Speaker Intro for Rebecca Barnes

A lifelong resident of Prince William, Virginia, Rebecca Barnes is, as Marty Nohe describes, a “serial entrepreneur” She has been a business owner for more than 30 years, starting and running several award-winning companies in Prince William County.

Rebecca served for 12 years on the board of the Chamber of Commerce and was its youngest female Chairman.  She was a founding task force member, the first Chairman, and graduated from the first class of Leadership Prince William. Over the years, Rebecca has received numerous honors and awards while serving her community, including two-time winner of the Seefeldt Arts Business supporter of the Year Award and three-time award winner, Business of the year, Prince William Chamber of Commerce as well as Person of the Year, Dale City Civic Association. In 2019 she was awarded the Chairman’s Award from Leadership Prince William. In 2021 honored with the Education Award from the American Association of University Women, and in 2022, awarded the Prince William Chamber of Commerce Behind the Scenes Award. 

Rebecca is the CEO of Imagine, a Destination Marketing Agency that helps communities promote tourism and economic development. She is also the Publisher of Prince William Living, which is the only lifestyle magazine that covers all of Prince William County and Greater Manassas, Va., exclusively. She is also the publisher of Brides & Weddings magazine, Media and Marketing Specialist for Rampant Social, and director of Give Back Prince William, a 501 (c)(3) for philanthropic giving in Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park, Virginia.

Rebecca is also a Volunteer for the OWL Volunteer Fire Department as the Public Information Officer. She serves as liaison to elected officials and acts as the Spokesperson during major incidents. She served eight years as a board member and ten years on the Recruitment & Retention committee for both OWL VFD and PWCFRS. In 2015 she won the John M. McGovern, Jr. Unsung Hero Award and the Outstanding Performance Award from OWL VFD, and in 2017 the Robert F. Arrington service award.

A breast cancer survivor, Rebecca has a personal mission for women over 40 (and at-risk men & women) to get annual mammograms and do monthly self-checks. So far, more than 223 women have gotten mammograms due to her story.

Rebecca studied at Northern Virginia Community College in Woodbridge, Virginia. She continued her education at George Mason University, studying History and Secondary Education. Rebecca currently lives in Manassas, Virginia, and Floridam and often travels. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her grands, reading, visiting Disney World, and sleeping.

updated 10/17/2023