Adam Barnes was born and raised east of Hennessey on a farm by Billy and Priscilla Barnes. Adam was one of three sons they raised ( Aaron and Jason). Adam graduated from Hennessey High School in 1998. Before I go on, let’s talk about Adam in High School. Adam was the Vice President of the 1998 Senior Class, Football Homecoming King, a member of the Student Council, and named Scholar Athlete by the US Army. Adam was always kind and outgoing inside and outside the classroom. After high school, Adam attended Oklahoma State University and graduated with a degree in business administration. He later received a Masters in Higher Education Leadership from OSU. Adam was in finance and banking from 2003-2007. Throughout this time, he worked in consumer finance for Wells Fargo, Real Estate lending for Arvest, and was an AVP for First Bank & Trust in Perry, OK. In 2008, Adam went to work for OSU Athletics. He was their Ticket Sales and Marketing Manager until January of 2013. From there, he made the move to OSU’s Student Union. He has been there for 11 ½ years and continues to love his job as an Assistant Director. What does that mean? Adam’s main responsibility at OSU is overseeing campus reservations. Such as faculty/staff and student meetings, events, activities, conferences, tailgating, and outdoor events ( contact tables to ESPN College Gameday). In 2022, Adam also added to the OSU teaching staff as an adjunct instructor. He teaches in the School of Media and Strategic Communications, where he teaches two courses. The two courses are The Industry of Media and Gaming and Esport Tournament and Event Creation. Adam married his wife Brandi, and in December, they will have
been married for 19 years! They have two daughters, Jillian (16 in 2 months) and Reese (13). Brandi taught Physical Science and Biology at Perry High School and Physical Science at Stillwater Jr. High but has been the Director of the Children’s Ministry at Stillwater Bible since 2013. Adam is serving as the interim Youth Pastor at Stillwater Bible. A lot of Adam’s free time (if he has any) is spent at church and with his family. He is a Deacon at Stillwater Bible, and when he is not doing activities with the Youth, he teaches classes on Wednesday nights and facilitates a GROW Group (Sunday School) on Sunday mornings. As I read what Adam had sent me for this article, I was not surprised by Adam’s involvement with the church. Adam’s faith and his beliefs have never wavered. At Adam’s graduation from high school, he stood on the stage and shared his favorite Bible verse with his class. Adam, Brandi, and the girls travel a lot. They love to go skiing, to the beach, and to youth camps. As a family, they love attending OSU athletic events, especially OSU Baseball Games.
