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Buddy Allen Jr. '62 |
When asked about his fondest memories of life as a student at R-MC, Buddy Allen Jr. ’62 is quick to answer: “My best memories are my senior year when I captained the
football and
basketball teams, made
Phi Beta Kappa, and my new bride and I lived in a college-owned brick cottage next to what was then called Veterans Village,” says Allen. “It was a great beginning to what will soon be 50 years of marriage to Ann. Actually, it was the beginning of two love affairs, with Ann and with the college.”
Allen was recruited by football coach Joe McCutcheon and basketball coach Paul Webb. “In addition, my high school academic record and the results of tests that I took at R-MC enabled me to win the R-MC Award, which paid my tuition and fees for four years,” says the Richmond, Virginia native. Allen’s athletic pursuits were celebrated in 1997 when he was inducted into the college’s
Athletic Hall of Fame. “That was really exciting,” says Allen, “and I felt unduly honored.”
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philosophy major originally thought that his career would involve a lab coat instead of a courtroom. “My plan had been to attend med school, until Ann and I counted up the years it would take for me to complete the education, including the military obligation, etc., before beginning to practice medicine,” he says. “Law school was only three years and we decided to take that route. Professor Burnell Pannill ’41 was especially helpful to me in helping me chart my course—he was my philosophy mentor and good friend.” Allen graduated in 1965 from the University of Virginia Law School.
Allen has worked as a litigator for the past 45 years and is currently a partner and shareholder for LeClairRyan, in the firm’s litigation group, in Richmond, Virginia. In 2009 he was voted Number 1 by
Virginia Super Lawyers magazine and he was ranked in the Top 10 by the magazine in 2006, 2007 and 2010. Allen enjoys his work because it is, as he says, “always a challenge. I don’t get many easy cases.”
The Allens have given generously to Randolph-Macon throughout the years, and in 2006 they donated $2.6 million to the college. They established the Buddy and Ann Allen Scholarship Fund, which supports Richmond City public school students, students participating in “Partnership for the Future” (a college preparation program in Richmond) and students transferring from J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, and contributed one million dollars to start the R-MC Athletic Endowment.
Allen is as passionate about his free time as he is about his fast-paced profession. “Ann and I both read and travel extensively and enjoy time at our Virginia Beach home,” he says. “We have seen every part of the world we want to see except Italy. We’re planning that trip.” The Allens are the parents of sons E.G. III, Esq. and Jamie ’99 and daughter Wendy Allen Schmitt; their son-in-law, Daniel Schmitt ’82, is also an alumnus of the college. Asked if he has joined the legions of Twitterers and other online users who use the Internet to communicate with family and friends, Allen is adamant: “One thing I have absolutely no interest in is social networking, including Facebook. Our children and grandchildren and other family fill the social calendar. Most other things are usually a burdensome distraction.”
For Allen, the love affair with R-MC that began in the 1950s is still going strong. “It is important to stay connected to R-MC because of my indebtedness to and love for the college,” he says. “I could never repay what Randolph-Macon gave me. I am simply proud to be a Yellow Jacket.”