BATON ROUGE — LSU Athletics Director and former LSU baseball coach Skip Bertman, along with local business executive and LSU alumnus Ned Clark, was awarded the 40th annual Brotherhood Award, presented by the Baton Rouge Region of the National Conference for Community and Justice, known as NCCJ.
Bertman and Clark, chosen for their dedicated community service and commitment to interfaith, interracial, and intercultural understanding, were recognized at the Annual Brotherhood Awards Dinner hosted by LSU President and NCCJ dinner Chairman William L. Jenkins on Thursday, April 4, at the Radisson Hotel.
Bertman came to LSU in 1983 and served as head baseball coach until his retirement after the 2001 season, winning five national championships in a 10-season span. During his career at LSU he was named National Coach of the Year six times and guided the U.S. Olympic baseball team to a bronze medal in 1996 in Atlanta. He now occupies the position of athletic director, where, in addition to his normal duties, he serves as a volunteer advisor, fundraiser and motivational speaker.
“He has touched the lives of so many in our community and in our state,” said NCCJ board member Richard Lipsey. “From the United Way to the Boy Scouts, his own synagogue to numerous churches, from grammar and high schools to a never-ending list of civic and charitable organizations. He has touched the lives of the very young and the very old. He has made men out of boys, and he has made our community a better place to live.”
Clark, a native of Baton Rouge, a graduate of LSU and a former U.S. Air Force first lieutenant, has 39 years of banking experience and is currently senior vice president of Business Development for Union Planters Bank. His volunteer work includes extensive work with various LSU athletic and alumni groups, the United Way, the Chamber of Greater Baton Rouge, Boy Scouts, Cystic Fibrosis Research Foundation and Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge. He is a founding member of St. James Place retirement community and has received the Distinguished American Award of the Capital City Chapter of the National Football Hall of Fame.
He is also an inductee in the Baton Rouge High School Hall of Fame.
“His 39 years in the bank industry provide him with experience and knowledge to provide fiscal oversight to any organization,” said NCCJ Co-Chair Joseph Simmons in nominating Clark for the award. “Ned’s accomplishments are rooted in sound values that are evident in his personal, business and professional life, and make him an example to those around him.”
Founded in 1924, the NCCJ is a non-profit organization that works to eliminate prejudice and discrimination through education, advocacy and communication of racial, religious and cultural differences. Recipients of the Brotherhood Award are chosen based on their working commitment to those ideals.
For more information, call the NCCJ office at 225-753-1188.