Mike Noonan Named 2004 
John Batley Award Recipient

April 21, 2004 - One of the traditional highlights of the PAISBOA Annual Meeting is the presentation of the John Batley Award, our highest honor. A former CFO of Westtown School, recipient of the Visionary Award, and the man for whom the John Batley Award was created, John’s legacy is one of selfless giving and inclusion in PAISBOA. We celebrate his character, competence, and consistency each year with the selection of the John Batley Award winner.

For 2004, the John Batley Award was presented to
Mike Noonan, Business Manager at Friends Select School

Mike Noonan is one of the “founding fathers” of PAISBOA. In the summer of 1989, he was part of a group of Business Managers from independent schools in the Philadelphia area who gathered to discuss the rising cost of health care. From this meeting, a coalition was formed of the roughly 60 schools that comprised this original group.

As the years passed, Mike’s leadership continued as the association added additional insurance offerings, human resources services, professional development programs, and the formation of the PAISBOA Purchasing Consortium.

The rest, as they say, is history… and Mike Noonan has been part of all of it!

Mike is an original Board Member, and has held his position for over 20 years. He currently serves as Board secretary, and is a member of both the Nomination and Executive Committees. He is also the association’s unofficial historian and has a complete set of meeting minutes going back to the formation of the group.

Mike’s day job is as Business Manager at Friends Select School, and he has worked there for 34 years. He likes to say that he has served (survived) under seven different Heads of School!

Outside of the office at Friends Select, he is a member of the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame for coaching Girls Varsity Basketball as well as the Junior Varsity Boys and Middle School Girls teams.

In addition to his involvement with PAISBOA, Mike was the long-term treasurer of the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS), having held that position for 23 years.

One of his career highlights is the People of Color Job Fair at Friends Select, which has been held at the school for over 20 years. Mike helped organize and manage the fair along with longtime colleague Sherry Coleman. Additionally, he administers the school’s Financial Aid Program, which has provided needed assistance to hundreds of students over the years.

Congratulations to Mike on his many years of service to PAISBOA. His leadership and vision have served us well through the years, and we are proud to present Mike Noonan of Friends Select School our highest honor. Well deserved!

Read More About John Batley