By Kylie Lancaster//
Jim Haines, Hood’s conference services manager, will celebrate 40 years at the college on Dec. 2.
He has seen many changes at Hood over the years.
“You can see a whole lot of computers now; you would’ve seen typewriters,” Haines said of the differences between now and when he began. “It’s hard to believe, like there was phone booths in the dorms. You know, they’re all gone. They’d have phones in each room, and they’ve pretty much done away with all of those things.”
The biggest change came in 2003 when the college became co-educational.
“There was a lot of kickback from the start. I mean, a lot, especially on like a weekend,” Haines said. “It was crazy, but I think it was just to a point to where most students wanted to go to a co-ed school, and I think Dr. Volpe made a push.”
Haines said he came to Hood after his wife told him about a job opportunity at the college that she had learned about from a friend. At the time, Haines was a mason, but was working very few hours, so he decided to apply for the position.
After submitting his application, Haines was approached by the physical planning director at that time–a man whose name was also Jim Haines. The name similarity helped Haines secure a position as a setup crew member in 1985, earning $4 per hour.
Haines worked in facilities for the first 22 years of his employment at the college before being contracted to conference services in 2005.
Haines said the Hood community and the versatility of his occupation have made 40 years of working for the college easy.
He said he feels grateful to have worked at a place where his children were able to earn their degrees, and he was given generous worker benefits.
“It’s a special place,” Haines said.
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