Susan (Sue) and Greg Haugan Sr.

Sue (nee Kish) and Greg Haugan describe their life stories as occurring in phases: individually, before they met, and shared with marriage and life in Boston, then Vienna, Virginia, followed by retirement and moving to the Northern Neck of Virginia. Sue, born in Anaheim, California, and Greg, a native of Seattle, but raised in Chicago, met in Anaheim in 1980, when Greg visited his parents and his mother arranged a tennis game for him with the “delightful woman” who lived in an apartment above her. By this time in his life, Greg had received a B. S. degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Aeronautical Engineering from Illinois Tech (1952) and had started employment with McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis. The Army drafted him in 1954 and stationed him at Fort Eustis, Virginia, to teach helicopter aerodynamics to officer training classes. When discharged he returned to McDonnell and, in addition to working, received a MBA from St. Louis University in 1960. Greg then did some employment hopping and landed with the FAA in 1965 to assist with the U. S. SuperSonic Transport Program. When that program closed, Greg accepted a transfer to the Federal Railway Administration where he managed the Northeast Corridor Rail Passenger Improvement Program and got $1.75 billion from Congress for the upgrade. In 1973, he received a Ph.D. in business from American University and retired ten years later, not to stop working, but to give full-time to joining a co-worker in founding a small consulting company, GLH, Inc. 

Sue graduated from California State University Fullerton (1971) with a B. S. in English. Intent on working with children, she spent the next 11 years teaching kindergarten and first grade in southern California. This came to an end in 1982 when she married Greg and, because of a work transfer, moved with him to Boston. She then shifted her focus from education to establishing and operating an events-planning business. With Greg’s retirement, the couple moved to Vienna, VA, and Sue continued working in the business world, first in banking, and finally in the front office of medical groups in McLean, VA. She also made sure that everything ran smoothly on the home front while Greg spent most of his time developing and traveling for GLH, mostly to Israel. Today, Greg, as president, works for GLH on a part-time basis, while Sue also serves as an officer and occasional employee. Sue retired from working outside the home in 1997, when she and Greg took up residence in the Northern Neck. Her first efforts were to design and oversee the construction of a Lindal Cedar home on the Great Wicomico River. When construction finished, she became a sales associate and design contributor for Lindal.

Throughout the various phases of their lives, both Sue and Greg have involved themselves in volunteer and leisure activities. Greg took up triathlon events achieving placement on the U. S National Team for competition in the World Championships in New Zealand. He has authored eight books on project management and two on global sustainability; he also founded and served as Group Leader for the Northern Neck Chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby. Sue has been active as a church volunteer—singing in the choir, teaching, and visiting members restricted to their homes. She has been a member of community organizations, frequently carrying out the responsibilities of an officer—the American Association of University Women (President in Vienna), Chesapeake Bay Garden Club (committee chairs and various officers), and founding member of the Kilmarnock Library “River Readers.” The Haugans plan to participate in both WC and Lynchburg activities that complement their interests. Sue expects bridge games to be one way of meeting people and having fun and hopes to continue developing her skill at floral design.  Greg anticipates working with the Lynchburg chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby and continue writing and hiking.