Subway Kids & Sports of Arizona, of which Chad Barnett is a board member, awards a 2015 grant to C.O.P.S. Arizona, which provides services to children who have lost a parent in the line of duty.
Comfortable with kids Chad Barnett aims to change children’s lives here, abroad By Alison Bailin Batz
F
or many, the prospect of being kneedeep in hundreds of kids is daunting. But for father-of-three Chad Barnett—a co-founder of the Arizona Children’s Business Fair and past board member of Partners in Action—if there is a chance to help a child, he is in. “Of all things, I have sandwiches to thank for a lot of the good I am able to do these days,” says Barnett with a laugh, but he is only half-joking. In 1993 at just 19, he worked in operation management for TCBY. Newly married, he and his wife, Jeana, moved from Texas to Arkansas to Indiana and finally to Arizona with the organization. In 2000, Barnett met Rick Ueable, who owned about a dozen Subway franchisees in Arizona. He and his partner were looking for someone to assist in operations management, and Barnett—who had fallen in love with the Valley—jumped at the opportunity. “Over the past 15 years, we’ve
46 | Scottsdale Airpark News August 2016
worked together to expand the business to 43 Subway locations and counting,”
says Barnett, who serves as president of Airpark-based Foods 2000, as well
Subway Kids & Sports of Arizona, of which Chad Barnett is a board member, awards funds to Lions Camp Tatiyee, which offers camping for children with special needs.