Brock Hughes - 25 Years

January 21, 2016

Brock Hughes Free Clinic gets new director

A desire to help people took Stacey Linkous from a job she held for 15 years to a new one. The Wythe County native became the executive director of the Brock Hughes Free Clinic, which serves qualified resi dents of Wythe and Bland counties, effective Jan. 18. “I’m very excited for a new challenge,” Linkous said. “I’m still helping people. That’s where my heart is.” She was a coordinator with Talent Search at Wytheville Community College, a federally funded program to prepare students in grades six to 12 for college and careers. Linkous worked with 700 students from Smyth, Bland, Carroll and Grayson counties for more than 15 years. Linkous credits one of those former students, Brittany Hall, now a behavioral health clinician at Wake Forest University Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with helping her land the clinic job. “Brittany knew a nurse practitioner here at the free clinic,” Linkous said. “They had worked together at the New River Free Clinic. Linkous applied for the position and was interviewed by members of the free clinic’s board of directors on Dec. 16, 2015. She accepted the position the next week. Because WCC was closed for the winter break as were Wythe County schools, Linkous had to wait until earlier this month to give her

notice. She assumed her free clinic duties Monday, Jan. 18, after a quick overview from board chairman Rita Phillips over the weekend. “I knew Rita from the college but I never worked with her,” Linkous added. “I was aware of the clinic and some of the work it does but I have a lot to learn about it. The staff has been so welcoming.” As executive director, she will oversee the daily operation of the free clinic at 450 W. Monroe St., Wytheville. Linkous will be responsible for the staff, continued programs, finances and administration. Part of the job calls for fundraising activities. It also entails applying for grants. “I already have several ideas about fundraising,” Linkous said. “It’s a very new challenge but I’ve made so many connections at WCC. I hope to be able to grow this program.” With the goal of helping people in some way, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Tusculum College in Greenville, Tennessee, after graduating Rural Retreat High School. Linkous received her master’s degree online from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “When I was younger, I wanted to get as far away fromWythe County as I could,” she said. “I had no intention of coming home but I did. Now, there’s no place I’d rather be. I love it here.” After working as a youth counselor at the Presbyterian Children’s Home in Wytheville, Linkous was hired for the financial aid office at WCC in 1999. She then took the Talent Search job. Linkous is the daughter of Richard and Hoppy Linkous. She has two sisters, Jodey L. Pugh and Amber Linkous. Linkous enjoys spending time with her only nephew, 13-year-old Justin Pugh, a seventh-grader at Rural Retreat Middle School. She also spends lot of time with her dog, Chase, a golden Lab mix. An active member of Sunny Hills Community Church in Wytheville, Linkous teaches the middle school class. She has been affiliated with the church for six years.

11