Outstanding Alumni - 2007
Dr. Almond Clark
Bemidji State University Graduate 1964
Al Clark graduated from Bemidji State University in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business education. He later went on to earn a Master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Al began his career in education, teaching and coordinating vocational education in Minnesota for 15 years. From there, Al moved into financial services and insurance and has been with State Farm for 26 years. He has been recognized as the number one producing multiple line agency for State Farm for the past eleven years out of their 17,000 agencies in the United States and Canada. He is a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Round Table and of State Farm's President Club. He has been recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International and was named Arlington, Texas Employer of the Year in both 1998 and 2003. Al is a past member of the board of the Arlington Rotary and currently serves on the board of the Arlington Rotary Foundation, where he has been instrumental in the creation of a full tuition scholarship program for all students who attend Web Elementary and choose to attend the University of Texas at Arlington upon graduation from high school. Web Elementary serves an economically disadvantaged population in Arlington. Al has also held several leadership roles at the First United Methodist Church that he and his wife attend. Al learned the importance of education at an early age, and credits the faculty at BSU, who took a personal interest in him, with creating his passion to work with and help people. In this regard, Al and his wife have been generous contributors to schools, charities, church and community activities, including an endowment he funded at BSU that provides scholarships to Laporte, MN High School students who attend BSU. Al has also had five family members attend BSU, earning a total of eight degrees. Al and his wife, Shalyn, live in Arlington, Texas. Al has two children, Alison and Sloan.