Forty Under 40: Tabby Holmes

Tabetha “Tabby” Holmes, 37, counts on her morning workouts to drive her every day. The certified personal fitness trainer gives credit for her motivation from the way she was raised in Cabool, Mo., in the south central part of the state.

Holmes received her undergraduate degree in education from the College of the Ozarks in 1990. From there, she attended the University of Arkansas for her master’s degree in health science because, at the time, it was one of the top five programs in corporate health, Holmes said.

After she received her master’s degree in 1992, she was hired as an exercise specialist at Washington Regional Medical Center. In 1994, she developed and coordinated corporate wellness, which supplied educational tools and information to area companies. Two years later, she took a job as a sales rep for a former advertising company, Cross Brooks Graphics in Fayetteville. In 1998, she started at Arkansas Open MRI as a marketing coordinator, and in 2000 was hired as the regional director.

Holmes then masterminded a second Arkansas Open MRI center in Bentonville that has been successful.

She is a board member of the Hogeye Marathon and Relays and is on the diplomat committee for the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce.