Foundation Announces Board of Trustee Changes
The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation announced that Ralph J. Bean, Jr. has stepped down as an active Trustee of the Foundation and has been elected an Emeritus Trustee. Thomas A. Heywood, Managing Partner at Bowles Rice McDavid Graff & Love, LLP, in Charleston, has been elected to replace Mr. Bean, effective April 1, 2012.
Mr. Bean, an attorney with Steptoe & Johnson PLLC in Bridgeport, West Virginia, has served as a Trustee of the Foundation since 1992. His long career of service to West Virginia continues with his membership on boards such as Vision Shared, the I-79 Development Council, the West Virginia University Foundation (emeritus), and Discover the Real West Virginia Foundation (emeritus). Prior to joining Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, he served as President of Hope Gas, Inc., now Dominion Hope. Mr. Bean looks forward to maintaining a close relationship with the Foundation and its work in West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Foundation will continue to draw upon his extensive knowledge and commitment to further the mission of the Foundation.
Mr. Heywood has served West Virginia and its people in many capacities. He was Chief of Staff and Counsel to Governor Gaston Caperton and law clerk to the Honorable Judge John A. Field of the U.S. Court of Appeals. His numerous board and commission commitments have included: the College Completion Task Force, West Virginia Jobs Cabinet, Independent Commission on Judicial Reform, Affordable Insurance Workgroup, Health Advisory Council, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Advisory Council, Community & Technical College Implementation Board, Vision Shared, Imagine West Virginia, and PIECES (early childhood partnership).
He has received numerous public service awards, including the James R. Thomas Community Service Award in 2010, the Alliance for Children Leadership Award in 2006, and the Margaret Baldwin Friend of Education Award in 2000, and he recently was recognized by The State Journal as one of the “10 Most Influential Business Leaders in West Virginia.”
Mr. Heywood received his B.A. from Stanford University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he served as Editor of the Harvard International Law Journal.