Elder Ballard has many interests including the automotive industry and many other business ventures. His most devoted time is spent with his family and he never had them take a back seat to his work. His children are full of stories of how their father was always there for them and has always been the patriacharch of the family.

These following stories were excerpts taken from http://www.gapages.com/ballamr2.htm

   Their son Clark spoke of happy memories of time spent with his father, despite the demands on his dad’s time. “Dad would take me to Ely, Nevada, with him when I was young, to a mine he had an interest in. It was exciting for me as a young boy. I’d put on the helmet with a light on the front of it, and we’d go down the mine shaft. The only reason he took me was so we could be together.”
    
 Daughter Stacey also told of happy memories. “The first thing I think of about Dad is the way he’ll do anything for us kids, regardless of how dumb it might seem. When we were in Laguna Beach, California, this summer, I had a craving for chocolate chip cookies. He drove all around Laguna trying to find me one.”
    “He has always been understanding,” said his daughter Holly. “The day I got my driver’s license, he let me borrow his beautiful Buick Electra. I was returning a sweater to the store for him. When I parked the car, I scraped its side.
   
 “I was shaking when I called my dad, afraid that he’d be upset. He just laughed and told me it was only a car and no big deal. He was so understanding. He always seemed to know when we needed an arm around us.”
  
  His daughter Tammy had a similar experience. “When I was in second grade, he was always bringing home a different used car, because of the business. One Sunday he had a yellow Cadillac with a white roof, and my friends and I jumped in the car to get a ride home from dad. We started jumping around in the car and a friend kicked the gear shift into neutral. The car rolled back and hit another car. My friends fled, and I panicked.


   “I ran and told mom, and we went home. When we pulled up the garage door, the yellow Cadillac was there. My friends and I had jumped into another man’s car and wrecked it. I thought dad would be upset. But when he got home, he scooped me up in his arms and told me he was proud of me for telling the truth, then he took care of it and never mentioned it again. I really learned a lot from my father.”