The Board of Trustees of John Wood Community College is the official governing board of the College. Membership is composed of seven trustees elected at-large from the District and one student selected by the student body. Terms are six years in length, with the Student Trustee elected each year. Regular board meetings are normally held on the third Wednesday of every month at 6:00 PM at JWCC, 1301 South 48th Street, Quincy, Illinois. Board meetings are open to the public.
Bob Rhea was elected to the JWCC Board in April 2017. He has assisted clients with accounting, tax, and consulting services in west-central Illinois through the Illinois FBFM program since July 1, 1984 and was named CEO in December 2019. His education path includes degrees from John Wood Community College, Western Illinois University and the University of Illinois. He has achieved enrolled agent status from the Internal Revenue Service and is an instructor for the University of Illinois Tax School. He serves as a director for United Community Bank. He is past chairman of the Panther Pride Foundation for Central Schools. He was selected to the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program Class of 1990. Bob was the 2018 recipient of the John Wood Community College distinguished alumnus award.
Andrew Sprague of Kinderhook was appointed to the John Wood Community College Board in September 2017 to fill the vacant board seat left open due to the resignation of a previous board member. Mr. Sprague is owner of Sprague’s Kinderhook Lodge, LTD., Paxton Farms Inc., and partner in Sprague Farms Inc. He majored in Agriculture Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Andy was a Director of Development for the University of Illinois Foundation before returning to Pike County to start his lodging and special events business in 2001. Andy has a passion for his community and has enjoyed serving a variety of organizations. He is the past chairman of the board for the Community Foundation Serving West Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri, served as chairman for the Illini Community Hospital Growing Our Care Campaign, is a past president of the Hull Lions Club and has held leadership positions for the Pike-Scott County Farm Bureau. Andy was part of the early effort to establish the Western Community Center YMCA in Barry. He is a graduate of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation Program Class of 2012. He is actively serving at Columbus Road Baptist Church Worship Ministries.
Paula Hawley of Griggsville was elected to the JWCC Board in 2021. She is a native of Pike County and has lived there for over 50 years, having attended her first college classes at the John Wood Community College Old East School site in Pittsfield. Paula currently serves on the finance and audit committee. Paula is newly retired from K-12 education and worked for 33 years in the Pikeland School District as a teacher, assistant principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent. She served as the district’s superintendent for 15 years. In her tenure as superintendent, she served on various education boards and committees including the West Central Region Vocational Board and the Illinois Association of School Administrators Board of Directors (IASA) where she served as President of the organization for the 2020-2021 school year. Paula holds a B.A. in Education from Stetson University, an M.A. in Educational Administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield, and an Ed.S. in Education Leadership from Western Illinois University. She is an Illinois licensed K-12 teacher, principal, and administrator and a graduate of the National Institute for School Leadership (NISL) sponsored by the Tracy Family Foundation.
Don Hess was elected to the board in 2013. He is a native of Southern California and earned his bachelor’s degree in Communication, with a minor in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Prior to that, Don had been an over the road truck driver and has hauled dry freight, refrigerated, suspended beef, tankers and flammables. After college, Don served as a lead instructor for the transportation and defensive driving programs at the Center for Transportation Education and Emergency Vehicle Operations Center in Oklahoma. Don was recruited to John Wood Community College to start a truck driver training program in 1994 and ultimately served as director of transportation and public safety programs until he retired in 2013. Don currently operates DLH Associates, Inc., which provides assistance to the legal community through crash analysis, training reviews and new program start up assistance. He is a former two-term president of the National Association for Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools, former board member of the Truckload Carriers Association, board member and evaluation team leader of the Professional Truck Driver Institute, and member of the Illinois and California Trucking Associations.
Randy G. Greenwell of Quincy was elected to the Board in 2019. Dr. Greenwell retired from Spoon River College after serving as Vice President for Instruction and Student Services for six years. Prior to that, he was at John Wood Community College for 23 years where he served in various positions including a tenured faculty member and Chair of Business Programs as well as both Dean of Career and Technical Programs and Dean of Transfer Programs for twelve years. Dr. Greenwell holds a Ph.D. in Workforce Education from SIU Carbondale, a master’s degree from Western Illinois University, a bachelor’s degree from Quincy College and an associate’s degree from John Wood Community College. Dr. Greenwell has served on several advisory boards and State Wide Illinois Community College panels.
Larry L. Fischer of Quincy was elected to the Board in 2011. Mr. Fischer retired from John Wood Community College after serving as Vice President for Instruction for seven years and director of agricultural programs for nearly 26 years. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Illinois- Urbana/Champaign and a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He is a former president and past member of the Illinois 4-H Foundation Board of Directors, University of Illinois College of Agriculture/ACES Alumni Association, Southern Illinois University College of Agricultural Sciences Alumni Association, Greater Pike Industrial Development Corporation Board and Chaddock School Board.
Angela (Angie) Greger of Pittsfield was elected to the JWCC Board in 2023. She resides in Pike County and has lived there for over 40 years. Angie currently serves on the Curriculum Committee. She is the high school principal at Pittsfield High School. A position she has had for the last sixteen years. Angie holds a B.S. in Business Education from Western Illinois University. An M.A. in Educational Administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield, and a Ed.S in Educational Leadership from Western Illinois University. She is an Illinois licensed 9-12 Business Education teacher, principal, and administrator. Also, she is a graduate of the National Institute for School Leadership (NISL) sponsored by the Tracy Family Foundation.
Kannon Dickerman is a 2023 Quincy Notre Dame graduate. Kannon is a member of the Student Government Association at John Wood serving as the Student Trustee. During high school he was involved in the house leadership program and played soccer. His senior year he was involved in the Adams County CEO program where he founded and ran his own small business. Kannon is currently employed at Big Bro’s BBQ in Quincy, Illinois. In May 2025, he will graduate with an Associate’s Degree in Accounting then plans to transfer to a four-year university to earn his bachelor’s degree with the ultimate goal of earning his CPA.
Dr. Bryan Renfro became John Wood Community College’s seventh president in January of 2023. Prior to becoming president of the college, he was Vice President of Academic Instruction at Texas Paris Junior College. Other previous higher education experiences included Associate Vice Provost of Academic and Workforce Affairs, interim Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, Research and Planning, Dean of Professional and Technical programs at Tyler Junior College, Dean of Business and Public Services at Hawkeye Community College, Assistant Dean at Colorado Mountain College, Public Safety Institute Academy Specialist at Tarrant County College District, Director, Homeland Security Training at Easter Kentucky University, Director of Institute of Corporate and Public Safety and Department Chair, Criminal Justice at NorthWest Arkansas Community College. Dr. Renfro has also served as a faculty member. Renfro earned a Ph.D. in Higher Education at Iowa State University, Master of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Arkansas, and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Tennessee