Greenville, Wi., USA - April 24, 2015, Greenville, Wi., USA - School Specialty, a distributor of services to the education marketplace, announced the appointment of Kymm Ballard as executive director of SPARK education program.
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Dr. Ballard assumes her new role as Executive Director, following her leadership in the program as Partnership Development Specialist since 2009.
Dr. Ballard's professional experiences include more than a decade as a PE teacher and athletic director, several years as an administrator and the co-developer of North Carolina's first high school demonstration school.
Dr. Ballard is the former PE, Athletics and Sports Medicine Consultant with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction; and has drafted, advocated and promoted the Healthy Active Children Policy of the NC State Board of Education and the state's Essential Standards for Physical Education.
Dr. Ballard also supported the North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Dance, and Sport Management (NCAAHPERD-SM) to retool the physical education teachers with SPARK statewide training the trainer model, more currently known as "IsPod" (In School Prevention of Diabetes).
Dr. Ballard served as the President of the Society of State Directors for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, as well as the Chair for the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) Public Relations Committee, among other committees.
In addition, Dr. Ballard currently serves as the Coordinator of Health and Physical Education at Campbell University.
Among the many awards that Dr. Ballard has received are the National P.E. 4 Life Advocate of the Year award for her work in North Carolina and Washington, D.C.; the Physical Education Teacher of the Year and Health Education Teacher of the Year Awards in North Carolina; and the North Carolina Coach of the Year.
Dr. Ballard received the highest Honor Awards from NCAAHPERD and Society of State Directors for Health, Physical Education and Recreation; the Channing Mann, National Administrator of the Year from NASPE; and lifetime membership to the North Carolina PTA. ■