Joan Battle Earns Chamber's 'Citizen of the Year' Award

(Here is the story of Joan Battle, as presented at Thursday night's 53rd Annual Celebration.)

Joan Loretta Barnwell Battle was born on February 22 1941, daughter of Roy Lee Barnwell and Christine Alexander Barnwell.

She received the first seven years of education at the Hiram Colored Rosenwald School, where she graduated from the Seventh grade as Valedictorian of the class.  In 1959, she graduated from Matthews Consolidated School as the Salutatorian.

In 1962, she graduated from Spelman College.  She received her Master’s and ED.S degree from the University of West Georgia and additional studies at the University of Southern Texas.

In 1962, she began her teaching career in Paulding County at her Alma Mater, The Matthews Consolidated High School. Later she transferred to the Paulding County High School.  In 1972, she became a certified guidance counselor and worked at the following schools: Paulding County Junior High (now Hershel Jones Middle School); P.B. Ritch Middle School; South Paulding Middle School; Paulding County High and retired in 2003 as the lead counselor at Hiram High School after forty one years of service.  She was inducted into the Phi Delta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Societies.

Her professional and community involvement include the following past and present positions: Chairman of the Board of Directors at Paulding Youth Development Center; Secretary of the Paulding Zoning and Planning Commission; Vice Chairman of the Paulding County Library Board; Secretary of the New Beginning Day Care Center, Historian for Phi Delta Kappa Honor Society; District Chairperson of the Georgia Counselors Association; Officer of the Paulding County Association of Educators; Member of the WellStar Board of Directors and Public Relations Chair of the Rosenwald Preservation Committee.

She is a member of the Sweet Home Baptist Church and has two children, Derrick & Dana Battle and two grandchildren, Joshua & Desmand Battle.