Pathways
by Patrick Broadwater
Bob Rhein ’85 was a junior at Bucknell when he began building the momentum that has been the catalyst of his career in industrial sales.
Rhein played soccer for four years at Bucknell and joined the lacrosse team for his final two years, playing in memory of a childhood friend killed by a drunk driver. Rhein credits the encouragement he received from his future wife, Cheryl Conrad ’86, and Hall of Fame lacrosse coach Sid Jamieson, among others, with helping to refocus his grief and instill much-needed discipline.
Bob and Cheryl married in 1986 and later jointly took the helm of PennAir, a family-owned industrial distributor providing pneumatic, hydraulic, automation and engineering services to manufacturers. Named president and COO in 1998, Bob Rhein coaches and mentors the firm’s 100 employees.
“It all comes back to relationships,” he says. “I learned a hard lesson in college that we all lose somebody in our lives. I had a choice where I could isolate or establish and deepen my relationships with others. I truly believe in the power of relationships, and Bucknell was instrumental in creating that environment for me.”
Pathways
Bob Rhein ’85 was a junior at Bucknell when he began building the momentum that has been the catalyst of his career in industrial sales.
Rhein played soccer for four years at Bucknell and joined the lacrosse team for his final two years, playing in memory of a childhood friend killed by a drunk driver. Rhein credits the encouragement he received from his future wife, Cheryl Conrad ’86, and Hall of Fame lacrosse coach Sid Jamieson, among others, with helping to refocus his grief and instill much-needed discipline.
Bob and Cheryl married in 1986 and later jointly took the helm of PennAir, a family-owned industrial distributor providing pneumatic, hydraulic, automation and engineering services to manufacturers. Named president and COO in 1998, Bob Rhein coaches and mentors the firm’s 100 employees.
“It all comes back to relationships,” he says. “I learned a hard lesson in college that we all lose somebody in our lives. I had a choice where I could isolate or establish and deepen my relationships with others. I truly believe in the power of relationships, and Bucknell was instrumental in creating that environment for me.”