I like best...
After our graduation and a great summer of sailing, entered Villanova and earned a BS in psychology. Tried to sneak in a Masters, but the draft board found me in January of '61 and I never finished my dissertation.
As Private Prime, started my stint in Munich, Germany as a crypto code operator, moved into an aviation outfit and wound up as a flight operations sergeant in an experimental air cav troop. Still can't hear too well from the whine of the chopper rotor blades...really, it's not age. Got out just before that unit merged with four others to form the First Air Mobile Division that went to Vietnam - lucky!
The best thing that the Army did was to allow me to meet Heidi Schaefer whom I married in Munich in 1963. We've had the usual highs, lows, scrapes and bumps over almost forty years, but still have lots of fun with each other. Our three wonderful - now that they're ex-teenagers - daughters, Ann, Pamela and Heather are all grown. Our two oldest both graduated from Penn State and the youngest from William Smith. Both Penn Staters are married and we have three perfect little granddaughters aged 1, 2 & 5 who we are very strict with.....like I'm sure you all are with yours.
I had planned to go into a sailboat manufacturing business with our classmate Larmar Hill after we both finished with the service. Unfortunately Lamar was killed flying a jet while trainning in Texas. Another sailing buddy of mine convinced me to enter a Chubb & Son program to learn insurance underwriting after the army. Worked in New York, Chicago and Annapolis.
In 1972 moved to A.I.G. to get into international underwriting. First had the Caribbean, then Central America and finally landed the plum of Europe all handled from NYC. We moved to Brussels for four years trying to cut travel time away from home. Built up a good business and in the late '70s was lured into Marsh & McLennan to help them expand their european operations. Travel got out of hand - after setting up companies in most of the major countries I had the bright idea of finding ways to deal in the socialist countries. The late seventies, early eighties were not a fun time to be hoofing around Bulgaria, Poland, Rumania etc. But I did and it worked.
In 1986 I threw in the towel. Had an idea of puttering around with some real estate and maybe finding a sunset career building houses on the North Fork. Had just bought an office building in Southold and started a couple of big houses when the market collapsed in 1988. Bad timing.
Came back to Huntington. Started a little sign shop on Jericho Tpke. A few years later moved to a bigger shop and about nine years ago moved to an industrial park in Farmingdale. We've become more of a graphics and display house since then. Most of our business comes in over the internet from all over N. America and even a bit from overseas. One of our web sites is TradeShowShop.com if you would like to see what we do. It's exciting to have a growing business - just wish it had happened when I was thirty.
Luckily Heidi took to sailing and we've both enjoyed cruising and racing sailboats in many parts of the world. We even went out to Thailand to race with Phil Holcomb when he was living there. We also did a lot of riding when our daughters were growing up. Haven't done much lately - sailing a boat is easier on the old bod than sailing off the back of a horse.
'nuf said. Really am enjoying hearing from and about so many
of you. Can't wait to see you all in person. STAY VERTICAL. 2006 is just
around the corner!
Ford & Heidi Prime
8 Lovers Lane, Huntington, NY 11743
House - 631 427-6391
Office - 631 531-9000
