By Lizia Oliveira, student news writer, and Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - John-Mark Hack, executive director of the educational campaign “Say No to Casinos,” will be the speaker at Campbellsville University's chapel series Wednesday, Oct. 22 at Ransdell Chapel at 10 a.m. The public is invited to attend.
Hack serves as director of governmental affairs for the Kentucky American Water Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Water Works. Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest investor-owned water and wastewater utility company in the United Sates.
The educational campaign “Say No to Casinos,” in which Hack serves as executive director, is a new statewide business campaign to provide research-based information on the business and economic impact of casino gambling in Kentucky.
“Say No to Casinos” works to inform the General Assembly and the public of the consequences casinos has on local businesses and local economies, the thoroughbred industry and the state budget.
“John-Mark Hack brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the topic of why Christians should be engaged in the public policy arena,” said John Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president at Campbellsville University.
“His tenure in state government, his business experience and his activism on
important moral issues, such as his leadership in opposing expanded gambling in Kentucky, give him insight into how Christian people may be appropriately involved.”
Chowning said Hack has displayed an ability to “cross partisan divides, to speak with moral clarity in a gracious and Christian spirit, and to be very effective in all facets of his life.”
Chowning said Hack is a “person of strong Christian faith and motivates young people to be people of conscience in all facets of their lives.
“We look forward to his chapel presentation.”
Hack is often consulted for his political and policy expertise by media. He has appeared on numerous television and radio broadcasts, and been widely quoted in national and regional print media. He has also served as a contributing columnist for Louisville's “The Courier-Journal,” the Lexington “Herald-Leader” and “Business Lexington.”
Hack is a graduate of Transylvania University, with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and philosophy. He also graduated from the University of Kentucky, where he received his master's in cultural anthropology. He is pursuing his Ph.D. in political sociology.
He is a 1996 graduate of the Kentucky Natural Resources Leadership Institute.
Hack is an adjunct instructor at the University of Kentucky and Maysville Community and Technical College.
Prior to joining Kentucky American Water, he had been the president of Global Development Partners, the executive director of the Kentucky's Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy, the chief executive officer of the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund and president of the Kentucky Tobacco Settlement Trust Corporation.
While serving as president of the Kentucky Tobacco Settlement Trust Corporation, Hack led the development of Kentucky's historic initiative hailed by the National Governor's Association as a “national model for rural development.” Harvard Business School profiled the initiative as a case study of innovative rural economic development for its 2001 Agri-Business Senior Management Seminar, and the Kennedy School of Government recently recognized the initiative as one of the 50 most innovative governmental programs in the United States.
Before joining Gov. Paul Patton's staff, Hack worked three years in the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service and served two years as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica, where he acquired fluency in Spanish.
Hack is married to Carol Devine, his wife of 18 years and a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). They have three children, Benjamin, Elijah and Sarah, and live on a small farm in Nonesuch, Ky. He is the son of Joyce Hack and the late Louis Hack.
Chapel is designed to provide opportunities for corporate worship and exposure through of a variety of informative speakers and presentations.
All chapel are open to the public free of charge.
For information, call the Office of Campus Ministries at (270) 789-5227.
Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 2,601 students who represent 93 Kentucky counties, 27 states and 31 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report's 2009 “America's Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 22nd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South for the second consecutive year. CU has been ranked 16 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America's Best Christian Colleges®. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his tenth year as president.