Joe New grew up in a Rotary family.  His grandfather was a member of the Rotary Club of Portsmouth.   His father, Parker New, joined our Rotary Club when he was 21.  Shortly after joining our club, Parker took a leave of absence from the Club to serve our country in World War II.  Joe joined in 1975 and served as club president (1985-1986).  His avenue of service has been international, and he has hosted the Group Study Exchange participants and Tiel youth exchange students.  He is a Paul Harris Fellow +1 and co-chairs our Tiel program.

Joe is a Norfolk native and attended Virginia Tech.  At a mixer in his freshman year, he met Barb whom he married late in their junior year.   With most of their friends leaving campus after exams, Joe and Barb married in the Virginia Tech chapel a week before exams.  They spent their honeymoon in a Virginia State Park studying for exams.

After graduating from Virginia Tech with a business degree, Joe joined the family moving and storage business. After 25 years in a leadership position and despite having three daughters in school, Joe left the business and pursued becoming a counselor.  He took six courses in psychology at ODU before commuting to William & Mary to earn a master’s degree in counseling.   Despite the degree, Joe needed 4,000 hours of supervised experience in counseling prior to being licensed (and therefore able to accept insurance).   

While pursuing his degree, Joe volunteered at the Suicide Prevention Crisis Line.  After earning his degree, he worked for the Virginia Department of Rehabilitation Services and the Urban League.  Later, he was employed by Catholic Charities for six years.  About 5 ½ years ago, he joined his current practice.

Joe’s hobbies include walking and hiking, playing bridge, crewing on a sailing race team and live theater.  When one of his daughters was in New Zealand, Joe and Barb joined her on the Milford Trek, a 33-mile walk through a rain forest which includes crossing a mountain.  Although most of us would not find trekking in rain enjoyable, for this walk, it was a blessing.  As they walked through the valley, there were numerous waterfalls which were created by the rain.   He also went to Machu Picchu and has climbed in the Grand Canyon.  He is looking forward to joining a group going on a seven-day pilgrimage across the north of Spain. 

Joe and Barb have three daughters.  One is a pediatrician in Norfolk while another is an installer for Cox Cable.  The third daughter heads the chemistry lab at William Patterson University in New Jersey.   All three daughters as high school students participated in our club's exchange with a Rotary club in Tiel, The Netherlands.