From the Beloit Daily News | CLINT WOLF Editor Jan 1, 2024
BELOIT — Retired Beloit business man and native of Beloit, Tom Hankins, has announced he intents to run for a seat on the School District of Beloit Board of Education.
Hankins, 65, intends to file his candidate forms today (Tuesday, Jan. 2) as a board of education candidate.
Two positions on the board of education will be on the April 2 election ballot. Each position carries a three-year term on the board. Current board president Sean Leavy’s term will expire in April. Also the term of Tia Johnson will expire. She was appointed to the school board in July following the departure of board member Spencer Anderson.
Hankins is perhaps most well known as the former owner of the Suds O’Hanahan’s Irish Pub in downtown Beloit. He and other partners opened the bar in 1995 and Hankins operated the bar until it was sold in 2019.
Hankins was heavily involved in the Downtown Beloit Association and served as chair of the Downtown Beloit Association Board.
He was a student at Brother Dutton School in Beloit as well as Cunningham, Lincoln and Aldrich schools. He graduated from Beloit Turner High School. He went on to attend the University of Wisconsin — Stout and he earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Wisconsin — Whitewater.
Hankins said he is running for the school board because he wants to give back to the community.
“I’m a Beloiter for Beloit. I want to be a voice of reason for the whole community,” he said.
Hankins and his wife, Joelle, have been married for 32 years. They have a son and a daughter, who are twins and are 31 years old. Joelle Hankins is a teacher at Head Start in Beloit.