Collegiate Times

A young man with brown hair and a smile on his face stands in front of a sign with the letters ?BT? emblazoned on it. Scissors in hand, he?s about to cut a red ribbon, leading to the commencement of the Blacksburg Transit.

Now, 24 years later, this same man sits at the same desk where he once negotiated the creation of the Blacksburg Transit. His hair is no longer brown, but his spirit and confidence and pride in the town of Blacksburg remains the same. Roger Hedgepeth, the mayor of Blacksburg, has lived in the town of Blacksburg since 1955. He came to Blacksburg in 1949 as a transfer student to Virginia Tech, subsequently learning his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the university. Hedgepeth jokes that when he came back to earn his Masters degree he ?accidentally ended up in teaching.? For 14 years, Hedgepeth ?accidentally taught? mechanical engineering, then moved to career services where he worked in cooperative education (the Co-Op program).

In 1980, Hedgepeth made his debut as a member of the Blacksburg Town Council. He originally became involved in Blacksburg politics due to a single event. The year prior to being elected on town council, Hedgepeth?s neighborhood along Tom?s Creek Road was threatened as the Department of Transportation thought it necessary to make Tom?s Creek a four-lane road. Hedgepeth, with the assistance of a few neighbors, took a stand and went before the town council. Their campaign to stop the expansion was a success, convincing the town council to not add to the road. This was only the beginning of Hedgepeth?s stint in Blacksburg politics.

?Some folks said, ?well you know, you were successful in your speeches among others, why don?t you run for council??? Hedgepeth said. ?And then I said the four most dangerous words that you can ever say. I said, ?I?ll think about it.? As soon as you say that you?re a dead duck. Within a week, all over town there was a rumor that I was running for council.?

Two years later, Hedgepeth was still a member of the Virginia Tech faculty and was running for mayor. He was successful in his endeavors and has been mayor ever since. In his 24 years of service as mayor, he has only run opposed twice ? in 1986 and 2002.

Those 24 years have seen a lot of change in the town of Blacksburg. ?I think one thing that I?ve done in 24 years is turn this job into a monster because the former mayor, and this is typical of town mayors, he would come in about eight in the morning, make phone calls, write a couple of letters, talk to the clerk and then he?d go home in the noon time,? he said. ?From almost day one, I?ve spent maybe 30 hours a week here.?

Hedgepeth begins his day with a meeting ? often as early as 7 a.m. On certain days, he meets with Town/Tech liaison committee, an informal group of people ? three people from the town and three people from the university. ?We?ve had a great relationship (with Virginia Tech) for decades. Not all universities can say that,? he said.

He doesn?t receive many complaints about Tech students. ?Over the years, we?ve had folks come here from university communities, not just in Virginia, because they heard about our relationship with the Tech administration and the students. They wanted to find out what we did, because they weren?t having that much luck. They would come here and sort of shadow us ? just go around with some of the folks during the day,? he said.

Universities such as Texas A&M, Clemson, University of Southern Illinois, Texas Tech and West Virginia University have come to Blacksburg to study Tech?s successful town/university relationship.

Hedgepeth says he has always had great support from Virginia Tech presidents, as well as students, and has kept close relations with them.

?I?ve had a very good relationship with the students. The journalism folks would invite me to speak to classes. They needed an elected official who had some expertise in dealing with media,? Hedgepeth said. Hedgepeth and his wife, Jenny, are the proud parents of two children, Michael, 47, and Natalie, 46 ? both Tech graduates.

June 30 will mark the end of Hedgepeth?s long mayoral term. ?I?m going to miss everything. I?ll miss, certainly for a little while, having my fingers in the goings on in the town of Blacksburg from the political standpoint,? he said. He says he truly enjoys politics, making his long mayoral career fun for him. ?The first 22 years (of my career) were fun because politics are fun if you go at it in a positive way. It?s not nearly as down and dirty as people think. It?s no different than a minister or psychiatrist, basically you?re just dealing with people all day.? Hedgepeth is an avid record collector and admits that once his term is over he?ll be concentrating a lot more on his musical hobby.

?I like sports and all that but I would say that record collecting is probably an obsession with me. I have a lot of CDs, but I?m still a vinyl guy,? he said.

Hedgepeth admittedly owns over 4,000 records, and still continues to buy them today. He also owns six turntables, ?I worry if one breaks down, I won?t be able to play my records,? Hedgepeth said.

Mainly a big fan of classical music, his collection also contains rock and jazz as well. ?Beethoven is still the king. I love Beethoven and the French composers and Russian composers,? he admits.

Hedgepeth?s favorite place in town is, not surprisingly, the Record Exchange. Hedgepeth was recently awarded an honorary membership to the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects. Once his term is completed, he looks forward to paying more attention to his music collection, but admits he will always be interested in Blacksburg politics.