Richard E. (Ric) Hinkie

Posted on: Aug 01, 2023 at 2:15 PM

What a teammate!  We could always count on Brian when the score was close and we needed some points.  He was an amazing basketball player and a pitcher as well.  We teased him with the name Baby Huey, only because he appeared to be this big hulking guy that was humble and unassuming, yet he had the athletic ability and the drive to win.  When I connected with him briefly 20 years after we graduated when we both lived in Northern Virginia--he retired from President Nixon's Secret Service Staff and me working for a Reagan Zealot in DC, we laughed about how for two years my nose was in his armpit during every practice in '63 and '64 as Coach Baglien had me guarding Brian...or should I say trying to guard him.  He laughed away my suggestion that I was really responsible for his outstanding play on the court.   

The team was really a bunch of decent young men.  We were all focused on doing our best, no infighting, no primadonnas,  just how could we help each other develop the skills to move us forward.  

After Brian led the team to an outrageously one sided victory in the district tournament in '64 on our way to Edina's first State Tournament, the Coach of the other team said, "The only thing good about my team is that they are all graduating and I get to start over next year."  Yikes.

I am grateful for having known Brian and especially for the free pizzas the team received in Hopkins after each of our victories.  It was a good run with good people.  The support from our class given Edina's very successful history in Football, Hockey, Tennis, Swimming, Wrestling, Baseball to us "newbies" in basketball success was very much appreciated.  We were 17-7 as I remember it in '63 and undefeated going into the state tourney in '64.  The real victories, however, were in the relationships within and around the team.  

Farewell friend, it was a pleasure.

Posted on: May 26, 2022 at 11:08 AM

Granddaughter Addie received the Merriman Scholarship for academic and athletic excellence. Remember Howard our Athletic Director? He and his wife never had children do they began building this very generous scholarship. She’s off to Madison. Just as we were so fortunate to attend Edina schools, she and her sibs are too. As an Arizonan now I just read AZ is 50th in school funding. No wonder we have to help raise scholarship money here. No AP courses. Yikes.

What an amazing school system Edina still is. My grandchildren all attended the French immersion elementary (South end of our old High School), are playing in the high school and middle school orchestras, are active in the arts, and sports teams. I literally feel sorry for kids in Arizona. No comparison, I think AZ ranks 48th in funding. Just attended a breakfast where private donors (like us) pay tuition so high school students can take Community College classes because the HS lacks AP courses. Be thankful for Minnesota Schools!

Making a presentation to U of M Alumni Association on Feb. 12 on Career Success Principles. Here is the link. https://umnalumni.org/Details?urlSafeTitle=fast-forward-your-career-the-7-proven-career-success-principles&date=2019-02-12:12:00:00 I have enjoyed interviewing senior execs over the years about how they got ahead faster and higher up the pyramid. At this stage of life, its about giving back, so I am trying to pass on the wisdom shared with me. If you are inclined, click on the link and make arrangements to come over. Look forward to reconnecting.

Posted on: Sep 25, 2017 at 10:34 PM

Thanks for 57 years of friendship. You were the first person I met at the buss stop when I moved into Edina in 1960. Been a good run with many years more to go. You left out of your profile, however, the information about flying kites with lit cigars hanging from them and blaming me for the cigarettes your mother found hidden your basement. Otherwise good.

Posted on: Apr 17, 2014 at 2:02 PM

Did we make a difference in our communities, nation and the world individually and as a class? We sure had a great start with our HS education. Did you have the same sense that I did that anything was possible in our futures? Did you feel that if you really wanted to achieve something and were willing to do the work required it would become real? I'll bet we have some great stories to share about what our dreams were and how they played out. How we made and are still making a difference. I'd love to hear about your stories. Don't be bashful. I'm not suggesting an egofest, just stories about how you feel good about your life and perhaps how you have impacted others. I'll start in the hope that it will begin the process.

From being an usher at the new Guthrie theater as a junior to becoming a PR manager while at the U, I had an amazing number of mentors there, some of them quite famous. Even though I ended up first at Minnegasco rising to be Director of Marketing after U of M, I found myself fascinated with new ways of helping a lot of people learn what they needed to learn quickly and efficiently. A career as a leader building national educational systems for Fortune 500 clients and then as the head of a non-profit which created even more systems, now online, I feel good about bringing career technical, safety, and leadership skills to nearly 500,000 people. www.energyu.org is one of the latest efforts that is getting more sophisticated and effective each year. I was the creative and financial engine, many many other people smarter than me made it work.

So what is your story?