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People in business, particularly manufacturing, who aren’t involved in politics are shortsighted, according to Rick Beltram ’73.
“There are business people who are sitting on the sidelines, not participating,” Beltram says. “Government can affect a lot of policies for businesses, especially manufacturing. I wanted to be proactive.”
As chairman of the Spartenburg County Republican Committee in South Carolina, he has met one-on-one with all of the GOP candidates readying themselves for the 2008 presidential primaries.
The meetings are beneficial for his family as well. His daughter, a sophomore at Clemson, is studying political science and meeting these high-ranking politicians has certainly helped with the practical application of politics.
Beltram is hesitant to name his favorite for the GOP presidential nomination, but says he likes Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
“My job is to give my county access to these candidates,” he says, adding that Romney will be attending a President’s Day dinner in early 2007.
Politics aren’t his only responsibility. Beltram owns Intedge Industries, manufacturing items including kitchen utensils, oven mitts, and delivery bags for the food service industry.
To prepare for his career, Beltram created his own course of study at Lafayette, a bachelor of arts in engineering, which included English, marketing, and engineering.
“I was going into manufacturing, but I also needed to learn sales and marketing,” he says. “I was the first one [with that major] in 1973, but I understand there are now 20-25 graduating [with the same course of study] a year.”
He knows what’s going on at Lafayette because he keeps an eye out as an alumni admissions representative.
“I track each year in US News and World Report and [Lafayette’s] ranking keeps going up.”
At Lafayette, serving as president of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity gave him a taste for politics.
“When Lafayette went co-ed, the focus was getting [the fraternity] on campus,” he says. “Getting that done was real-life business experience and real-life political experience. I can track back a lot of what I’m doing now to my experiences at Lafayette.”