The Roanoker - March 2014 - 22
motion dude
BY DAN SMITH
At 81, Frank Radford is not just a runner and skier; the
importance of movement is apparent in all aspects of
his busy, productive, gloriously not-retired life.
22 MARCH/APRIL 2014
DAVID HUNGATE
THE FIRST INSTRUCTION here is to forget that Frank Radford
is 81. There are not a lot of athletes running around - literally -
at 81, but he's one of them, and running's not all he does.
He skis. He golfs. He kicks a soccer ball. He swims with the
grands. Even the way he sings in the First Baptist Church choir
could be looked at as an athletic venture. Radford is movement
and his definition of retirement, which people his age have most
often long accepted, is ... well, it isn't.
"It has no meaning to me," he says. "Life is a series of projects.
If you don't keep moving, you dry up." So he keeps moving.
It has always been thus: restlessness, high energy, wanting to
be there now. He quit high school so he could spend 11 months
in a combat zone in Korea as a radar guy. When he came home,
he worked for his dad's construction firm for a year-and-a-half
and decided that a GED and a college education might be worth
a shot. He graduated at Virginia Tech in business administration, but not before playing football and marrying Liz, both as
a freshmen, and then having three kids before graduation day.
So he went back to work for his dad at B.L. Radford and Son.
That was a company that built entry-level homes, he says, "but
we morphed into custom home building" upwards of $1 million
in value. They built subdivisions and condos and exclusives.
Then he formed a real estate sales company, ran it successfully
and sold it two years ago.
Meantime, his son, David, joined him and now he has his own
company, David Frank Homes. His three girls and David share
his passion for moving quickly, running everywhere, playing
and working hard.
"I'll tell you, man, it's exciting," he says of his life as an octogenarian. "When I'm involved in a project ... well, it's part
of the essence of what's happening. I couldn't bear to stand on
the sidelines. My calling is building, not sitting behind a desk."
Twenty years ago, Radford took up snow skiing and he's still
trying to find a bigger, steeper mountain to soar down. He water skiis, too, but "that's not much of a sport when you've been
down a big mountain."
He takes a big bite out of the philosophy of his church, gives
readily to charity and to his community and stays at the head
of the table with his family.
That's what being a certified dude means to Frank Radford:
"God, family, then myself," he says.
THE
R OANOKER.COM
The Roanoker - March 2014
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - March 2014
Roanoker - March 2014
Contents
The 360
The Network
The Flavor
The Gossip
The Gist
The Look
Dudes! and What it Means to Be One
Three More Dudes
Top 10 Annoying Dude Traits and How to Overcome Them
Dude-Dubious: The Awards for Questionable Achievement
The Lady in Black
and Her Harassment
of Dudes
Man Caves, Roanoke Style
Carvins Cove at 70
Dude Eats: Jack Brown's
The Dish
The Perfect Weekend
The Roanoker - March 2014 - Intro
The Roanoker - March 2014 - Roanoker - March 2014
The Roanoker - March 2014 - Cover2
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 3
The Roanoker - March 2014 - Contents
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 5
The Roanoker - March 2014 - The 360
The Roanoker - March 2014 - The Network
The Roanoker - March 2014 - The Flavor
The Roanoker - March 2014 - The Gossip
The Roanoker - March 2014 - The Gist
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 11
The Roanoker - March 2014 - The Look
The Roanoker - March 2014 - Dudes! and What it Means to Be One
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 14
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 15
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 16
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 17
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 18
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 19
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 20
The Roanoker - March 2014 - Three More Dudes
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 22
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 23
The Roanoker - March 2014 - Top 10 Annoying Dude Traits and How to Overcome Them
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 25
The Roanoker - March 2014 - Dude-Dubious: The Awards for Questionable Achievement
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 27
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 28
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 29
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 30
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 31
The Roanoker - March 2014 - The Lady in Black
and Her Harassment
of Dudes
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 33
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 34
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 35
The Roanoker - March 2014 - Man Caves, Roanoke Style
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 37
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 38
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 39
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 40
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 41
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 42
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 43
The Roanoker - March 2014 - Carvins Cove at 70
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 45
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 46
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 47
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 48
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 49
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 50
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 51
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 52
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 53
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 54
The Roanoker - March 2014 - Dude Eats: Jack Brown's
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 56
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 57
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 58
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 59
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 60
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 61
The Roanoker - March 2014 - The Dish
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 63
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 64
The Roanoker - March 2014 - 65
The Roanoker - March 2014 - The Perfect Weekend
The Roanoker - March 2014 - Cover3
The Roanoker - March 2014 - Cover4
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