HEART, INSPIRATION AND “ANGEL” BEHIND RED BARN FARMS

Michael Haws - Chairman

Michael grew up in Farmington, Utah, with four brothers and a sister, not far from where Red Barn Academy sits today. He was a Boy Scout and church missionary, from a close-knit family. After returning from his mission, Michael attended Utah State University on an athletic scholarship. He suffered a back injury that ended his collegiate sports career, but he still managed to graduate with a BA in marketing. Unfortunately, he also graduated with an addiction to pain killers.

After college Michael worked as a Pharmaceutical Rep, then a Biotech Rep but his addiction to opiates continued to worsen. He eventually left the medical field to become a commercial real estate broker. He was highly successful initially, but his addiction eventually became unmanageable. Michael overdosed several times, was repeatedly arrested and spent several stints in jail, psych hospitals and rehab facilities. He ultimately wound up divorced, bankrupt and out of control.

Then something happened that changed the course of Michael’s life, On June, 29th, 2012, his younger brother, Dustin Haws, died from a heroin overdose. Initially, Michael went even further off the deep end; another car crash, another DUI and waking up handcuffed to a hospital bed, on his way back to jail. But then, on July 26, 2012 at the very table that now serves as the Red Barn Academy conference room table, Michael had a conversation with his dad, Rich Haws, that saved his life. Soon thereafter, Michael, his dad, and the rest of the family, made the decision to create a program at the family’s “red barn” to support individuals like he and his brother.

Michael completed the Substance Use Disorder program at the University of Utah in the Social Work Department in 2014. He worked as a case manager for over three years at Davis Behavioral Health and the red barn became a hub for a variety of addiction services to help those in need. In 2017 the Haws family decided to fully commit to making the red barn a classic therapeutic community and “Red Barn Academy” accepted their first student in August of 2017.

Michael is also an Ironman and Spartan Warrior and is happily married to the girl of his dreams, Tawni Goldsberry Haws, and they have a beautiful baby boy, Maverick. As a true survivor of the abyss of addiction and the ravages it can wreak on families and society at large, Michael is proud to now be able to help others find a life of built on integrity, discipline, hard work and family.

Rich Haws - Board Member

CEO of The Haws Companies and Managing Partner in many mixed-use real estate development projects over the past 40 years including Station Park and Park Lane Commons development. Co-Founder of Sticky Bird. A current board member of the Anasazi Foundation and active mentor and instructor at Red Barn Farms.

John Parrish - Board Member

John passionately supports Red Barn’s work and is a family member who is grateful for his son’s long-term recovery from alcoholism. John retired after 40+ years working for Midwest, a family-owned business established in 1938. John and his wife Joanne established the John M. Parrish Foundation in 2007. John has dedicated both his philanthropic support and service in providing leadership and guidance for several Utah community non-profit organizations. John previously served as chairman and board member for Fourth Street Clinic (Wasatch Homeless Health Care), Fit to Recover, and Salt Lake Community College Foundation Board. John and Joanne most enjoy spending time on the Oregon coast with their dogs Dude and Willie.