THOMASVILLE, Ga. — Late last year, the assistant vice president of heart, vascular and imaging services, Joe Barron, retired from Archbold Medical Center after 40 years of leadership.

Inspired by Barron’s enduring principle of “local people taking care of local people,” Dr. Cary Newman and his partners at Red Hills Radiology decided to surprise him with a new legacy scholarship in his name, according to a press release from Southern Regional Technical College.

The Joe Barron Scholarship will benefit up to three Thomasville SRTC students annually, the college said. The Foundation of Southern Regional Technical College will award $500 scholarships to students each semester, based on both merit and need.