Randy Hagan - 1963 Bio & Picture from 40th Reunion Update for 50th Reunion Upate for 60th Reunion
Randy Hagan was born June 22, 1945, in Columbia, Missouri, son of Melva and Albert Hagan. He grew up in Columbia and attended D. H. Hickman High School, graduating in 1963, and the University of Missouri, graduating with a B. S. Chemical Engineering in 1967. Randy attended graduate school at Harvard University receiving a MBA in 1969. Randy married Juanita “Nita” Roberts in 1971 in Birmingham, Alabama. One son, John Roberts, is a lawyer practicing in Birmingham. John is married to Laura and they have two sons, Alex and Zack. Randy and Nita have lived near Richmond, Virginia, since 1979. Randy was President of American Filtrona Company in Richmond, a manufacturer of specialty bonded fiber products with sales of over $80 million and 400+ employees until it was sold in 1998. Previously we lived in Rome, Italy, for 7 years where Randy was Director of Operations, Europe, for Kem Manufacturing Corp., a specialty chemical manufacturer. Kem had manufacturing in Holland and distribution in Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. For the last several years Randy has worked with James River Capital Corp., a hedge fund manager with over $3 billion under management, as Director of Institutional Marketing, and is Managing Director of Torch Technologies LLC, a technology venture capital company. Nita is an interior design consultant. Randy and Nita live in Goochland County, about 25 miles from Richmond in a semi-rural area. For several years we raised thoroughbred racing horses but have now reduced the stable to personal riding horses only. We both enjoy trail riding and foxhunting the beautiful Virginia countryside. We continue to travel extensively in the USA and internationally. As often as possible we visit our grandchildren in Alabama and Randy’s family in Missouri. Both Randy and Nita look forward to attending the 40th reunion at Hickman H.S. this year.
Biographic
outline for Randall L. (Randy) Hagan 11/27/2012 I think of my life in
phases.
The first approximately 1/3rd
of my life was spent in Columbia, Mo, where my father was a professor of
Agricultural Economics and my mother a homemaker (as was still possible
in those years).
Hickman HS was a great transition when
I, as did most of us, grew up mentally, socially and physically (not so
much unfortunately).
It was fully expected that I would
attend Missouri University after graduation from Hickman and I did so,
graduating in 1967 with a BS in Chemical Engineering.
Then it was away from Columbia toward
the rest of my life. Phase two started at
the Harvard Business School in Boston where I actually learned to think
in a two-year boot camp for businessmen.
Besides an excellent education I
finally got to play competitive football, rugby in this case, and
survived in spite of my lack of size, speed or general athletic ability
(I actually played for 7 more years for various teams in various
places).
I fully expect to go into the military
upon graduation as I was in ROTC at MU but was able to defer for grad
school.
However, the cut backs in officers
after Vietnam peaked plus some historical health issues instead put me
in manufacturing in Birmingham, Alabama (the job I could get one month
from graduation!).
That job only lasted two years but I
was awarded the prize of my life, my wife Nita.
Next stop was Atlanta where I was
Director of Operations for a chemical company and Nita taught school.
In 1973 they decided to open an
operation in Europe and I was selected as the operational guy to start
up manufacturing and support the sales team already there.
So, Nita and I packed up and moved to
Rome, Italy for what was supposed to be two years and ended up almost
seven.
During our time in
Italy we received the second best prize, unable to have children
ourselves, we were blessed when our nephew John came to live with us
(and stayed until he left for college at VMI in 1986).
Even though I enjoyed my work and Italy
was a great place to live, the time came to return to the USA.
Although I was offered a job in our new
parent company, I ended up instead at a fiber manufacturing company in
Richmond, Virginia in 1974 and stayed until we sold the company in 1998.
It was a great run in an interesting
and technically challenging business that grew nicely in both sales and
profits.
We learned to love Richmond during this
time and I became addicted to fox hunting, a speed and balance sport
that involves horses, hounds, and, of course, foxes.
We had begun riding jumping horses
while in Italy but cross-country on a horse at speed is a thrill that is
hard to duplicate, except maybe for downhill skiing for which I have
limited talent.
Horse riding led to horse properties,
raising thoroughbred horses for the track, losing too much money and
time, downsizing to our current home with comfortable space for only
four horses, two of which are owned by my neighbor—much less stress.
Meanwhile, after the company was sold,
I took a job in a related business in Atlanta but after less than a
year, Nita and I decided not to move back to the really big city and
stayed in Richmond.
In the meantime I started helping two
friends with their not so well thought out private equity investments.
This lasted a year or so before the
last of the businesses were sold or closed, whereupon they asked if I
would stay on to run marketing in their core business, hedge funds.
At that point I was literally tired of
manufacturing (supervising large groups of employees actually) and this
job proved to be interesting, less stressful, paid enough to keep the
lights on, and kept me busy for 10 years. It is now time to enter
the next phase of my life (hopefully not the last phase?).
My father died at age 99 ½ in 2009 but
my mother still lives in Columbia at age 95.
John is a successful professional in
Birmingham, both as a lawyer and psychologist, who married his high
school sweetheart and we have four grandchildren.
I am seriously considering retirement
next year and have cut back on my work and my foxhunting, a time
consuming sport (perhaps recent rotator cuff surgery from repeated falls
had something to do with that!).
We would like to spend more time with
the grandkids, for travel and just slowing the pace.
I am really looking forward to our HHS
50th
Anniversary next year and hope to see everyone there. Best regards. Randy
Hi Charlie. I am just
getting around to updating my information for the 60th
Reunion “Memory Page”. In fact, not a lot has happened since my update
for the 50th
Reunion. I did in fact retire in 2014 from management but continued as a
Registered Securities Agent for five more years (not working very hard
at it!). My mother passed away at age 98 in 2015 but my brother is still
going at age 83, long retired and living in KC to be close to his kids
and grandkids. Nita and I are doing relatively well. We both have health
issues, hers from progressive deterioration from Transverse Myelitis
that she has had since age 7 and mine due to residual effects from a
heart attack I had in June of 2022. We still live at our home in
Goochland County near Richmond, VA, and keep dogs and horses. I still
ride regularly but no longer foxhunt (Nita would say I finally came to
my senses!). Our son, John, wife, Laura, and four grandchildren are
doing well. The two boys are in college and our twin granddaughters will
turn 16 in November. We have not traveled much since the advent of
COVID-19 but have been visited by John, Laura and the kids in waves over
the past year. Our upcoming trip for the Reunion will be our first back
to Missouri in several years. We are looking forward to seeing family in
KC and Columbia, and I am particularly glad we are able to have a 60th
Reunion to catchup with “old” classmates from Hickman HS. All the best. Randy
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