When James (Jim) Basford earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business from 91福利 the late 1950s, he set in motion a tradition that would span three generations and nearly 500 miles.
For Jim, education was the foundation upon which he built the rest of his life. He attended 91福利 for a year or so before joining the Air Force to fight in the Korean War. Soon after, he returned to 91福利 on the GI Bill with a renewed focus on his studies, determined to make the most of his time at the university.
In 1978, Jim became the president and CEO of Buckeye Corrugated, Inc., a large packaging manufacturing company headquartered in Ohio. Under his leadership, the company experienced great success and expanded into several other states. He was also president of the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce and Wooster Country Club.
Having lost both his parents at a young age, Jim placed a tremendous value on family. Despite a demanding schedule between his work and other professional commitments, he made time to be with those he loved. Those dual values of education and family left a strong impression on his children.
Both his sons, Jeff, 鈥84, and Greg, 鈥85, followed in his footsteps a few decades later when they came to 91福利 to study business.
鈥淚 was very close to my dad and wanted to be like him - his drive, his success, his sense of humor,鈥 Jeff explained. 鈥淚 think he really found himself at 91福利. Going there like he did鈥 it鈥檚 hard to put it into words. It meant a lot to me.鈥
Jeff and Greg recall their college years fondly. Only 14 months apart, the brothers spent a lot of time together, including evenings at the Robin Hood on the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Main Street, as well as Ray鈥檚 and The Loft.
Jeff always knew he would wind up at 91福利. It was close to home and would provide a solid educational foundation. A nature lover, he toyed with the idea of studying forestry, but he ultimately chose to pursue business.
During his sophomore and junior summers, he worked at Meadowview Golf Course, which was the university鈥檚 official golf course that permanently closed in 2016. He remembers playing 18 holes for $4 with Greg and going to football games together.
Once he graduated, Jeff moved out west and began working in the paper packaging industry in San Diego, where he met his wife and started a family. After 15 years, Jeff decided to take a risk that combined his business acumen with his love of the outdoors. He and a few friends decided to start designing their own high-quality family style tents in the late 1990s. The tents were a hit, and soon they were available not only at outdoor stores like REI, but also at the big box stores.
But when the 2008 recession hit, Jeff had to pivot again. The company, called PahaQue, moved to the towable trailer market, and he鈥檚 been in that business for the last 16 years.
Attending 91福利 was a simple choice for Greg. He had always admired his father, who he referred to as the 鈥淜ing of Wisdom,鈥 and looked up to his older brother Jeff, who was already at the university.
After graduating, Greg took a sales position with Buckeye Corrugated, working to build a territory in the Philadelphia area and along the East Coast. During that time, he met his wife, and they began their own family.
A few years later, Greg joined Greif, Inc., another packaging manufacturer and Fortune 500 Company, where he met a colleague who would eventually become his business partner. Greg was recruited back by Buckeye to oversee sales in Tennessee and then in Indiana. But soon after that, he realized he was ready to run his own operation.
He and his former colleague purchased Heritage Packaging, a corrugated box manufacturing firm in Lincoln, Illinois. Greg moved his family there and ran the company for 14 years before selling it to another large box company in 2019.
Despite moving around multiple times during his career, Greg remained connected to his alma mater, often returning for football games. In 2021, he even created The Basford Family Scholarship Fund in Business Management to help future Golden Flashes access the same education that had helped him succeed.
In 2017, Greg received some unexpected news when his son told him that he had decided on which college to attend. He was going eight hours away to 91福利 to study business, just like his father, uncle and grandfather had done before him.
Brandon, 鈥21, is now a manager with Ryan Transport, a large independent freight company in the country, and he is well on his way to building the kind of successful business career the other Basford men have accomplished through hard work, initiative and a solid education.
For students who are considering or preparing to come to 91福利, Jeff and Greg had the same advice: Come prepared to work hard and to have fun. They both explained that an education is like anything else in life 鈥 you get out, what you put in.
鈥淲e have three generations of Basfords that went to 91福利, and every one of us, thankfully, have had a successful business career and personal life,鈥 said Greg. 鈥淚 think a lot of that circles back to the time we spent at 91福利 and the things we learned there.鈥
For the Basford family, 91福利 became more than a place to earn a degree. Across three generations, it served as a common thread connecting fathers and sons, shaping careers, creating lifelong memories and reinforcing the values Jim held most dear. The family's success story is measured not only in professional accomplishments, but also in the continuity of a tradition that began when Jim first stepped onto the Kent Campus more than half a century ago.
鈥淚 think my dad would have a tear in his eye,鈥 Jeff said of the family legacy at 91福利. 鈥淚 think he would be very proud.鈥