Chairman’s Award

Molly Barber was completely surprised when she learned that she was receiving the Chairman’s Award this year from the 2022 Chamber Chairman, Joe Orenstein.
When Barber learned about the award, she said she was completely surprised and proud.
“Being the past Chamber Chair, I am involved in helping nominate individuals for the annual awards. I literally had no idea Joe was talking about me during his speech,” she said. “Towards the end, I picked up on some words he was using, and then I knew.”
Barber said receiving the award means the world to her.
“It means the world to me. Never in a million years would I have thought I would be the recipient of this prestigious award,” she remarked.
Barber grew up in Kernersville, but now lives in Oak Ridge with her husband, Brian, and their 12-year-old daughter, Addison.
Working for First Citizens Bank, Barber’s career started 24 years ago as a seasonal teller during college breaks. Currently, she works as a business banker and she loves what she does.
“Watching my clients grow and succeed financially is the best feeling,” she shared.
Barber has been volunteering on the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce Board for the last 5 ½ years. She started out serving as the secretary and served as the Chamber Chairwoman in 2021. In 2023, she will serve as the treasurer.
Barber is a 2006 Leadership Kernersville graduate and volunteers on the Golf Tournament Committee and the EDAC Committee.
Being part of the Chamber, Barber said she enjoys seeing how the Chamber interacts with businesses in Kernersville.
“I really saw what the Chamber was made of during COVID. There were so many new and improved ideas that came out and some that have continued,” she said.
Of all the things the Chamber does, Barber said she is a big proponent of Leadership Kernersville.
“Even with growing up in Kernersville, I feel like I learned so much more about our community. The friendships that began and grew from this class have been amazing,” she said.
Along with volunteering with the Chamber, Barber has also volunteered with the Rotary Club of Kernersville, where she served for six years. She noted that her father, Larry Cain, was a charter member when the club began in 1987.
As a community volunteer, Barber said she enjoys making a difference.
“I love making a difference and seeing the impact I can make on others’ lives,” she shared.
When she isn’t working or volunteering, Barber enjoys traveling with her family, especially to Disney World.
“We are always on the go with Addison playing travel basketball and she just recently made the Northwest Guilford Middle School girls basketball team,” she boasted.
Barber added that a lot of her interest in volunteering comes from her dad.
“Growing up, my dad was very involved in Kernersville, whether through volunteering or his job as the local funeral director. I never truly understood why he was so involved until I got older,” she shared. “He wanted Kernersville to be the ‘in place’ to raise a family and now I see it firsthand. We are a growing town but we have that hometown feel.”