In between completing work on a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at Virginia Tech and returning to his alma mater four years later for graduate studies, Jim Richards packed in a lot of action-he played defensive safety for the New York Jets during their 1969 Super Bowl victory over the Baltimore Colts and then served with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Korea. All of this was a precursor to a remarkable engineering career.



Jim's undergraduate years foreshadowed his future successes. While attending school on a four-year football scholarship, he won the Montieth Award for Military, Scholastic and Athletic Achievement, was named to Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities and received his diploma as a Distinguished Military Graduate. During his career at Virginia Tech, the football team had some stellar seasons, winning the Harvest Bowl in 1965-when Jim was one of six civil engineering students leading the team-and playing in the Liberty Bowl in 1966.



Jim began training with the Jets in July 1968. During his first season on the team he played against the Oakland Raiders in the AFL Championship game and then against the Baltimore Colts as the Jets, led by Joe Namath, won Super Bowl III. Jim made the first tackle in the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl III. "When we, as 18-point underdogs, beat the Colts that year in Miami, we shocked the world," he remembers. His second and final season in pro football was highlighted by playing with the Jets against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFL Eastern Division Championship.



Jim's football career was curtailed by a call from the U.S. Army-as a former member of the Corps of Cadets, he had to fulfill his two-year military commitment. He served with the Corps of Engineers at Fort Belvoir and later at Camp Humphreys in Korea, where he was platoon leader and executive company officer in the Construction Battalion. Two months after being released from the Corps in November 1971, he returned to Virginia Tech to work on a master's degree in civil engineering.



Mr. Richards' engineering career has been sparked by the same hard-driving determination he showed on the football field. After completing his M.S. in 1973, he worked his way up through positions with various engineering firms in South Carolina until he became branch manager and vice president of C.E. Maguire, Inc., in Richmond. In 1983 he initiated the consolidation of Maguire's Richmond and Norfolk offices in Virginia Beach and, in 1990, he bought the firm's Virginia operation.



Under his guidance, Maguire Associates, Inc., expanded into Atlanta and Raleigh and garnered annual gross revenues of $6 million. In 1996 he sold the firm to the Michael Baker Corporation, an international giant with offices in 19 states and six other countries. Today, as executive vice president and South Region manager for Michael Baker, Mr. Richards is in charge of the firm's engineering, architectural and planning services in 12 states. Working out of Virginia Beach, he oversees nine offices, 650 employees and gross annual revenues of $80 million.



Active in a number of professional organizations, Mr. Richards has served as chair of the Virginia Section of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and president of the Commonwealth of Virginia's State Board of Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Certified Landscape Architects. He was named Engineer of the Year by the Tidewater Chapter of the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers in 1989. The Virginia Section of AWWA presented him with its Distinguished Service Award in 1994 and the Fuller Award in 1995.



Generous in service to Virginia Tech, Jim was a member of CEE's Alumni Board for six years and currently is a member of the university's Continuing Education Committee and of the College of Engineering's Committee of 100. In addition, he is active in the First Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach and has worked with the community's public schools, Boy Scouts and United Way.



Jim and his wife, Linda, have three children-Christy, Mark and Jason-and two grandchildren-Taylor and Justin. Still a sports enthusiast, Jim enjoys golf, tennis and boating.