In all 50 states of our beautiful America, remarkable people have made or are making a difference. They give of themselves to accomplish positive change, improve communities, promote education, develop helpful pro-grams, and simply put, Make an Impact!
In Missouri, one of these extraordinary individuals is Lieutenant General (LTG) United States Army (retired) Professional Engineer (PE) Joe N. Ballard. With a military career spanning thirty-five years, including the position of Commander of the United States Army Engineer Center at Fort Leonard Wood, LTG Ballard exemplifies the impact of positive change.
LTG Ballard grew up in Louisiana and is the oldest of six children. In March 1942, Nathan and Bernice Ballard welcomed their son Joe Nathan into this world. Little did they know the distinguished and honorable path their son’s life would take. As Joes parents were sharecroppers, their means were meager, and their lives were hard and fraught with uncertainty. They worked the land in exchange for living accommodations and a share of the profits that came at the end of harvest, which was never promised to be bountiful. Joe’s extensive education began at Allen Parish School for Colored Youth in Louisiana. Joe’s journey of helping others began at home as a young boy when his mother told him his father could not read. Joe made it his self-determined assignment to read to his father from the Bible and, over many years, taught his father how to read.
“Home is Where the Army Sends You” This is a well-known saying within military families. Joe Ballard’s home was never without his darling wife, Tessie. They met as kids at Southern University in Louisiana in the early dos and have now celebrated 61 years of marriage. Joe stands at an imposing 6′ 3″ while sweet Tessie reaches a mere 5’1 3/4″. To see them together, one would assume Joe held the reins in the family, but they would be mistaken because she is small but mighty and runs a tight ship, as most military wives do. Military life is difficult; maintaining a marriage takes unyielding love, strength, and respect.
The Ballards moved 30 times in 35 years, and Tessie was always in command of every aspect. They lived in Bamberg, Karlsruhe, and Heidelberg in Germany. Moving within Germany held its unique issues. Tessie shared how much she loved living in Germany and its beauty, but it was always nice to come home. Moving through America held tribulations of its own. They did not have the means to travel by air and drove to each new city, the military paying for their miles on the road and hotel stays.
In 1991, LTG Ballard’s path led him to Missouri when he was named Assistant Commandant of Fort Leonard Wood, the U.S. Army Engineer School and Deputy Commanding General of the Engineer Center. He returned to the Pentagon for another assignment in the office of the Chief of Staff of the Army, Then, he was named Commanding General of the Engineer Center, and at Fort Leonard Wood was the first African American named for this position. There, he acted as the Army’s engineer proponent for combat support systems, training, and doctrinal matters. LTG Ballard pursued a degree in Engineering Management, a new program offered only at Stanford University and the University of Missouri-Rolla. Ballard was quickly accepted into the program and moved from Chicago to Rolla, Missouri. His wife Tessie moved their three children to Louisiana to stay with their grandparents for the sum-mer, and their furniture was moved to storage. LTG Ballard managed a rigorous nine credit hours that summer. They found a home outside the school on Salem Ave., moved the children to Missouri, and began their new lives. LTG Ballard was an anomaly, earning 38 credit hours in only one year and two summers, and was one of only five African Americans in the program. On campus, Ballard’s 6’3* frame often had him mistaken for a football or basketball player. LTG Ballard enjoyed the camaraderie and often called their games. His productive involvement in the community also caused him to confront the racial issues of the times, but he maintained his path of leadership and philanthropy.
Fort Leonard Wood Closure Risk
In 1994, Fort Leonard Wood was scheduled to be closed as part of the Base Realignment and Closure Initiative, a program the United States Department of Defense (DoD) uses to reorganize military bases to support its forces more efficiently. As the second largest employer in Missouri, dosing this installation would have had widespread effects. General Ballard appeared before then-Governor Melvin Carnahan’s staff along with United States Representative and Armed Services Committee Chairperson Ike Skelton, Civilian Aid to the Secretary of the Army John Mahaffey, and others to present their rationale for keeping Fort Leonard Wood open. Considering the fundamental need and practicality, the DoD kept Fort Leonard Wood open. It closed Fort McClellan in Alabama and moved its training schools for Chemicals and Military Police to Fort Leonard Wood. The fort had the land to accommodate these schools, created a wealth of development for the area, boosted the economy, and fostered an outstanding relationship with the University of Missouri-Rolla.
Growth Of Fort Leonard Wood
Keeping Fort Leonard Wood open positively affected Missouri, including staff and teachers purchasing homes and expanding the local community. The Corps of Engineers requires their staff to earn degrees in engineering, induding a newly developed degree in engineering management. As Army staff and soldiers obtained these degrees, LTG Ballard allowed soldiers to earn course credits at Fort Leonard Wood at the training schools and partnered with the University of Missouri-Rolla so their credits would be ac-cepted. Many soldiers benefitted from LTG Ballard’s scholarship program and received degrees. To this day, Fort Leonard Wood and the University of Missouri-Rolla (now known as Missouri University of Science and Technology) remat open and thriving.
Scholarship Created At The University Of Missouri-Rolla
When the University of Missouri-Rolla expressed an interest in increasing the student population, LTG Ballard suggested that the emphasis should be more on female and minority students. Consequently. The Ballards created the Joe and Tessie Ballard Scholarship Fund, which matches contributions for female and minority students tuition. The popular program still exists today and has allowed many students to pursue an engineering degree who might not otherwise have found a way forward in this field.
LTG Ballard’s vast, honorable military career concluded when he was appointed to the three-star command position, as the 49th Chief of Engineers and Commander, United States Army Corps of Engineers by President Clinton. Ballard managed all missions for the Corps of Engineers, Including the nations vast civil works program, environmental restoration, and construction on military installations. He guided the Corps in assisting recovery from natural disasters, regulating work in the nation’s waterways and wetlands, conducting research and development, serving as the Army and Air Force real estate agent, and providing engineering services to 6o Federal agencies and more than 8o nations. Prior to his appointment, LTG Ballard was the Chief of Staff for the US Army Training and Doctrine Command. He was responsible for headquarters and installation operations, training, and budget management for over twenty major training and operational bases throughout the United States. Before being selected as Chief of Staff, Ballard served as the US Army Engineer Center Commander at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. In that role, he was the Army’s engineer proponent for combat and combat support systems, training, and doctrinal matters.
LTG Ballard was good friends with Fort Leonard Wood’s former retired 2-Star Commander Jack Waggoner. Jack introduced Joe and Tessie to the Lake of the Ozarks, where both enjoyed fishing. They spent much time together, to the point that the Ballards eventually purchased a home on the 28 MM in the early 1990s, which they still own. One evening, Jack took the Ballards to The Blue Heron Kestaurant in Lake Ozark and a brotherhood was born. Joe Ballard and Joseph Boer (owner of the restaurant) became lifelong friends. They had a brotherlike relationship, always sharing stories, laughing, and teasing through long evenings of fine food and wine. Joe enjoyed Joseph Boer’s unique Vaculator Coffee and Cognac from his barrel. Their relationship was built on mutual respect and admiration for each other’s paths in life. Where in America could a once-poor black boy (Ballard) from Louisiana and a once-poor white boy (Boer) from Holland survive wars, grow educated, create prosperous lives, meet in a restaurant in Lake Ozark, Missouri, and form a binding, lifelong friendship?
In retirement from the Army, the Ballards settled in Maryland. He built a successful civilian career in business. Ballard is the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Ravens Group, Inc., a Government contracting company in suburban Washington, DC. He is also the Executive Director of Governmental Relations for Enviremed, LLC, an accomplished environmental company headquartered in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. LTG Ballard serves as a Principal and Chairman of the Board for Mobile Environmental Power, Inc (MEP), a progressive renewable energy company in Coral Springs, Florida.
Missouri has been fortunate to have reaped the benefits of LIG
Ballard’s astonishing efforts and will continue to benefit from those efforts for years to come. His Immortality of Influence will live on long after God calls him home. The Lake of the Ozarks Community appreciates his dedication and thanks him for his service and impact on the state of Missouri.