Given to those exceptionally active and inspiring individuals who have dedicated their careers to the help and support of others in our field.
NBOA has given out the Distinguished Business Officer Award since 1999. View the award's past recipients.
A person who has made an outstanding contribution over several years in the field of independent school finance and operations, including service to other schools, business officers, and groups, may be considered for this award. Membership in NBOA is preferred but not a mandatory requirement.
Click here to nominate a colleague. Award nominations close on December 15th.
The award recipient is announced in January, and the award is presented the following month at NBOA's annual conference.
Business Manager and Chief Financial Officer
Kent School (Kent, CT)
Tom Sides joined the world of independent schools exactly 23 years ago when he was named the Business Manager and CFO of Kent School, a Connecticut boarding school serving 570 boys and girls in grades nine through 12. Following his liberal arts education at Bowdoin College in Maine, Tom had a financial management career for 20 years with different divisions of General Electric, GE Capital, and Mellon Bank. He is a graduate of GE's three-year Financial Management Program, and is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin's Graduate School of Banking.
While at Kent School, Tom has overseen the consolidation of two campuses, the sale of a 300-acre campus, over $80 million in construction and renovation projects, five forays into the tax-exempt debt markets, an endowment that grew from $12 million to more than $80 million, and a string of 20 consecutive years of balanced budgets.
Outside of his school duties, Tom has served on the Executive Committee of the Association of Business Officers of Preparatory Schools (ABOPS), a group of 40 northeast boarding schools for eight years, including two as President; on the board for 17 years and Chairman for seven years of the Nutmeg Group (a risk consortium of 60 Connecticut schools); past President of a group of 25 schools in western Connecticut and Massachusetts as well as New York's Hudson Valley; on the Business Affairs Commission of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) for many years; and on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of NBOA for six years. He has been an NCAA ice hockey referee and has coached varsity hockey teams at Kent. He has been the past President and/or officer of two chapters of the National Ice Hockey Officials Association (NIHOA) in western Massachusetts and upstate New York.
The Distinguished Business Officer Award honors the legacy of Kenneth A. White, Jr., who had a passion for this field and an incurable desire to help others. He could discuss business matters anywhere, and always had extra time for problems and questions. Ken pushed himself to find ways to do things better. He was a visionary, not just for his school, but for all schools. Upon his death in 1996, speakers at his memorial services recognized him as "a man of deep faith," a "mentor," and an "inspiration," as well as a valued colleague, neighbor, and friend.
Ken held a top financial position at Davison-Elkin College, and then served for 21 years at Westminster School in Atlanta. He was a founding member of MISBO (Mid-South Independent School Business Officers), and was active in many other organizations, especially ABOIS (Association of Business Officers of Independent Schools), and also served a term on the NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) Business Service Committee.