Carol Jenkins Barnett (September 30, 1956 – December 7, 2021) was an American philanthropist and businesswoman, the daughter of George W. Jenkins, the founder of Publix Super Markets. Jenkins Barnett was president of Publix Super Markets Charities and as a member of the board of directors of Publix Super Markets. She had been included in a ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' list of

The World's Billionaires ''The World's Billionaires'' is an annual ranking of people who are billionaires, i.e., they are considered to have a net worth of US$1 billion or more, by the American business magazine ''Forbes''. The list was first published in March 1987. ...

every year from 2008 on.

Early life

Carol Jenkins was the daughter of Anne MacGregor and George W. Jenkins. Jenkins Barnett is one of six children: Howard, David, Julie, Nancy and Kenneth. Barnett attended

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

but later transferred to

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. It offers undergraduate, gradua ...

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

. Carol Barnett's father, George W. Jenkins, founded Publix Super Markets. Carol was born in 1956 when Publix was in its heyday. Carol and her five siblings worked at Publix beginning at the age of sixteen. She said: "The way I grew up, everything was about Publix. We'd go to store openings. I remember attending the 100th store opening when I was eight. I was there for the glory years."

Business career

Board of directors

Jenkins Barnett was a member of the Publix board of directors from 1983 to 2016. During her time at Publix, the company grew into the largest supermarket chain in Florida, expanded into five other states, and recorded $32.5 billion in sales in 2015.

Publix Charities

Publix Super Markets Charities strives to provide the communities it serves with funding for housing with Habitat for Humanity. The charity also supports other causes such as food assistance, education, and youth programs. Between 1991 and 2016, Jenkins Barnett was president of Publix Super Market Charities. Jenkins Barnett helped lead the organization to donate $25 million to nonprofit organizations each year. She helped lead the organization to donate over $10 million to

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...

Philanthropy

In 2011,

announced an undisclosed contribution from Jenkins Barnett in honor of her husband, Barney Barnett, a graduate of Florida Southern. The funds were used to establish the Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise. The Barnetts also gave a reported $10 million to

to establish the Barnett Residential Life Center that was designed by

Robert A. M. Stern Robert Arthur Morton Stern (born May 23, 1939) is an American architect, educator, and author. He is the founding partner of the architecture firm, Robert A. M. Stern Architects, also known as RAMSA. From 1998 to 2016, he was the Dean of the Y ...

. In 2012, the Barnetts were the primary donors in a funding drive for the construction of a $5.5 million, 18-classroom learning facility at All Saints' Academy in

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is located about east of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and about southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, with neighboring Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland located to its west. The city's popul ...

. They gave $1 million to help launch the Carol J. and Barney Barnett Learning Center, which opened in 2014 at the

Florida Aquarium The Florida Aquarium is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, publicly operated institution located in downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It is a large scale, aquarium and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This means t ...

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. To promote environmental conservation, the Barnetts donated $3 million to

Mote Marine Laboratory Mote Marine Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit, marine research organization based on City Island in Sarasota, Florida, with additional campuses in eastern Sarasota County, Boca Grande, Florida, and the Florida Keys. Founded in 1955 by Eug ...

and Aquarium in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

in 2015. The Barnetts have donated millions of dollars to the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

. In 2016, the Lakeland Regional Health Foundation received a donation from the Barnett family in honor of Carol Jenkins Barnett for the Pavilion for Women and Children at the Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center Campus. The gift was the largest donation received to date by the Foundation. The new building was named the Carol Jenkins Barnett Pavilion for Women and Children. Also in 2016, the Barnetts gave $800,000 to the Drug Free Florida Committee, an organization leading opposition to Amendment 2 to the Constitution of the State of Florida, which legalized marijuana for medical use in Florida.

Personal life and death

Barnett had two sons with her husband, Barney Barnett. In 2016, Barnett was diagnosed with

early-onset Alzheimer's disease Early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD), also called younger-onset Alzheimer's disease (YOAD), is Alzheimer's disease diagnosed before the age of 65. It is an uncommon form of Alzheimer's, accounting for only 5–10% of all Alzheimer's cases. Ab ...

. She died from complications of the disease on December 7, 2021, at the age of 65.

Awards and recognition

In 2004, Barnett was presented with the Florida Arts Recognition Award by the

Secretary of State of Florida The secretary of state of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 Constitution of Florida, state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, th ...

to honor people who support art and culture in Florida. She contributed to many Florida arts organizations, including the

Polk Museum of Art The Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art at Florida Southern College (The AGB), formerly known as the Polk Museum of Art, is a private, non-profit, and nationally accredited art museum in Lakeland, Florida. It is a member of the Florida Associatio ...

, Lakeland Symphony Orchestra and

Straz Center for the Performing Arts The Straz Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue in Tampa, Florida, United States. It opened in July 1987 as the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, and was renamed in 2009. The Straz Center is owned by the City of Tampa and op ...

. In 2015, Barnett received the Women in Philanthropy award, a national honor bestowed by the

Women's Leadership Council for her work developing a number of early childhood initiatives, including the ReadingPals literacy program that spread throughout Florida. In 2016, Jenkins Barnett was inducted into the

Florida Women's Hall of Fame The Florida Women's Hall of Fame is an honor roll of women who have contributed to life for citizens of the US state of Florida. An awards ceremony for the hall of fame was first held in 1982 and recipient names are displayed in the Florida State ...

. In 2017, Barnett received the Chiles Advocacy Award, Florida's highest honor for serving its children. The

Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy is a non-profit organization, headquartered in Washington D.C., supporting literacy as fundamental to the success of both families and the U.S. economy. The foundation promotes access to resources to ...

presented Barnett with its “Champion for Literacy” award. The Barnetts announced plans to introduce the largest park in

. Jenkins Barnett has served on the steering committee for The Children's Movement of Florida. Barnett was named a notable member of the

Association of Junior Leagues International The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With ...

, an honor given to only 18 women since the association's founding in 1901.

References

External links

2016 Florida Women's Hall of Fame Inductee Carol Jenkins Barnett of Lakeland
via

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

United Way of Miami-Dade ReadingPals: Carol and Barney Barnett
via

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnett, Carol Jenkins 1956 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American philanthropists American billionaires American businesspeople in retailing American grocers Businesspeople from Florida Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Florida Emory University alumni Florida Southern College alumni Deaths from dementia in Florida People from Lakeland, Florida Philanthropists from Florida 20th-century American women philanthropists 21st-century American women philanthropists Florida Women's Hall of Fame Inductees