Staff Report/GlasgowNews1
The Barren County Schools Alumni Association will recognize its 2023 Hall of Distinguished Honor inductees on June 3, at 6 p.m. The induction ceremony will be in the Barren County High School auditorium.
See below biography information for this year’s inductees.
RONNIE DOYLE
Ronnie Doyle is a 1961 graduate of Edmonson County High School. After graduating he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Studies and Geography from Western Kentucky University. He continued his studies at WKU receiving his Master’s degree in 1967 and a Rank I in 1969. During his time at Barren County, Doyle served as Director of Pupil Personnel. For two consecutive years he participated in a Department of Education in-service training for new DPPs. He was chairman of the committee to rewrite the Barren County Board of Education policies and was also chairman of the Barren County Committee to develop student attendance policy. His work in these areas led to over 70 school districts to seek assistance in the writing and development of their attendance policies. When asked what lessons he learned since graduation, he said, “That as educators we must be more loving and understanding of our students – a sentiment he exhibited each and every day of his career. And when asked what advice he would give recent graduates he simply stated that you should do your best each and every day.”
MICHAEL GOODMAN
Dr. Michael Goodman is a 2006 graduate of Barren County High School who now works at Vanderbilt University in the labof Dr. Charles Sanders in the Department of Biochemistry as a Staff Scientist. Michael is part of an innovative collaboration between Vanderbilt and Deerfield Management Company to develop a therapeutic agent to treat Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease. In this role, Michael works with various cell lines to express and purify the protein involved in this particular disease and test small molecule compounds that potentially target it, in order to ultimately correct its disease pathogenesis. Michael is currently making progress alongside talented colleagues in the Sanders Lab in finding promising lead compounds that could eventually progress to human clinical trials in the future. Michael said he has learned many lessons since graduating high school and is continuing to learn as life progresses. He believes we are all lifelong students. Career-wise, he thinks it is imperative to find one’s passion an early stage and pursue it with vigor. He claims we are all human beings with unique talents and skillsets, whether that be in science and engineering, healthcare, trades, or many other fields. It is imperative to identify what is fulfilling to one’s life and interest and get connected with those who can help achieve one’s goals. He attends church at Little Bethel Baptist Church in Kentucky as well as Edgefield Church in Nashville. He is the son of John Stephen Goodman and Alicia Lynn Goodman, who now reside in Edmonson County.
EUGENE MAXWELL
Eugene Maxwell attended Hiseville Junior High and graduated from Barren County High School in 1988. In 2022, Maxwell moved to his last duty location. He serves as the ARNG Plans, Programs, and Policy Officer for NORAD-NORTHCOM in Colorado Springs, CO. He is projected to retire from the Army National Guard in the spring of 2025 with over 35 years of military service. Upon retiring from the Kentucky State Police in 2011, Eugene volunteered for a one-year tour on active duty at the National Guard Bureau (NGB) headquarters in Arlington, VA. While at NGB, Maxwell was hired into the Title 10 Active Guard Reserve (AGR) program and subsequently sent to Fort Sill, OK in 2012. Upon arriving at Fort Sill, he served as the Field Artillery program manager for Precision Fires Warrior and the Joint Effect Targeting System. Eugene has been married to Sherry Dennison Maxwell since 1993. They have two adult children: Peyton and Ben Maxwell.
MICA PENCE
Judge Mica Wood Pence, a 2002 graduate of Barren County High School, has deep roots in Barren County Schools. In her position as judge, she has been active with local, state and national organizations to help reform laws to better serve children. She represented Kentucky family court judges at the National Judicial Leadership Summit on Child Welfare and is a member of the Judicial Engagement Workgroups to improve practices between the court and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to improve access to mental health services for families in dependency, neglect and abuse cases, and to establish a statewide drug court recovery program for families.
Her focus on listening to a variety of perspectives led her to help found Bridge Kentucky, an organization, located in Glasgow, that connects at-risk families to the resources they need to avoid placing children into the foster care system. With her daily interactions in the courtroom focusing on these same families, she is dedicated to “meeting the needs that arise” in her community. Judge Pence resides in Barren County with her husband, Wayne, and son, Chandler.
STEVEN RAGLE
Dr. Steven Ragle is a 1992 Barren County High School graduate. Steven is a member of the American College of Emergency Physician Society of Academic Emergency Medicine, the American Academy of Emergency Medicine American Medical Association and the Wilderness Medicine Society. Ragle will say that all of his accomplishments would not be possible if not for the many influences, encouraging words, and experience he had during his education at Barren County Schools. To this day he remembers Ann Nance, Eastern Elementary Counselor, pulling him aside to point out his talents and his ability to do great things. Ragle currently resides in Nashville and divides his time between work and his two children, Anna Byrns and Porter.
BUD TARRY
William “Bud” Tarry graduated from Temple Hill High School in 1963. He graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1969 with a degree in History and Physical Education. In 1994, Tarry moved to the Barren County Central Office as Director of Pupil Transportation and Facilities. During his 10-year tenure as Director of Facilities, Barren County schools underwent a $30 million expansion and remodeling phase. In his 10 years as Director of Pupil Transportation, he achieved the National Certified Director of Pupil Transportation and KY Association of Pupil Transportation Director of the Year. Tarry officially retired in 2010 after 41 years of service in education only to return in 2019 as Interim Director of Pupil Transportation and continues in that role today. Tarry has been married for 41 years to Paula Forrester Tarry, Barren County Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development. They have a daughter, Miranda, who attended Barren County High School.
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