Rick comes from a family heavily involved in both the community and athletics. Rick graduated from Coeur d’Alene High School in 1984 where he participated in three sports and was part of the 1982 football state championship team. He also was Valedictorian and Student Body President at CHS. He continued his athletic career at the University of Montana in both football and track.
After earning his degree, Rick remained active in athletics, serving as an official. He was elected to the North Idaho Officials Association’s Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2014, he joined the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame Board of Directors and quickly became the chair. Under his leadership, the banquet has more than doubled in size, becoming one of the premier events in the state that honors both high school and college athletes, coaches and teams.
Rick has been the Chief Executive Officer at Northwest Specialty Hospital since 2014. He joined the hospital two years early as Chief Financial Officer and facility Compliance Officer. Prio to that, he spent 25 years as L-P Corporation, working his way up from staff accountant to Financial Planning and Analysis Manager.
Rick remains active in Kootenai County and has been honored by several organizations, including Coeur d’Alene’s Citizen of the Year in 2019 and Hayden Citizen of the Year in 2020. He also was named Volunteer of the Year by the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce in 2023. He belongs on numerous boards, including Rotary, Chamber, Boys and Girls Club and the Innovia Foundation.
Rick’s father, Gary, was a long-time coach at Clark Fork and Coeur d’Alene and was inducted into the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. Rick’s wife, Sharyl, was a state champion at CHS in basketball and softball, and their two daughters, Chelsey and Kylie, won state softball championships at CHS.