TROY – Three Miami County business leaders will retire from the UVMC Board of Directors at the end of 2019 after long terms of service.
Daniel French, Art Disbrow and Joel Walker each have a long history of board commitment.
French was appointed to the Piqua Memorial Hospital board in 1975 and the UVMC board in 1985. Disbrow was appointed to the Dettmer Hospital Board in 1984 and the UVMC board in 1984. Walker was appointed to the Stouder Memorial Hospital Board in 1983 and the UVMC Board in 1985.
Disbrow retired as president of Hartzell Propeller Inc., of Piqua, in 1997. A graduate of Michigan Technological University with a degree in mechanical engineering, he also holds a Master’s of Business Administration from Michigan State University.
He served on the boards of various aviation organizations as well as local organizations, among them the Piqua Area United Fund, the Piqua Salvation Army and the boards of Ohio’s Hospice of Miami County and Ohio’s Hospice. He is treasurer of both of those boards.
Disbrow was recipient of Piqua’s most prestigious civic award, the Order of George, in 1993. He lives with his wife, Joanne, in Troy.
French is chairman of the board and CEO of the French Oil Mill Machinery Co. He is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Princeton University and the Harvard Business School Owner/President Manager Program. He served five years active duty with the Air Force and 23 years in the Air Force Reserve, retiring in 1994 as a lieutenant colonel.
French has served as a Miami County YMCA trustee and as director of the Piqua Community Foundation, Piqua Improvement Corp. and the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, among other civic organizations. He was one of the founders of the Grow Piqua Now economic development organization and founder of Positively Promoting Piqua and Awesome Piqua.
He received the Piqua Order of George award in 2008. French and his wife, Margaret, live in Piqua.
Walker is a graduate of Miami University. He began his career as a sports reporter for the Troy Daily News and covered many areas for the newspaper. He later became editor and publisher and later co-owner of the Troy Daily News. He retired in 1998.
Walker held many leadership positions in news organizations and in the community. He served on the Edison Community College Foundation, Troy Area Chamber of Commerce board, RT Industries board, Miami Shores Golf Club board, Troy Country Club board and First United Methodist Church board.
Walker and his wife, Nancy, were recipients of the Troy Area Chamber of Commerce 2014 Distinguished Citizen Award. They reside in Tipp City.
