James Barlow, also Known to the community as JB. Barlow has been an Audio Visual Technician for over 25 years. His role as an Audio Visual Technician has allowed him the opportunity to see and travel the country on many occasions. Throughout his travels he has met many people in the field and has formed great business relationships/partnerships.
With the numerous years of AV experience and travel opportunities under his belt, Barlow decided to share his gifts and talents with the youths of Georgia. Five years ago, Barlow came up with the brilliant idea to form a youth development workshop program that will offer opportunity to students to gain positive influence and pull out creativity, as well as instill leadership skills by teaching team work, job readiness, life skills, audio visual technical skills and the arts. Today this program has come to fruition and is currently located at The West End performing arts center, the name of the program is called Art @ Work.
Barlow understands the importance of mentoring and how meaningful engagement in arts and education can have a life-changing impact on a youth’s life; while at the same time having a positive benefit to not only the teens, but the organization and the community as a whole. Barlow says “Growing up, I never had a mentor to show me what to do or how to do it. I pretty much had to figure it out on my own.” As an adult I realize the importance of mentoring and decided to give back to my community by allowing the youth to see the opportunities that lie ahead; opportunities that will help them to be successful in the world of audio visual and the arts. One of Barlow’s favorite sayings “In order to seize the opportunity, you must to see the opportunity.”
According to Barlow, some of the business relationships include Wade Jones and L.A. Jackson. Jones and Jackson are business partners with the Peach City Record label and L.A. Jackson who’s also the author of his newly released book, Musicology 2101 joined forces to help support Barlow’s dream to teach and support the youth by offering their time, talent and expertise.
