Barb Beninato has traveled to 47 of the 50 states in America, but there’s one that stands above the rest — her native Nebraska.

Born and raised near Omaha, that’s where she met and married her high school sweetheart. His job brought them to Rome in 1990, and it’s now home.

A medical technologist/laboratory manager for 22 years, Barb is currently a full-time volunteer and the president of the Rome Symphony Orchestra board of directors.

“I think being a volunteer is a pretty great job. I can schedule my own hours and am always meeting new and interesting people,” she says.

Barb’s bucket list in life is varied. “I would love to try sky diving and fly in a glider. I hope to have the opportunity to visit Korea and/or Japan. My husband and I enjoy baseball and it would be fun to attend games in as many professional ball fields as possible.”

She’s already checked quite a few things off her list. “I have had the opportunity to fly a plane, with a pilot/teacher of course, and have been able to travel in Europe a few times. We have attended ball games at Fenway Park, San Francisco, St. Louis and Kansas City. I have three states left to visit and then I can say I have been in all 50 states!”

Those three remaining states are Oregon, Mississippi and Louisiana. She’ll likely get those checked off because Barb is a woman of action. “My true passion in life is simply being able to be active. I can’t imagine getting up in the morning and not having a project or something creative to do. I don’t think I could live a sedentary life.”

The activities she enjoys include “cooking, watching movies, the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., and reading. A little bit of gardening is OK, too.”

While she’s traveled the world, she loves calling Rome home. “I do enjoy the climate, but I also like being in a small community and especially one that is so friendly and has so much to offer in terms of friends, entertainment, education and health services.”

She also loves leading the board of the South’s oldest symphony, now 91 years old. She has done so since 1998.

Her advice to young women who aspire to be community leaders: “Set your priorities and stick to them. Your No. 1 priority may not be your ‘job’ and that is OK. If you are happy doing what you are doing you will probably be very good at it, but if you don’t enjoy the ‘job,’ you aren’t helping anyone. Also, keep a sense of humor!”