Q&A with New Board Member Stan Chapman
Tell us a little bit about you, your family and how you got to Little Rock.
I’ve been married for a long time to my wife Robbie. We’ve got four kids: Blaze is married and has two children, John is married, Ellie is a sophomore at Harding, and Josie is a sixth grader here. The younger three of them have gone, or still go, to CAC. That means we’ve been associated with CAC for 21 consecutive years. John started in PreK in 1996 and we’ve had one, or more than one, enrolled here ever since.
Robbie was in insurance sales, then after Ellie was born she became a homemaker and stay-at-home mom.
I grew up in Newport, Arkansas, went to Harding and got my degree in Accounting. I spent most of my career in banking at Alltel and the telecommunications business. About seven years ago I went to work at Southwest Power Pool and I am one of the Directors of Information Technology there.
What do you love most about CAC?
The relationship the kids have with their teachers is so incredible. It’s so personal. The teachers really care about the kids, and I know that sounds cliché, but it’s true and it’s evident. Our three kids who went here have completely different personalities and they’ve all been able to succeed and excel in their own ways, and I contribute that to the way the teachers were willing to work with them.
How did CAC prepare your children for life after high school?
They were very well prepared academically. Socially, they had a lot of growth here and became very responsible because there were given the chance to. When they ventured off to college we had no concerns and no worries, and I think a lot of that comes from CAC’s expectations of how you act, treat people, how you study and what type of person you are.
What are you excited to learn as you join CAC’s Board of Directors?
I’ve been in business for a long time, but I’ve never been involved with a school like this, so I’m interested to see how the Board interacts with the administration and the contributions they make to how CAC operates academically. I’m really interested in learning the role of the board as it relates to the school and how it functions.
What are you hoping to bring to the Board?
Having had kids go through CAC over the past 20 years, and still having one here who has all of her junior high and high school years ahead of her, I hope to bring a different perspective than those who haven’t experienced that yet. Also, since I’m new to the Board, I hope to be able to bring some fresh perspectives from my own personal experiences in the business world.
I know several of the Board members and I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. I’m humbled to be asked to take part in this. I also feel very responsible, for not just my own kid, but the other kids too. That’s a big deal, particularly given the fact that I have such a strong belief in the Christian side of what CAC is. I want to be sure I bring the right things to that table because the decisions that the Board makes matter.
What are your expectations as you transition from parent to Board member?
I think that is something I’ll have to learn, and I’ll be watching the other Board members to see how they balance those two things. I might not be any different once I figure it out, but that’s where I’ll be looking to the other Board members to understand how they made that transition.
What do you like to do when you have free time?
My time has been spent mostly with my kids. All of my kids were very active in sports, so many of my hobbies went by the wayside. I’d like to get back into playing golf, which I haven’t been able to do recently. I used to have a Harley, and I’d like to have one again. My wife says I don’t have any hobbies and that I need to pick some up, so maybe she’s right!
Now for a silly question. Would you rather live in a house on the beach or a treehouse in the middle of the woods?
The beach. I find the beach very peaceful and relaxing. The beauty and the power of the ocean is really cool to me, and I love being able to watch the sunsets.