Betty Heistad Barrett began her volunteer service early in life as a summer camp counselor during her high school and college days and at West Virginia University Hospital where she recruited and trained other volunteers. She also served as a Second Lieutenant and Occupational Therapist at the Valley Forge Army Hospital. A native of Chicago, wife of Edgar O. Barrett and mother of 5 children, Betty Barrett has always found time to be involved extensively in programs designed to help the less fortunate. The Cabell-Huntington Coalition for the Homeless, the Information and Referral Service, and the National Society for Autistic Children as well as the League of Women Voters, have all benefited from the countless hours of service she has given as a volunteer social worker and leader.
Under her leadership, local and state organizations cooperated to create "Vanity Fair" a unique housing project providing single-occupancy apartments and advisory services for homeless and low-income persons. Barrett serves as an at-large member of Huntington City Council. Barrett was one of the first area women to receive the Susan B. Anthony award, and has been honored by the West Virginia Rehabilitation Association as Citizen of the Year. Numerous other state and city awards have been bestowed upon this caring and dedicated citizen in recognition of her efforts to help those who are unable to help themselves.
