ROCK OF THE YEAR
ROCK OF THE YEAR
FOR 2000
The Honorable Henry Minton Francis
U.S. Army, Retired
H. Minton Francis is a fifth generation Washingtonian. He attended public schools in the District of Columbia where he graduated from the formerly famous Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. Educated at the University of Pennsylvania and the United States Military Academy, he also attended Syracuse University, where he earned a MBA degree with honors and was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma. Following graduation from West Point in 1944, Mr. Francis served the nation as an officer of the Regular Army for twenty-one years. He was a member of the Army concept Team in Vietnam; a commander of artillery troops in the Korean Conflict and in World war II; and staff officer for the comptroller of the Army and the Secretary of Defense.
Subsequent to his retirement form the Army, he worked both in government and the private sector. As deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Mr. Francis was in charge of the Defense Human Goals Program guaranteeing protection of the rights of , and equal opportunities for, women, minorities and the disabled of the all races, ethnic groups and religions. His program embraced the now famous Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) at Patrick air Force Base in Florida, the first of its kind anywhere in the United States. Mr. Francis was awarded the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal for his exceptional service in the Department of Defense.
On leaving Federal Service, Mr. Francis accepted appointments at Howard University as Director of University Planning; Executive director of the University-Wide Self-Study Task force; Executive Secretary of the Presidential Search committee in 1989; Special Assistant to the President; and Director of Governmental Affairs.
In December 1992, he was appointed President of the Black revolutionary War Patriots Foundation. The Foundation is authorized by the U.S. Congress to erect a memorial on the National Mall in Washington to the more than 5,000 African Americans who supported (and fought and died for) the American Revolution. The foundation will unveil the monument on the 230th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 2006.
For the past fifteen years, he has been a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army, a voluntary office without compensation in which the incumbent (there are more than fifty, representing each State and Territory of the United States) carries the Army's message and image to the American people.
As a Human Resources consultant to the Secretary of the Army, he traveled to Europe at his own expense to investigate and report on the command climate, with respect to race and gender relations, in the U.S. Army units stationed in Germany. He performed a similar service for Army installations in the Midwestern United States. The report produced by his group led to major changes in the program.
Mr. Francis has been a volunteer for the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, serving at The Shepherd's Table in silver Spring, Maryland, and on the Board of directors of SHARE, as well as working as a volunteer in the SHARE warehouse in Bladensburg, and speaking to church congregations on behalf of Catholic Charities of Washington to encourage cash donations.
Mr. Francis is a Life Member of Disabled American Veterans, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He is a Trustee Emeritus of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy, a former member of the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs, the Board of Mangers of the Historical Society of Washington, DC, and the Board of Directors of Metropolitan USO in Washington. He is a volunteer member of the Board of Directors of the Carroll Publishing company of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. He holds memberships in the National Press Club and the Army and Navy club of Washington. He is a life member of The ROCKS, Inc.
Mr. Francis is the President and Chief Executive Officer of his management consulting firm, Francis and Francis, Inc., in Washington, D.C.
ROCK OF THE YEAR
FOR 2000
Lieutenant General Joe N. Ballard
U.S. Army, Retired
Lieutenant General Joe N. Ballard became the 49th Chief of Engineers and commander of the U.S. Army corps of Engineers on October1, 1996. He is the Army's senior engineer and top engineering advisor. He is responsible for an annual budget of over $12 billion, and leadership of a workforce of more than 37,000 civilian and military personnel worldwide.
He manages Army corps of Engineers missions, including the nation's vast civil works program, environmental restoration, and construction on military installations. His leadership guides the Corps in assisting with recovery from natural disaster, regulating work in the nation's waterways and wetlands, conducting research and development serving as the Army and Air force real estate agenda, and providing engineering services to sixty other federal agencies and more than eighty nations.
General Ballard graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1965 with a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and a commission in the Corps of Engineers. he later earned his master's degree in Engineering management from the University of Missouri. He is a graduate of the Army command and General Staff college and the Army War college. He is a registered professional engineer in civil engineering. He holds a number of honorary degrees, including an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri, an Honorary Professional Degree from the University of Missouri in Rolla, Missouri, and an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Prior to his selection as Chief of Engineers, General Ballard served as the Chief of Staff of the Army's Training and Doctrine command, Fort Monroe, Virginia. He served in a wide variety of command and staff positions in the U.S. and oversea, including commanding General of the U.S. Army Engineer Center and Fort Leonard Wood. General Ballard served two combat tours in Vietnam.
General Ballard's military awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (three awards), Bronze Star Medal (two awards), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal (four awards).
In addition to his military honors, the Council of Deans of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the Career Communications Group recognized General Ballard as the 1998 Black Engineer of the Year. He is also the 1998-1999 president of the Society of American Military Engineers and a member of the National Engineering Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi. He is a life member of The ROCKS, Inc.
General Ballard is a native of Oakdale, Louisiana. He is married to the former Tessie LaRose of New Orleans, Louisiana, and they are parents of three daughters: Mrs. Dawn Stewart, Mrs. Taras Copeland and Mrs. Makyba Frazer.
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