Ron Vail: A Toledo Man Gives Back to His Alma Mater
7/2/2014 1:34:00 PM | Athletics
This is the third in a series of articles highlighting contributors to the renovation of the University of Toledo's Larimer Athletic Complex.
TOLEDO, OH – Ron Vail is a Toledo man, born and raised in the Glass City. A University of Toledo alumnus, he bleeds Midnight Blue & Gold. Ron has been associated with UT for nearly 50 years and is committed to making the athletic facilities the best in the country. So it seems only fitting that the Vail name will be prominently featured in the newly renovated Larimer Athletic Complex.
Ron and his family recently made a gift of $300,000 to the Rockets' latest capital campaign. It has been designated to the naming of the football coaches office suite and the head football coach's recruiting room.
"The gift was all about the Vail family making a contribution to UT and the Athletic Department," said Ron, a season-ticket holder for football, men's basketball and women's basketball. "We're just trying to do our small part in the big scheme of things."
The Vails' donation came about after Ron served as the "12th Man" for the Eastern Michigan game this past fall. He had the opportunity to hang out with the coaches and team in Larimer, and it was on that November day he noticed the facility needed some major work.
"Larimer is a nice facility, but it was way too congested," recalls Ron, a member of the Downtown Coaches Association. "It definitely needed an upgrade. The coaches and players treated me great, and you want to help good people. My family and I felt it was a great opportunity to get involved. It was important to give to the program."
Ron grew up in Point Place and attended Woodward High School, where he wrestled, played golf and ran track & field. His goal after high school was to find a job that would lead him to become an architect. Ron had no plans to attend college, but his father encouraged him to at least try it out. So he did. Ron enrolled at the University of Toledo in 1965 and earned two degrees, the second of which was from the College of Business in 1971.
While in high school, Ron did many things to earn money, such as washing boats, operating a paper route and mowing lawns. After high school, he worked for the New York Central Railroad as a road brakeman between Toledo and Chicago. Ron also put trains together in the Stanley Yard near the University. When he was 15 years old, Ron applied at UPS but was told he was too young. He was surprised when they called him to come work two years later. He started there in September 1965 and retired 38 years later. He started unloading trucks, became a part-time supervisor, then a full-time supervisor.
After a couple of years, Ron was promoted to employment manager and hired numerous student-athletes from UT. He was promoted to human resource manager and held that position in two districts. Ron then went into operations for the remainder of his career. He worked at the regional and national level out of Greenwich, CT and Atlanta, GA, traveling the country extensively while teaching management techniques and working with operations that needed attention.
Ron is a proud father of two daughters, Crissy and Cathy. Crissy is a graduate of UT, while Cathy attended Ohio State. Both daughters were members of the Pi Beta Phi Sorority at their respective schools. Crissy is also married to Joel Heintschel, and the couple have two children, Grace and Josh.
"I'm very proud to have been and continue to be associated with a first-class university," Ron said. "It's played a large part in my life which may have been very different if my father had not encouraged me to give college a try."
For more information on how to help support this project, please contact senior associate athletic director Dave Nottke (419-530-2510/david.nottke@utoledo.edu) or major gifts officer Dan Stong (419-530-5525/daniel.stong@utoledo.edu).
Previous articles on Larimer Athletic Center Donors
New Rocket Academic Center to be Named in Honor of Marcia and Roy ArmesSullivans' Gift for the Renovation of Larimer is the Latest in a Long Line of UT Contributions
