User:TheRickShow
My name is Richard "Rick" Henegar Jr. I was born in Roanoke VA on March 22, 1985, and raised by my folks, Richard and Sherie Henegar. I grew up in Daleville VA and attended Lord Botetourt H.S. where I excelled in Track & Field (not so much in school), placing at the state track meet every year in every event that I participated in and barely missed the state title in the 400m my senior year by a photo finish. I was quoted saying “It hurts, but the way I look at it is everything happens for a reason. Maybe I wasn’t meant to win this. Maybe I’ve got something else planned for me.”
Due to my poor academic performance throughout school, college wasn’t on the table unless I went to prep school, so I joined the Navy to get out of my parent’s basement, travel the world, and gain my own independence. The Navy opened my eyes to the world, its many differences, and all the good in it. I learned to accept and love folks from all walks of life and no matter our differences, to work together as a team to achieve a common goal. Throughout my time in the service, I earned a Navy Achievement Medal, War on Terrorism Medal and Service Expeditionary Medal.
Towards the end of my first military term as a Navy Machinist, my father expanded his little mom-and-pop auto shop to a 13,300 sq ft monster of an Independent Collision repair facility. Being tired of living on a boat and missing my parents’ basement I came home to help with the transition. Little did I know the next 8 years would be that of long hours and more stress than any young person should become accustomed to. While running the business, I started looking for community service opportunities. I became a freemason, overhauled a deployed soldier’s truck (where I was awarded the 2011 National Auto Body Council’s PRIDE award), a disabled boy’s walker, a young boy’s go-cart (who had lost his sister to suicide from bullying), a homeless shelter’s women & children’s transport van and most famously a Radford University student’s car which was severely vandalized in a hate crime due to his sexual orientation. That overhaul landed me global recognition, and on the Ellen DeGeneres show.
The Ellen experience in 2012 changed my life and helped shape who I am today. On the plane ride home, I knew the rest of my future would be one filled with good deeds and doing what was right, no matter the consequences. As a result of my appearance on the show I was asked to publicly speak out about my experience and how one person can make a difference. I attended numerous events, schools, and gatherings telling my story. I was awarded a “Courage to Care Award” from The Prevention Council, a “Diversity In The Community” award from Radford University and my local school board made me the inaugural recipient of the “Richard Henegar Jr Acts of Kindness Community Award” where a deserving recipient would receive my award for the years to follow.
In 2015 I succumbed to the stress of running my father’s business and even though we were profitable, doing 2 million in sales a year, and employed 14 people, I had to leave for the betterment of my health. A month later and after 30 years of serving the Roanoke Valley, he shut it down, almost losing everything. Meanwhile, I had flipped a house, bought land, sold the flipped house, and started building a DIY house out of pocket with my then-wife. Fast forward a year or so and I opened Quality Cares Automotive to help my out my father, whose disability didn’t cover his mortgage. After working side by side with my father for a couple of years at our two-man shop and observing the declining condition he was in due to the industry, hard work, and stress, AND after going through a separation (eventually divorced) as my wife came out of the closet halfway through our house build, I had an epiphany and decided to work smarter not harder, as the old man would always say.
In 2018, at 33, back in my parent's basement and with NO idea of what I wanted to be when I “grew up” I decided to go to college. Fortunately, my military service came with the perks of free education and a housing allowance while in school. I went to my advisor at school and gave her my background and from her recommendation, I would be a good fit for the Mechatronics Program. Having a design and machining background from high school and my time in the service, I figured this would be the path of least resistance for me and the one of most interest. Two years later I graduated Summa Cum Laude with an AAS in Mechatronics Engineering Technology with a focus on Mechanical Design. Not ready to enter the workforce as I was still juggling my auto shop with school and still wanting to milk Uncle Sam until my benefits ran dry, I decided to pursue my bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering Technology through ODU as I knew they had a great ABET-accredited program and I could attend online which would give me the flexibility to still attend school while running my auto shop.
In August of 2022, I recently finished a BSET in Mechanical Engineering Technology with a focus on Mechanical Systems Design and Mechatronics with a minor in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University. Directly after college, I landed my dream gig facilitating the creativity of young minds at Virginia Western Community College by becoming their Engineering Lab Manager (Fab Lab). During college, I moonlighted as an adjunct lecturer of Machining Fundamentals at my alma mater. I've been a small business owner since 2016 (Quality Cares Auto) and am currently building a small semi-off-grid tiny house and workshop (that served as my senior design project) at my land that borders my best friend and ex-wife. I’m still not %100 sure what I want to do when I “grow up” but one thing is for sure, I know that I want to be a part of the solution and not the problem in this world. My time at ODU allowed me to meet some amazing people and to be a part of an amazing program called Engineers Without borders where I held down the “Project Lead” position. I’m considering a master's to give myself more opportunities to teach and hope that moving forward I can continue to use my skills for good in this world of ever-increasing entropy.
