About Chad Hays

Chad Hays is a Vermilion County native who grew up in Catlin, Illinois. He graduated from Catlin High School (1981), Danville Area Community College (1983) and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (1986).

Hays served as Mayor of Catlin for two terms from 1991 – 1999. During his tenure as Mayor, Hays balanced eight consecutive budgets while completing major streets, public works and recreational facilities upgrades.

He chaired the Catlin Recreation Complex committee initiative that won the Governor’s Hometown Award for Excellence Through Volunteerism in 2003. The project included building new baseball/softball diamonds, a new all-weather track, football field and soccer fields.

He chaired the Vermilion County Mayor’s Council and was a member of the Board of Directors for many community based organizations including Danville Area Economic Development Corporation (Vermilion Advantage), Danville Rotary Club (President in 2005-2006), and the Vermilion Area Community Health Center.

Hays was named Catlin’s Citizen of the Year in 2004.

He is currently Vice President of Development & Mission Services at Provena United Samaritans Medical Center. In this capacity, he runs the Provena United Samaritans Foundation and is the organization’s chief fundraising officer. He also coordinates the hospitals community outreach efforts with programs including the HALO Project, I Sing the Body Electric, Faith In Action, Faith In Action South, Young Women Aware and Young Men Aware.

As a member of the Senior Management team, Hays helped to implement over $12 million in cost savings and performance improvement initiatives in 2009 alone.

Hays has raised over $16 million for Provena United Samaritans since 2001.

The Foundation also presents the Festival of Trees each year. The event attracts 15,000 visitors to the David S. Palmer Arena through the coordination of 1,200 volunteers and raises nearly $300,000 annually for the medical center’s community outreach programs. The event has been named outstanding special event in the Danville area for eight consecutive years.

Hays and his wife Ruth, have three children ages 24, 22 and 14, and reside in Catlin.