Q: Why did you choose to join Fiji Purdue in the first place?
A: I felt, after going through rush, that it was a group of men that I wanted to spend my three years with. They were the kind of people I liked. I liked their values and thought processes and I found that it was the right choice.
Q: What is your favorite memory from your time in the chapter?
A: Wow *laughs*, I think the camaraderie of the chapter. Again, the value system that we had at Fiji. The intramural sports we played, Greek sing, Fiji Island. Things that we did as a unit, as a chapter and the times I got to spend being together and talking and getting to know each other better. One of the things I loved about Fiji was how they treated the newer members. In the house, they were pledges, but outside of the house they were treated as brothers, as equals, and I always admired that.
Q: Do you still keep in touch with any brothers? Who?
A: I really don’t have a chance to keep in contact with many, unfortunately. I had a chance to spend some time with a few last year at the Indiana vs. Purdue game when I came up and visited the House. I’ve been out east for the most part since graduation. Now that I’m back, I’d like to get back in touch in the future.
Q: Tell us a little bit about your career.
A: After college I was drafted by the New York Giants football team, so I went up to NY and played five years of football with them. I played one year with the Cleveland Browns. Then, I went into the financial industry and worked in Wall Street for four years. During that time I was on the Executive Board of the NFL Alumni for 40 years, Chairman of the Board for 21 of those 40 years and became a member of the NFL Player Care Foundation Board for a number of years. I was on the Alumni Advocacy Board for a number of years. I just retired from the NFL Alumni Board where I was awarded Chairman Emeritus. I’m very involved with youth. I coached Pop Warner Youth Football and Little League baseball for 30 years. (I played baseball also at Purdue.)
Since I’ve retired from Wall Street, I’m back in Indiana. I am volunteer coach for Brown County High School for the last eight years and now I’m the head football coach there. Coaching kids has always been the love of my life. I am a partner/owner in the Salt Creek Golf Retreat in Nashville, IN. I’m still involved with the NFL.
Check out Randy’s involvement on LinkedIn.
Q: How do you think that your time in the Chapter helped to prepare you for all of your accomplishments?
A: I have always said that, going in as an athlete, I found how much I enjoyed being around the non-athlete brothers and how much I learned from them about things outside of athletics—the relationships, the values that Fiji taught me, the kind of men who were in the chapter. I learned a tremendous amount about people outside of athletics that I hadn’t known before. I loved the kind of men who were in the chapter and I got involved in other things besides athletics and the values that I learned from Fiji was, to me, one of the most valuable lessons I learned in my life. I’ve carried that with me since then. We weren’t just a “party house”, though we did have parties and we had a lot of fun with them, but we also stressed grades, academics and values of people. I was just inducted into the Indianapolis Public School Hall of Fame and I think that the values I learned from the Fiji house helped me get there. I’ve received a lot of awards in my life and I always look back and say that the things that I learned from my brothers have helped me achieve a lot of it.
Q: Tell us about your family.
A: I have two children, one boy and one girl. I have two stepchildren from a second marriage, two boys. I am very involved in the community, have been volunteering for charities to help young people, I’ve done a lot of public speaking to youth groups, but I’ve always been very family-oriented. That goes to not just my own family, but also my Fiji family. I preach family to my football teams as well and teach them how to work together, how to be a unit and how to be a leader.
Q: What advice do you have to future generations of Fiji members?
A: Have a dream and follow that dream and work toward it. Never allow the rough times to get you down. Always look up, never look down. Always look forward, never back. Always look outward, not inward. Always be willing to lend a hand and help others. Don’t ever give up on your dreams. Aim high and understand that, though you may not reach the heights you hope for, keep working toward it and you will gain so much out of life.
