Employee Spotlight: Richard Hall
Veteran. Sailor. Diver. Pilot. Teacher. Relentless learner.
That list just scratches the surface of Richard Hall’s life outside United Systems, where he serves as Project Manager on our Itron Support team. Richard’s curiosity usually comes with a classroom—whether he planned for it or not. If he thinks it’s interesting, he wants you to think so, too.
That generosity of knowledge is evident in his work. He’s a favorite of student tour groups, who love his hands-on presentations.
That same desire to teach helped inspire the creation of Bluegrass Sailing Club.
“The mission is simple: get people sailing,” Richard says.
Based at Kentucky Dam Marina, the nonprofit gives adults and kids a chance to learn, race, and find community on the water. If sailing interests you, Richard wants to see you there. He doesn’t believe cost should keep someone onshore, so Richard has helped make scholarships available. “Let’s just say I need a mission.”
That mentality made him a good fit for the military. Richard originally joined the Army to fly helicopters. Instead, he became a paratrooper! One mission took him to Timor-Leste, a south Pacific island just north of Australia.
“It was a high winds night jump. We missed the drop zone. I was dragged through the trees, dislocated my knee, and broke a few ribs,” Richard says of a particularly eventful operation.
Richard served from 1996 to 2001, achieving the rank of E-4 Specialist. His wife Sandi has been through it all with him. The high school sweethearts celebrate 28 years of marriage in June. Together, they’ve built a life full of adventure, family, and more than a few hobbies that require waivers.
Sandi is Richard’s dive partner, occasional flight passenger, and racing partner on many long sailing races. They fostered a teenager, Josh, through high school, and he remains an important part of their family today. And sailing is now a family event for them and their 14-year-old daughter, Freya, named for the Norse goddess of love.
Richard’s family history has its own plot twist. After tracing his ancestry, he discovered connections to two castles in Wales: Cyfarthfa Castle in Merthyr Tydfil and Hensol Castle near Pontyclun. Naturally, he’s visited both.
Food was a big part of that trip, as it is with most Richard takes. It’s also a passion at home. He enjoys trying new cuisines and recipes; old ones, too.
He recently shared a photo of homemade strombolis, recreated from a top-secret Calloway County High School recipe he obtained through what we’ll call “covert means.” He does admit that eating out with him might require a bit of patience.
“I’m trying to figure it out,” Richard says of his habit of deconstructing food while eating it. “What is that flavor? Or what is this? What am I tasting? How’d they get that?”
The need to understand how things work has served United’s customers well in his career. We’re grateful Richard has spent 25 years bringing that spirit to United Systems.
Around here, a good teammate is valuable. One who can troubleshoot, teach, sail, fly, cook, and identify a mystery flavor is proof that expertise and personality make a pretty great combination!
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