Founding OTC board member steps down

Last edited 2:04 p.m., Oct. 13, 2011

Don Clinkenbeard, founding member, current treasurer and past president of the Ozarks Technical Community College Board of Trustees, has resigned from the board due to ongoing health problems.

Clinkenbeard, 80, said he has had health concerns since being involved in an American Airlines plane crash near Springfield in March 1955. According to an article from the Associated Press, found here, Clinkenbeard, who was 24 at the time, was left in critical condition from the crash with a fractured right leg, facial cuts, and head and chest injuries. The crash killed 12 people and injured another 23.

"I think it's about time for me to step down. My health is not getting any better," Clinkenbeard said. "I've had to miss some meetings because of health, so I decided to not let that be a factor and just retire."

Clinkenbeard submitted his resignation at the board's Oct. 11 meeting, according to a news release.

“As with all of our founding trustees, Mr. Clinkenbeard has been named a trustee emeritus,” OTC Chancellor Hal Higdon said in the release. “Mr. Clinkenbeard has played a significant role in the development of OTC.  

"We appreciate all that he has contributed to the college and to our community through the years, and we wish him the best as he turns his focus toward his health.”

OTC was founded in 1991.

Clinkenbeard, who has served on the the board for two decades, was board president 1998-2000 and again 2006-2008, according to Dana Mason, OTC coordinator of public information. Clinkenbeard led the board in 2006 when Higdon was named president of the college.

Greg DeLong, financial adviser with Edward Jones Investments in Springfield, is stepping in to complete Clinkenbeard's current board term, which expires in April 2012. DeLong has served on the board of directors of the college's charitable arm, the OTC Foundation, since 2010.

Jeff Layman, senior vice president and wealth adviser at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, has assumed the treasurer's position. Layman was elected to the OTC Board of Trustees in April 2010.

Clinkenbeard is a registered professional engineer with degrees from University of Missouri-Rolla and University of Tulsa. He worked for 30 years as a manager of international services for Dayco Products - now Carlisle Power Transmission -  holds two U.S. patents and has worked with companies in Japan, Denmark, Mexico and Germany to develop products, according to the release.[[In-content Ad]]