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  Ball, Richard J.
CANDIDATE DETAILS
AffiliationRepublican  
  2006-01-01  
 
NameRichard J. Ball
Address5370 West Garrison Road
Laingsburg, Michigan , United States
EmailNone
WebsiteNone
Born May 08, 1932
DiedSeptember 07, 2019 (87 years)
Contributor...
Last ModifedMr. Matt
Mar 07, 2022 06:47pm
Tags Widowed - Army -
InfoRichard James "Dick" Ball

Committees: Agriculture (Vice Chair), Education, Health Policy, Insurance


POLITICAL
State Rep. Richard Ball was elected to the Michigan House in November 2004. The Ball family has been active in Republican politics for more than half a century. His mother, Nell, was the Shiawassee County Chairperson for the Dwight Eisenhower presidential campaign in 1952. Ball has been an elected member of the Owosso Public School Board of Education from 1982-1991, serving the last six years as its president. He returned to the board of education in 1997 and continued as a member until his resignation on Jan. 10, 2005.

EDUCATION
Dr. Ball graduated from Owosso High School and then attended the University of Michigan and Ohio State University where he graduated with a B.S. in Optometry. He served two years in the U.S. Army at the eye clinic in Fort Carson, Colorado. After his time in the army, he returned to Ohio State and earned a Master’s in Physiological Optics. He attended Michigan State University and obtained a Ph.D. in Experimental Visual Sociology.

PROFESSIONAL
In 1958, Dr. Ball went in with his father’s private optometry practice in Owosso, which was started in 1916. In 1961, he became an associate professor in physiology and an adjunct associate professor in osteopathic medicine at Michigan State University. He has received numerous awards from the Michigan Optometric Association including the Key Man Award, Optometrist of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award. He was the second person ever to receive the prestigious Carol C. Koch Award from the American Academy of Optometry and is one of only two optometrists in the state to be named a Distinguished Practitioner in the National Academy of Practice in Optometry. He is the author or co-author of 26 published articles.

COMMUNITY SERVICE & AFFILIATIONS
Ball also serves on the Shiawassee County Health Board and as chair of the vision section for the Michigan Public Health Association.

PERSONAL
Dr. Ball was widowed in 1996, and has two sons, Dave who is married to Angela and Mike who is married to Mary. He has two grandchildren, Anna Marie, 12, and Nickolas, 9. In 2000 he married Connie Munsell. She has one son Brian who is married to Vickie. Dr. Ball and Connie live on a 100-acre farm in Bennington Township just outside of Owosso. Dr. Ball is 72 years old.

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INFORMATION LINKS
RACES
  11/04/2008 MI State House 085 Won 52.83% (+8.73%)
  11/07/2006 MI State House 085 Won 55.36% (+10.73%)
  08/08/2006 MI State House 085- R Primary Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  11/02/2004 MI State House 085 Won 52.67% (+7.22%)
  08/03/2004 MI State House 085 - R Primary Won 47.20% (+20.54%)
  08/04/1998 MI State House 085 - R Primary Lost 43.54% (-12.93%)
  08/02/1994 MI State House 085 - R Primary Lost 44.31% (-11.39%)
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