Richard P. Billman

Class of 2003

Dick was born August 16, 1940, in Hanover, PA. He attended Loyola College, in Baltimore, where he earned a degree in business. He continued his education with a graduate fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh.

In 1972, he married Judy and they have three children – Kendra, Nikki and Richard.

After 10 years at Black & Decker Manufacturing and Rockwell Manufacturing Co., Dick joined Pennsylvania Dutch Co., Inc. in 1969 as director of purchasing.

Working his way up the ranks, Dick became vice-president of purchasing in 1972 and added operations to his duties in 1976. In 1981, he was tapped as vice-president and general manager of the company’s Katharine Beecher operation and was named corporate executive vice-president of Pennsylvania Dutch in 1983.

He became president of the corporation in 1992 and in 2000, guided renamed The Warrell Corp. to a consolidated state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Camp Hill, PA.

Arny Strom, Warrell senior vice-president of sales and marketing, has known Dick for more than 30 years, and recalls: “I’ve seen first-hand the countless hours, months and years he has spent in service to our industry, through organizations such as the NCA and PMCA.”

The most memorable moment of Dick’s career was in 1999 when James Gagliarducci, a Candy Hall of Famer and 35-year veteran of Sunmark, Inc., thanked Dick during his acceptance speech for the Kettle Award.

Dick credits his successes to his father’s credo: “Work hard and remember: The customer may not always be right, but he is always the customer.”