgia Bankers Association.
Past efforts on behalf of the Berry Alumni Association include four years as vice president of financial support.
“Berry gave me a great foundation for life, and serving the Alumni Association is an opportunity for me to give back,” McCollum explained. “It has been fulfilling to get to know alumni from different Berry eras, not just my own.”
McCollum lives in Rome with her longtime husband, Greg. Both are graduates of Chattooga High School in Summerville.