When Rich Erickson thinks back to his time as a Redskin, he finds it nearly impossible to select “just one” favorite memory. Forty years after graduation, the excitement of high school and the power of the relationships he established there is still a palpable tug on his heart. In a long list of high school highlights, Erickson applauds the “dedicated and effective faculty who developed a strong learning environment,” gratefully acknowledges “great friends,” and grows animated sharing athletic anecdotes that range from regional championships in basketball to intense study hall game plan reviews with football coach Dick Smith. For a man who has accomplished so much his years after Naperville Central, Erickson has never forgotten where his story began: in the hallways, in the gym, on the track and on the fields of Naperville Central.As a three-sport athlete who excelled at football, basketball and track, leading all three programs as a co-captain in his senior seasons, Erickson gave himself fully in every endeavor, garnering great personal and team success. He was named to the All-State football team his senior season and made All-Conference and All-Suburban rosters as a junior and a senior. Recalling his time on the football field, Erickson notes that his teams won all but four football games during his four years, going undefeated in 1962. He can still feel the rush of “whipping up on Sycamore at their place” that year and the come-from-behind Homecoming victory of 1963. “I played with some terrific athletes and people,” Erickson enthuses. “We had a small class of 300 – everyone contributed. And I had coaches and teachers who taught me so much.” The energy of the Naperville Central community provided Erickson with a rich ground of inspiration that drove his play in all of his athletic arenas.Success in football fed his basketball fire, as he helped his team to the Regional championship in 1963 after securing an Upstate Eight Conference title. A member of three Conference Champion track teams, Erickson, who to this day vividly remembers running endless 330yd/110yd intervals, found himself the high point leader in track as a junior and a senior. Erickson is quick to credit his coaches’ values, example and influence as the force behind his individual and team achievements and finds himself using their lessons in his daily life. Channeling mentors like Smith, Wes Spencer, Bud Berger and Ira Scott, Erikson advises today’s students to “stay in the moment, don’t take yourself too seriously, don’t forget where you came from and celebrate small victories along the way.”That mantra served Erickson well at the University of Illinois, where he was a varsity football letterman in the 1965-1967 seasons. One of his favorite collegiate highlights was running scout team his freshman year against future Chicago Bears great, Dick Butkus. He graduated in 1969 with a degree in civil engineering and went on to earn an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1980. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of O’Neil Industries, and has enjoyed additional civic involvements, including serving as an 18th Street Art Center Board Member in Santa Monica from 1997-2002 and acting as a Craft & Folk Art Museum Board trustee from 2010 until the present. Erickson shared that his mentors always stressed the importance of “work and life balance,” reminding him to take time for family, friends, community and self. Erickson has actively cultivated that balance with diverse involvements embracing the aesthetic, athletic and service areas of life. A diehard Illini who has continued to give back to his alma mater, Erickson is an active and dedicated alumnus, serving on the President’s Council and Tribe of Illini, acting as guest speaker for construction management courses in CEE, working with the College of Engineering Advisory Board, and sitting on the Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association Board of Directors. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2005, named Chapter Honorary Member of Chi Epsilon in 2011, and given the Varsity I Achievement Award in 2012 for his extensive service and commitment to the University of Illinois and its athletic and academic programs.As a man committed to the places and people who resonate in his heart, Erickson has crafted a rich life story, seasoned with vivid memories and influential relationships rooted in Naperville. Erickson knows that the echoes of yesterday’s games don’t really ever fade – they linger, connecting past, present and future student-athletes in a timeless testament to the spirit of high school life at Naperville Central.