Business Manager Palmer Ball receives national award for contributions to independent school business field
March 23, 2015
SPARTANBURG, SC – Spartanburg Day School Business Manager Palmer Ball was recently honored by the National Business Officer’s Association for her years spent supporting others in the business field.
Ball, SDS business manager since 1995, is the recipient of the 2015 Ken White Distinguished Business Officer Award and was recognized at the NBOA annual meeting in Boston, Mass., Feb. 22-25. The award is the organization’s highest honor and is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions over several years in the field of independent school business operations, including service to other schools, business officers and groups.
“It was an honor for the entire Spartanburg Day School community for Palmer to be recognized for her contributions to our school and to state and national independent school organizations who further the mission and effectiveness of independent schools,” said Head of School Rachel Deems. “Palmer is a leader among her colleagues, and it was evident from the accolades she received in Boston that her selection was widely supported. She was a most deserving recipient and joins past recipients who are the thought leaders among business officers across the country.”
Prior to her job with SDS, Ball served as vice president for business and finance at Converse College for four years, having previously served in the college’s Development Office for three years. Before joining Converse, she was in the tax department at Price Waterhouse for two years.
With NBOA, Ball served two terms on the board of directors and was elected to the Association of Business Officers of Independent Schools (ABOIS) in 2008. Ball served on the faculty of the NBOA Business Officer Institute (BOI) three times between 2005 and 2012, attended BOI a number of other times and has presented the five-year budget model at a number of national and regional conferences. She has been involved with the Palmetto Association of Independent Schools (PAIS) business officer group in South Carolina, and in 2012, was on the leadership team that established the Consortium of Private Non-Private Colleges, Universities and Independent Schools in the Carolinas. She is currently serving as president-elect of the organization.
Ball is also active in her community, serving a number of local nonprofits, including the Spartanburg County Foundation’s investment committee and First Presbyterian Church (Spartanburg). She has previously been very involved with the Junior League of Spartanburg and the Converse College Alumnae Board, and is a graduate of Leadership Spartanburg.
Palmer earned a BA in biology from Converse College and an MBA in accounting from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. She is married to Michael, and they have two daughters, Anne Dobson and Taylor, who are in the eighth and seventh grades at SDS.
