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BIOGRAPHY OF JOEL BALAM
AMERICA’S IMMIGRANT SON, AND DESCENDANT OF
SPANISH SETTLERS OF THE AMERICAN
SOUTHWEST
Born: Joel
Balam Escalante,
April 12, 1948 in Campeche,
Mexico. Balam grew up
in Sabancuy, a small fishing town on the Coast of Campeche.
He immigrated to the United States
in 1976, and has lived in Overland Park, Kansas
continually from 1983 to the present.
Family: In
1976, Balam married Nancy M.
Ingram, the daughter of WWII Veteran
Thomas B. Ingram, and Mrs. Frances
Thompson Ingram
from Lewisburg, TN.
He and Nancy divorced in 1991. They have three
children: Joel K.
Balam from Modesto,
CA; Nora
M. Rodriguez
from Shawnee, KS;
and Richard T.
Balam, a soldier in the United States
Army. He is the son of Raymundo
Balam Paat,
from Campeche, Mexico,
a direct descendant of the Maya people of Yucatan,
and Adelaida de
Escalante Carballo from Ciudad
del Carmen, Mexico,
a rightful descendant of the Spanish people who emigrated to Mexico
and New Mexico from the
Province of Valladolid, Spain.
Religion: A
Christian. He is presently a member of
the Disciples of Christ Church, but previously held membership in the Church
of the Nazarene.
Education and
Training: Balam received his
Elementary and Secondary education in Mexico.
In 1965, he completed Boot Camp/Basic Training at San
Juan de Ulua, Veracruz. graduating with honors. In 1972, he
graduated from English Language
School at the Instituto
Franklin in Veracruz; he
attended Grand Canyon College
(now University) in Phoenix, AZ
(1973-1974). He received his Bachelor degree in Communications from Trevecca
Nazarene College (now University) in Nashville, TN (1981); and his Master’s
degree from Baker University School of Professional and Graduate Studies in
Overland Park, KS (1992); In the Summer of 1992, Balam spent several weeks in
France on an Educational Tour. He visited historic places and national
monuments, including the burial place of William
the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy and King of England) at St.
Stephen’s Abby in Caen,
and the WWII Memorial and American Cemetery
at Omaha Beach
(D-Day Landing Area). In 2003, Balam received certification for a Unit of
Chaplaincy Training from the Midwest Clinical Pastoral Education Program at Overland
Park Regional Medical
Center.
Political and Civic
Experiences:
Balam’s first
experience in American politics was as an observer while working as a
proofreader for the Senate Chamber of the State of Tennessee
in Nashville during the 1980
sessions. From 1995 to 1996, he served
as chairman of Home Front Americans, a conservative political committee. In
that capacity he worked with Republicans Robert Mayhew from Iowa
and John Force
from Kansas, members of this
committee, supporting Bob Dole’s
Campaign for President. In 1990, Balam
joined People to People International, an organization founded in 1956 by
President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He served as a Civilian Sponsor for
International Officers attending the Command and General Staff College at Fort
Leavenworth (1990-1994). He also
served as a Member of the Board of Directors, Kansas City Chapter (1994-1996).
As a Civilian Sponsor for the organization, he had the unique opportunity of
promoting friendship and understanding through contacts with designated
officers from the following countries: Venezuela,
the Philippine Republic, and South Korea.
In March 2004, Balam was part of a delegation attending the “Hispanic Day on
the Hill” at the State Capitol in Topeka.
On that day, he had the opportunity to talk to legislators and also chat with
Governor Kathleen Sebelius.
Balam was first affiliated with the Republican Party, and later with the
Democratic Party. But since 2006, he has been Unaffiliated or Independent.
More Biographical
Data:
Joel
Balam is a Mexican-born American. His life
is intimately connected not only to the native Maya people of Southeast
Mexico whose ancestors were the builders of a great civilization
in MesoAmerica, but also to the Spanish settlers of
the American Southwest. His ancestry on his mother’s side can be traced back
to the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Balam’s character has been forged and
tested through difficulties, even from a very early age. For instance, in
1955, when Hurricane Janet (category 5) hit his town, he was on the path of
destruction, but had the courage to hold on to his faith in God and his
mother’s hand for survival. He enlisted in the Mexican Navy (Armada de Mexico) in 1965; he was sent to San Juan
de Ulua, Veracruz
where he endured a 13-week Boot Camp/Basic Training; he became a Sailor and
Marine, ranking third in his graduating class of one hundred. In 1968, when
young Americans were running to Mexico and Canada to avoid being drafted for
the War in Vietnam, Balam came to the area of
Brownsville, TX seeking for an opportunity to join the U.S.Marine
Corps, but was not successful in his attempt. In 1973, at the invitation of
an American family, he went to Phoenix, Arizona
to attend college. In 1976, the year
of the U.S. Bicentennial Celebration, Balam immigrated to the United
States. He settled in Nashville,
Tennessee where he continued pursuing his
educational and career goals.
Balam’s work
experiences range from Sailor to Teacher and from Translator to Chaplain. As
a Translator, he served the U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Courts in
the District of Kansas and the Western District of Missouri for 5 years (2000
to 2005). As a teacher and faculty member, he served at various institutions
including Donnelly College in Kansas (2007), MidAmerica Nazarene University
in Kansas (1994-1998); Universidad Autonoma de Campeche in Mexico (1981-1982).
As a chaplain, he has served on the streets of Kansas City Metropolitan Area,
and also at hospitals and detention centers since 2000. He has been chaplain
of the American G.I. Forum – Kansas City Chapter, a Hispanic-American
Veterans Organization since 2004; and PRN
chaplain at Overland Park Regional
Medical Center
(2006).
Balam is proud
of his rich ethnic and cultural heritage -Mexican, Mayan, and Spanish. But as
a United States Citizen, he is proud
to be an American whose desire is to serve the best interest of his community
and country.
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