Reid Hospital Governing Board
Board member sees Reid as community asset
Tom Hilkert
Back Home Again...
Returning to Indiana eight years ago, was a "return to his roots," Tom Hilkert said.
Starting first as a mechanical engineer, he was employed by two major companies, working his way to regional vice president of White Consolidated Industries.
He is now president and part owner of M.E.G. Division of Hirsh Industries. The company produces store fixtures for major retailers such as Dollar General, Kohl's and Sears. Those "fixtures" include metal display shelving, stock room shelving, checkout counters, customer service desks, modular fitting rooms and a wide variety of specialty fixtures.
Tom Hilkert's wife, Chris is executive director of Junior Achievement of Eastern Indiana, Inc. The couple are parents of two sons, Scott, a computer and electrical engineer who is a partner in an electronic and computer design firm in Chicago. A second son, Jeff, is Sales Manager for Chattanooga Paper Board and lives on Lookout Mountain, TN.
Tom, like his sons, enjoys golf. He has just completed a term on the board of Forest Hills Country Club. Among Tom Hilkert's other community involvements are his service on the local Purdue Advisory Board, Chair of the SBDC Advisory Board, member of the Machine Tool Council and Industries Inc. Board and he is a Junior Achievement volunteer at Lincoln High School.
When Tom Hilkert and his wife, Chris, first drove through Richmond
in 1994, they were making a decision about their future. Tom had not yet
accepted his position as President of M.E.G. in Cambridge City. He recalls
driving past Reid Hospital on that first visit.
"I was impressed with the fact that there was a high quality hospital here. Having accessible health care greatly influenced our judgment of the area," Hilkert said.
A Lucerne, Indiana native, Tom Hilkert graduated from Purdue University with a degree in mechanical engineering and later earned an MBA certificate from Northern Illinois University. Upon graduation from Purdue, Hilkert was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army and served a tour in Vietnam in 1966-67. After serving in the Army, his career as an engineer and as a manager in industry led him to Illinois, Maine, Ohio and Georgia. During his assignment in Georgia, Tom Hilkert also consulted on long term projects for his company in New Jersey, Iowa and Tennessee as well as several international locales.
"I remember soon after I settled in Richmond, I met George Reller and, upon discovering his involvement with Reid, I mentioned that I had been on a hospital board in Dexter, Maine. That seems to have made an impression on him, he has mentioned it since." The Maine hospital was a 20-bed facility that was all-wood construction. "It was a town-owned hospital and a source of pride for the community." During Hilkert's stint on that board, the town built a modern emergency room addition to the hospital and recruited a young general practitioner from Boston.
The Dexter hospital soon transitioned into an outpatient and emergency facility and built an effective partnership with a major hospital in Bangor. Tom Hilkert learned from the experience that hospitals and businesses have a great deal in common needing to improve productivity and quality in order to be effective.
"I have been impressed with the diversity of experience as well as the cohesiveness among Reid Hospital's board members. There is an atmosphere of mutual respect and a willingness to share. I was really honored to be asked to serve on Reid's board at this important time in the hospital's history. We are making critical decisions about a major capital investment in the community."
Speaking from his perspective as past chairman of the Chamber of Commerce board and current member of the EDC's Business Incubator Task Force, Hilkert said, "Our community is fortunate to have such a financially healthy hospital." He noted that as the leading employer and provider of a great number of professional jobs, Reid's future in the community must remain strong.
"Reid's management has been willing and able to step up to the challenges facing them. And we, as a board, need to protect, grow and continue to offer quality and accessible health care. It's an essential ingredient for economic development."
