Dr. Ric Vandett retired in 2009 from public education after serving three years as Superintendent of Hickory Public Schools, Hickory, NC. During a thirty-four-year career in education, he taught high school English and coached football and basketball. As an administrator, he served as a middle school assistant principal, elementary school principal, Director of Instruction, Assistant Superintendent, and Superintendent of Schools. He earned a BS in English and an MA in Public School Administration from Appalachian State University, in Boone, NC. Ric also earned a Doctorate in Educational Administration from Columbia University in New York in 1998. He served as Director of the Southwest Education Alliance, a consortium of eleven school districts in southwest NC, retiring in 2017. He is a Certified Lay Speaker for the United Methodist Church and has served St. Luke’s UMC in Hickory, NC, as a Lay Leader. He is a Rotarian and served as chairperson on the board of Exodus Homes. Ric is a Vietnam veteran serving with both the First Air Cavalry and the First Infantry Division in 1965 and 1966. He served as Chair of the Foothills Veterans Stand Down Committee for seven years and is on the board of the Foothills Veterans Helping Veterans. Ric is married to the former Angela McCombs from Creedmoor, NC. They have 4 children, 12 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren.