John Mack, staff vice president of Tidewater Builders Association’s Building Trades Academy, was among six honorees at the 2012 Chesapeake Martin Luther King Leadership Breakfast Jan. 16 at the Chesapeake Marriott. The awards recognize leaders who are making a contribution to the quality of life in Chesapeake and the surrounding areas. Mack is responsible for overseeing the trades training program at TBA, which has provides job skills and job placement to economically disadvantaged citizens.

Mack has based his life’s work on the following quote from Dr. King: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?,’ ” said Mack. “This has been the hallmark by which I’ve approached my work over the course of my career.”

Mack, who has been with TBA since April 2011, “leads with his head and heart,” said TBA CEO Channing Pfeiffer.
Before joining TBA, Mack and his wife were in London enjoying a semi-retired life. Before “retiring,” Mack’s career had been centered on nonprofit organizations. He began his career with Big Brothers/Big Sisters in Philadelphia. He then seized an opportunity to become executive director of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater St. Louis. While in St. Louis, Mack also served as a member of the U.S. Army Reserves. In December of 1990, he was called to active duty and deployed to Desert Storm until May of 1991.

After returning from active duty, Mack joined the United Way of Metro Atlanta as vice president. There, he was able to enhance the image and role of the United Way among its funded agencies. Two years into this position, Mack was recruited by Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta to serve as the chief operations officer. While there, he put clubs in communities that were not served with solid after-school youth development programs. His last position with Boys & Girls Clubs was as the executive director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia, where he served until 2010.

He is a native of Philadelphia, and a Vietnam-era and a Gulf War veteran. He received his bachelor of science in criminal justice from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. He resides in Virginia Beach with his wife Michelle. They have two sons.

Also honored at the breakfast were Deputy Fire Marshall William Brown II, Police Officer Specialist Jamie Craig, Chesapeake School Board Chairman Harry Murphy, Pastor Dr. Marvin Duke and Chesapeake Sheriff Deputy Leon Hymons.