The Story of Angie Barney

Angela Barney is a woman of many talents, as she has developed strong roles in both the farming and financial services industry. Her background and passions have shaped who she is today as director of accountability and financial planner at Skylight.

Angie grew up and continues to live in a small town outside of Toledo, OH called Monclova.  This is where her parents and three siblings tended to their grain, fruit, vegetable, and livestock farm. To this day her parents still work on the grain, fruit, and vegetable farm and two of her siblings run their own farms. Growing up, Angie became involved in 4H and FFA, both of which focus on the leadership and success of youth. She described these programs as “a great way to share my passion for the agricultural world, grow in my leadership skills, and work with youth,” which she has now continued to do in her adulthood.

Angie attended Davis College, where she graduated with a degree in Information Systems Management, planning to work in HR at a word processing center for a large company, but never ended up taking that route. Instead, she worked a temp job in accounting, which she instantly knew she was not interested in. When that job was over, she noticed an opening at a general agency of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) in 1987 and decided to apply. She was hired on the spot and continued her education by getting her CLU designation at the American College of Financial Services in 2011. During her time with a MassMutual firm, she has worked with many financial professionals and has continued to develop her role, which led her to Skylight Financial Group.

Angie’s practice is very client focused and referral based. She absolutely loves her clients and knows most of them on a personal level. “My entire role as an advisor has been a dual role,” she explained. Angie has always taken on a management role with her advising position, and since 2010 she has been an accountability manager. Through this role, she helps new financial professionals start and develop their careers. Her favorite part of this job is “the ability to watch people grow and succeed, not only in their career but as people, too.”

Right after college, Angie married her high school sweetheart, Tim. They grew up within 5 miles of each other and currently live on a swine farm; Tim works in the agricultural industry as a certified crop advisor. On their farm they have 80 mama pigs that produce around 2,000 babies a year. Tim and Angie have three sons, Nick, Nathan, and Nolan. Their oldest now runs the day to day operations of the swine farm. She jokes that they live on a swine farm “to keep them out of trouble.”  Angie’s brainchild on the farm is their farm to freezer to program; “it allows us to deliver our product to our community and we have had a great response to that.”

Angie has a very active life out of the office, as if the farm is not enough. She has continued her support for 4H and is still very active in the organization. In and outside of the office, she is passionate about helping the youth. She is a co-director of the swine barn at the Ohio State Fair, which entails hiring staff and judges and running the shows for the week of the state fair. She has also been the president of the local high school athletic boosters for three years, and believes in giving back to the local schools.

When Angie is not busy tending to these obligations, you can find her at her family’s cottage in Coldwater, Michigan. This is where they all gather to have a care-free time and enjoy each other’s company. “We try not to focus on any of our family business that are all intertwined, but instead to play,” Angie shared.

Angie is truly a woman for others. She is constantly trying to help the community and people around her. One of her biggest passions in her role as a planner is “supporting clients to retirement and watching them do the things they have always wanted to do or continuing what they are passionate about.”

Thanks for sharing, Angie!

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