The Clark State Community College Board of Trustees has appointed Brad Phillips, president of Phillips Companies as chairman of the Board, and David Ball, senior vice president-law for Speedway LLC as vice chairman of the Board. Their terms began on January 15 and are a one-year tenure.

Phillips has served on the Clark State Board of Trustees for eight years, most recently as vice chairman. He has also served on the Board Finance Committee. He is president and an owner of Phillips Companies in Beavercreek, a 75-plus-year-old, fourth generation family business that supplies aggregate and ready-mix concrete materials, along with civil construction services, to construction projects in the greater Dayton area.  

“Brad Phillips is committed to student success and prosperity for the communities that Clark State serves,” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State. “His understanding of workforce needs is unparalleled, and his background as president of Phillips Companies provides Clark State with expertise in financial management, stewardship and business efficiencies.”

Phillips served as president, vice chairperson and chairperson of the Beavercreek Chamber of Commerce.

“It is very fulfilling to play a small part in the impact that Clark State can have on peoples’ lives,” said Phillips. “By focusing on access to educational opportunities and student success, Clark State has been able to increase its effectiveness and has helped our students prepare for careers that can provide them and their families better opportunities than may have been available to them otherwise.”

Phillips said the Board of Trustees will continue to support the improvement and expansion of facilities and academic programming that Clark State President Dr. Jo Alice Blondin and the executive team identify as needs in the service area. 

“For me, the best part of being a trustee is sitting on the stage during graduation and seeing the smiles of the graduates when they get their diplomas and hearing the cheers of excitement from friends and family in the audience,” he said.

David Ball, senior vice president – law for Speedway LLC, has been named vice chair of the Clark State Board of Trustees. Ball has been with Speedway for more than 12 years and served on the Clark State Board of Trustees since 2015.

“My goal during the time as vice chair is to continue to learn about Clark State, to be as involved as I can be and, most importantly, connect with students and ensure that the focus of Clark State is serving the students in the best manner possible through highly qualified faculty teaching the right courses to set students up for future success in the workforce,” said Ball. “My other goal is to support Brad in his role and the administration as this is a challenging time in higher education. We must do all we can to ensure the continuing success of Clark State into the future.”

Ball has served on the Clark State Foundation Board of Directors. Ball became a certified public accountant and then earned his Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University. He also served in the United States Air Force and was the assistant general counsel at the Reynolds and Reynolds Company.

“David Ball is a strong supporter of Clark State’s mission, particularly as we focus on ensuring a quality educational environment for every student,” said Blondin. “He has served as the Board of Trustee’s representative to the Foundation and understands the importance of leveraging scholarship dollars to improve student retention and completion.”