Laker Nation News

The Lake Land College Board of Trustees posthumously honored Thomas H. Nolan, Oakland, with the Clem Phipps Exemplary Trustee Award. Nolan’s family accepted the award during the February board meeting.

The award is named after Clem G. Phipps, first chair of the Lake Land College Board of Trustees, to recognize former trustees who have demonstrated leadership and dedication to Lake Land College and the community.

Nolan was a charter member of the Lake Land Board of Trustees, elected to the board on Nov. 22, 1966, and serving through April 10, 1972.

Daughter Mary Anne Hanner said her father always regretted that he did not have an opportunity to pursue a college education because his father passed away suddenly when he was 17 and, as the only surviving son, he had to take over the family farm. He always felt that if Lake Land College had been available in 1947, he could have attended as a part-time student and continued to farm. But through his work on the Lake Land College Board of Trustees, Nolan fulfilled his desire to participate in higher education and provide opportunities to students.

Nolan was actively involved in the campaign to pass the referendum which authorized a community college in the Coles County area. He canvassed the Oakland area and the region of the college district. He relished the opportunity to work with college president Virgil Judge and board president Phipps and the other board members to increase the access to higher education to the citizens of East Central Illinois.

Nolan and members of the board traveled the country assessing junior college campuses before they made the final decision concerning the design of Lake Land College. He was enthusiastic about the unique design at Lake Land College and proudly took his family to the campus to celebrate when each building phase was dedicated.

In June of 2018, Lake Land College posthumously honored Nolan by designating him as one of Lake Land’s Top 50 Most Influential People. Trustees approved the Clem Phipps Exemplary Trustee Award honor during the regular January board meeting.

Nolan believed in public service and giving back to the community whenever he could. He served on the Coles-Moultrie Electric Board from 1972-1987 and as postmaster at the Oakland Post Office from 1964 to 1992. He was active in the Illinois Postmasters Association and served one term as the association’s president.

He was elected to serve as the District 1 representative on the Coles County Board in 1994 and served until his death in 1998. He also served on the Embarras Area Water District Steering Committee that brought a reliable water system to parts of rural Coles County.

Nolan was a member of the Parish Finance Committee of St. John the Baptist Church Catholic Church in Arcola, the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, Coles County Historical Society, Coles County Board of Review, and East Oakland Township Park Board. He was a charter member of Chapter #4024 of the Knights of Columbus, Charleston, Illinois.

Nolan and his wife Marjorie, who survives, have five daughters, 13 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. Daughters Mary Anne Hanner, Catherine Miller, Martha Rardin, Kathleen Anderson, and Bridget Bassett nominated their father for the award.