SJC Board of Trustees
Marie Flickinger, Chair
Marie Flickinger serves as chair to the Board of Trustees. Flickinger, the first woman elected to the college board, has been a board member since 1995. She currently serves as chairman of the Education and Technology Committee.
Flickinger has been a major force in the development of the South Belt community in southeast Harris County. She is long-time owner and publisher of the South Belt-Ellington Leader newspaper, as well as South Belt Graphics and Printing. She was the chief organizer and founding president of the South Belt-Ellington Chamber of Commerce.
Flickinger has served on two Mayoral Transition Committees for the city of Houston and is the Environmental Protection Agency community representative for the Brio Superfund Site, located in the South Belt area.
She has also served on the Superintendent Advisory Board and the Superintendent Search Committee for the Pasadena ISD, and is a recipient of the Rotary “Paul Harris” Award.
The Marie Spence Flickinger Fine Arts Building on San Jacinto College South is named in her honor.
Dan Mims, Vice Chair
Dan Mims serves as the vice chair to the Board of Trustees. He is a long-time resident from the north side of the college’s service area. Mims joined the board in 2002, replacing 31-year board member Dr. John Nichols who died suddenly.
He serves as senior vice president of Mims Meat Company, Inc., a broad-line food service distributor and a USDA-inspected meat processing company. He is also active with UniPro Foodservice, Inc., a 300-member food service purchasing cooperative headquartered in Atlanta, Ga.
Mims served as president of the North Shore Rotary Club for the 2000-2001 Rotary year and served on the Rotary District 5890 Governor Nominating Committee. He is also a past Rotarian of the Year.
Ben Meador, Secretary
Ben Meador serves as the secretary to Board of Trustees. Meador joined the board after the sudden death of Dr. Parker Williams in August of 2004. The Pasadena native and businessman brings a long list of accomplishments and wealth of experience to the job.
He founded Meador Staffing Services, Inc. in 1968 and currently serves as president and CEO.
Meador was a founding member of the San Jacinto College Foundation and was vice chairman of the board of directors in 2002. He was a member of the Chancellor Search Committee in 1995-96 and chaired the same committee in 2003. He also participated in a Resume Fraud Seminar, which was nationally publicized and sponsored by the college. He is a chair of the Board's Policy Committee, member of the Continuing Education Advisory Committee and Business Education Advisory Committee and has made numerous presentations to San Jac business classes.
A Pasadena Rotarian since 1974, he is also a member of the Precinct No. 8 Harris County Advisory Board, appointed by Constable Bill Bailey.
Larry Wilson, Assistant Secretary
Position 4 Regent Larry Wilson is an attorney who has been working in the Pasadena, East Harris County area for many years.
Wilson’s wife, Carol, is a Corporate Manager for PEO Texas. Their son, Ty Wilson, lives in Atlanta and is also an attorney. Their daughter, Cari Brownlee, lives in Deer Park, recently graduated from law school and plans to practice law with her father.
Wilson served as a Pasadena City Councilman for 10 years and as an East Harris County Precinct 8 Justice of the Peace for eight years and is a Deer Park Municipal Judge. In the 1970s he was an adjunct professor at San Jacinto College, teaching business law and economics. Wilson is active as a Rotary Club member and with other service groups and in church-related business.
Dr. Ruede Wheeler, Member
Dr. Ruede Wheeler has served on the San Jacinto College Board of Trustees since his appointment to fill an un-expired term in 1986. Dr. Wheeler came to the San Jacinto College Board following nine years as a member of the La Porte ISD Board of Trustees..
Dr. Wheeler, who has practiced dentistry in La Porte, Texas for over 40 years, is a member of the American Dental Association, the Texas Dental Association and the Houston District Dental Society.
He is a member and past president of the La Porte Rotary Club. An avid golfer, he shares his expertise as a member of the advisory committee for the city golf course located in La Porte.
The Wheeler Technical Building at San Jacinto College North is named in his honor.
C. Wayne Slovacek, Member
C. Wayne Slovacek, a former board chairman, was first elected to the San Jacinto College District Board of Trustees in 1972.
Slovacek retired from Union Equity, after 44 years of service, where he last held the position of vice president of port operations. Since his retirement in 1988, the Deer Park, Texas resident has worked endlessly on behalf of his local community college. He is currently president of the Texas Association of Community College Trustees and Administrators.
Slovacek is a founding member of the San Jacinto College Foundation Board of Directors and serves as chairman of its annual golf tournament, the foundation’s major fundraising activity. He also chairs the Building Committee.
He has served as president of several area organizations including the Deer Park Chamber of Commerce, which has instituted the Wayne Slovacek Humanitarian Award in his honor. He is a past president of the Deer Park Rotary Club and has held leadership positions with the Port Safety and Advisory Council of Houston, the South East Harris County Economic Development Council and the Rehabilitation Foundation of Southeast Harris County.
The student center at San Jacinto College North is named in his honor.
John Moon Jr., Member
John Moon Jr. was elected to the San Jacinto College Board of Trustees Position 5 on May 9, 2009. Moon is no stranger to the College he attended San Jac upon graduation from Sam Rayburn High School. Moon went on to receive a Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Science from the University of Houston – Clear Lake.
Moon, an executive vice president at Crosby State Bank, is a life-long resident of the area, and has been working in banking or investments since he was 15. He has been an adjunct professor at San Jacinto College and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Moon and his wife, Lori, have two sons, John and Donovan.
W.L. “Levi” Smallwood, Trustee Emeritus
W.L. “Levi” Smallwood has served on the Board of Trustees since 1977. He was also a member of the original steering committee for San Jacinto College, helping to gain support for its formation in 1960.
Smallwood was named regent emeritus in 2006. He retired from the board after serving as a San Jacinto College Regent for 30 years.
A former chairman of the board, Smallwood chairs the Building Committee. He is also a founding member of the San Jacinto College Foundation Board of Directors. Prior to joining the college board, he served for 13 years as a member of the Pasadena ISD Board of Trustees.
Smallwood is the 1995 Trustee of the Year for the Western Region of the Association of Community College Trustees and has served as Texas state chairman for the organization. His civic activities have included the Pasadena Rotary Club, the American Heart Association, the Boy Scouts of America and the Pasadena Rodeo Association.
Smallwood is also a former chief of the volunteer Pasadena Fire Department, serving a total of 27 years with that organization. He retired after 44 years of service in the engineering department of ARCO.
The San Jacinto College South health and physical education building is named in his honor.
J.D. Bruce, Trustee Emeritus
Pasadena businessman J.D. Bruce has been a board member since 1981. Bruce brought to board 15 years of experience on the Pasadena ISD Board of Trustees, where he served in all chairs, including chairman of the board. Bruce has also held numerous leadership positions on the San Jacinto College Board, including chairman and vice-chairman.
Before retirement, he owned and operated for many years J.D. Bruce Insurance in Pasadena, Texas. Success in the insurance industry earned Bruce many awards, including being a member of the Millionaire Club since 1978.
He has been an active member of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce since 1965, chairing committees on government affairs and state government.
The J.D. Bruce Student Center at San Jacinto College South is named in his honor.
