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Reference Notes
Courtney Barker
TAB 4
Glenn Dames – Pastor, St. James AME Church, Titusville, FL 904-610-4243
Mr. Dames has known Ms. Barker since 2006. St. James Church works closely with the City on
special projects. A recent joint project involved building a nine home affordable housing
subdivision. Ms. Barker worked on the governmental aspects of the project while Mr. Dames
dealt with the community component. Work was halted when an endangered osprey nest was
discovered onsite. Ms. Barker met with her team, the Florida Department of Wildlife, and
county employees to discuss the process of removing the nest. She led the brainstorming
process. Because of her leadership, what normally would have been at least a six week process
only took two to three weeks to resolve
Ms. Barker is hardworking, dedicated, and conscientious. She commits herself over and above
the call of duty. Currently the community is fighting to keep a local elementary school open.
She is doing an exceptional job of conducting research and managing negotiations with the
School Board.
Mr. Dames and Ms. Barker have an excellent working relationship. She even answers her phone
after hours and responds well to whatever is asked of her. She makes excellent hiring decisions.
She identifies qualities in employees that others may not be able to see. One outstanding quality
is how she allows her staff to be creative but can reel them in when necessary. She has done an
excellent job of writing code. She also has responsibility for rewriting plans for parcels. She
writes in layperson’s terms; so everyone can understand the technical aspects of such plans.
Ms. Barker is definitely a change agent and will fight for any initiative she feels is important.
She is also innovative and maintains her organization at a high performance level. She instructs
her staff to keep the Church informed. When handling confidential or crucial matters she calls
personally or schedules meetings at one of the sites. Since she manages social services, she
meets frequently with community leaders. One resident raised a concern about the separation of
church and state because some meetings were held at the St. James Church. Ms. Barker and Mr.
Dames successfully fought the complaint by demonstrating that meetings were held at many
different facilities.
Some residents see government as the enemy. However, Ms. Barker has the ability to work very
well with all residents, including the difficult ones. She handles complaints with professionalism
and grace, even when residents do not offer her the same level of respect.
Ms. Barker is definitely a leader who can rally the troops together. She is a company person who
is very loyal to her employer. She conveys the Council’s vision to her staff and the community.
She helps Council understand constituent and employee concerns. She keeps her operations
under budget even as she produces quality work. If Mr. Dames ever calls Ms. Barker while she
is in a meeting, she responds with a text indicating she will call him back after the meeting. She
keeps on top of every task.
Ms. Barker’s job is controversial but she manages her responsibilities with great skill and
finesse. She has a sterling reputation and nothing in her background would embarrass a potential
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