BIOGRAPHY

Roger Ralph is a Principal in the Hockessin Athletic Club (HAC) which he and his partner Bob Carpenter developed and opened in June 2007.  A 110,000 sq. ft. facility, HAC is the only health club in the U.S. surrounded by a state park.  It is the product of a public/private partnership between HAC and the Delaware Department of Transportation which owns the park.           

From 1980 to 2000 Roger Ralph was the President, and with his wife Elaine, owner of the Bel Air Athletic Club in Harford County, Maryland.  Bel Air was recognized by the industry association, the International Racquet and Sports Clubs Association (IHRSA) as one of the five best health clubs in North America and a 21st Century model for family  and community oriented clubs.

Prior to entering the health club industry Mr. Ralph held positions with the Columbia Association as Vice President of Human Services for this new town, Job Corps, Booz, Allen, Hamilton, and the Small Business Administration where he helped develop a national minority franchising program.  Subsequent to selling the Bel Air Athletic Club he was a business advisor to Cal Ripken, Jr. upon Mr. Ripken’s retirement from baseball.

Mr. Ralph holds a BA degree in history from Middlebury College and a Masters Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University.  He was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University.  He has received various public awards including Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year for the State of Maryland; IHRSA’s Distinquished Service Award; economic development awards from the Small Business Administration and Harford County; and community service awards from the Boys and Girls Clubs, ARC, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Harford County Sexual/Assualt Spousal Abuse Center.  He was the 2005 Commencement Speaker at Harford Community College.

Mr. Ralph is on the Board of Directors of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, Maryland Mentoring Partnership, and serves as an Associate Treasurer for the Harford County Boys and Girls Clubs.  Recently he served on the Governor’s Task Force on Mentoring in Maryland’s Juvenile Justice System.  He has been an active member on the Board of Directors for the Family Life Center, World Learning, Healthy Harford, Harford County Leadership Academy, Harford Community College Foundation, M & T Bank Community Board, Northeast Region, and the International Racquet and Sports Clubs Association.  As an IHRSA Director he testified before Congress on national fair competition issues and chaired the committee that developed the health club association’s members Code of Ethics.

Mr. Ralph resides in Stevensville, Maryland with his wife Elaine.  They have three grown children and four grandchildren.