Amherst College
Cass Ballenger went to which school from 1944 to 1945?
Cass Ballenger Thomas Cass Ballenger ( December 6 , 1926 – February 18 , 2015 ) was an American politician . A Republican , he represented North Carolinas 10th Congressional district , centered in North Carolinas foothills , in the United States House of Representatives from 1986 to 2005 . Biography . Ballenger represented the 10th Congressional District of North Carolina from 1986 to 2005 . He was also the founder and former Chairman of the Board of Plastic Packaging , Inc. , a manufacturing company with plants in Hickory and Forest City , North Carolina . He also served in the North Carolina Senate ( 1977–86 ) , the North Carolina House of Representatives ( 1975–77 ) and on the Catawba County Board of Commissioners ( 1966–74 ) . In 38 consecutive years in elective office , serving at the local , state and federal levels , Ballenger never lost an election . He was a member of the Republican leadership in the U.S . House of Representatives , serving as a Deputy Whip and as a member of the House Steering Committee . He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the National Council on the Arts . During his time in the U.S . Congress , he was a renowned expert on business issues and foreign affairs , especially on issues dealing with Central and South America . Ballenger served on the Committee on Education and the Workforce and as Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections . During his Chairmanship , he authored legislation , which was later enacted , to reform the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA ) to make it less adversarial and more collaborative while still ensuring worker safety . It was the first major legislative revision to OSHA workplace rules since the agency was created . Other notable legislation Ballenger authored included a bill making the use of hypodermic needles safer for healthcare workers and a bill to designate Wilson Creek in Caldwell County , North Carolina , a Wild and Scenic River . He secured major funding for the completion of US321 between Hickory and Gastonia , North Carolina , and also established the Future Forward Economic Alliance , a regional economic development initiative serving 11 counties in Western North Carolina . Through Future Forward , Ballenger led the effort to secure funding to create the North Carolina Center for Engineering Technologies in Hickory , North Carolina . He was also instrumental in the creation of the Hickory Metro Higher Education Center ( now the Appalachian State University Center at Hickory. ) He also served on the International Relations Committee and as Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee , where he worked to promote democracy and human rights , fight poverty and improve relations with developing countries in Central and South America . In 1990 , he and his wife Donna founded the Ballenger Foundation to continue their longtime charitable work in Central America . They established several medical clinics in high-poverty locations , sponsored an orphanage , sent school furniture and textbooks and delivered loads of other relief supplies . Their efforts began after the devastating earthquake in Managua , Nicaragua , in 1972 and continued for decades thereafter . Ballenger prioritized constituent service in the U.S . House of Representatives . A Comprehensive Guide to Constituent Service , his benchmark publication , is still updated for each new Congress and used to train new congressional staff members . As a member of the North Carolina Senate and former Minority Leader , he introduced the government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 , which was enacted into law . It was the first substantive Open Meetings law enacted in North Carolina . He also authored legislation , known as the Ridge Law , to protect scenic vistas in the North Carolina mountains . He was recognized as the Most Effective Republican Legislator by the North Carolina Institute of Government in 1981 . Ballenger previously served as Chairman of the Catawba County , North Carolina , Board of Commissioners and was recognized as North Carolinas County Commissioner of the Year in 1974 . Both Catawba Memorial Hospital ( now Catawba Valley Medical Center ) and Catawba Valley Community College ( formerly Catawba Valley Technical Institute ) were established during his two terms as a County Commissioner . He was at one time Chairman of the Catawba County Republican Party and also served on the Jim Martin for Governor Steering Committee ; the North Carolina Reagan-Bush Campaign ( Western Co-Chairman , 1984 ) ; and was a co-founder and former Chairman of the North Carolina Legislative Forum . He was active in many community organizations , including the Community Ridge Day Care Center in Hickory ( co-founder ) ; Greater Hickory United Fund ( Chairman ) ; Western Piedmont Council of Governments ( Board Chairman ) ; Greater Hickory Chamber of Commerce ( Director ) ; the North Carolina School of the Arts ( Sustaining Member ) ; the North Carolina Symphony ( Patron ) and the North Carolina Arts Society ( Patron ) . He also served on the Board of Development and Board of Directors at Lenoir-Rhyne College ; the Board of Directors for the Salvation Army and the Board of Trustees for the Florence Crittenton Home . After graduating from Episcopal High School , he attended the University of North Carolina and later received a liberal arts degree from Amherst College in Amherst , Massachusetts , where he was initiated into the Delta Kappa Epsilon ( DKE ) fraternity . He served in the U.S . Naval Air Corps during World War II . He also volunteered as a Lay Reader for the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina , traveling to lead services in parishes without rectors . He was a longtime active member of the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Hickory . Ballenger retired in 2004 and was succeeded by one-term Republican state representative Patrick T . McHenry . Ballenger died on February 18 , 2015 , aged 88 . External links . - Retrieved on 2009-5-16