"It was a great experience for them," he said, pointing to a picture on his desk of his children, Margaret13, andBuck, 15, both of whom enrolled in British schools for the two years. "They learned so much about a different way of doing things, and they were able to see so much of European culture. It was as good a gift as I could have given them."

Paul hardly looks old enough to have teenagers, much less merit the title Senior Vice President of Universal Leaf Corporation and President of Universal Leaf North America. But those are his titles. And they by no means came easily. "Universal Leaf has a philosophy of starting all employees from the ground up," explained Paul. After Hampden-Sydney College, with many of his friends and fraternity brothers heading off to law school or to jobs in big cities, Paul went to Henderson, North Carolina, to work as a foreman in a tobacco processing factory. Admittedly a "city boy," he found the experience a crash course in tobacco and agronomics.

It was in Henderson that Paul learned the basic function of the company: preparing raw tobacco to be sold to cigarette makers. After they buy tobacco at auctions or directly from farmers, the leaves are de-stemmed and chopped up. The natural moisture of the plant is removed and put back in after the stem is removed, a process which allows the tobacco to age without going bad. The product is then stored in cases or hogsheads and sold to companies like Philip Morris.

Paul not only learned about the product and the process-knowledge he still uses-but he also learned about the labor and the people who perform it. Paul took his notes from people who had been picking and processing tobacco since before he was born, and the experience instilled in him an appreciation of the work ethic and pride people take at the agricultural level of tobacco processing.

During the fall-peak tobacco season-Paul and his crew worked 12 hour days, six and seven days a week. He vividly remembers certain crisp fall mornings when he was coming off a night shift while his former classmates were meeting at Hampden-Sydney to watch a football game. On a couple of occasions, Paul came off a Friday night shift, drove to Hampden-Sydney to catch a football game, and then turned around to make it back for his Saturday night shift.

On one of these trips, Paul and fraternity brother Moore McMahon '79 caught up with their old friend Preston Branch, the custodian of the Kappa Sigma house. As with several generations of Kappa Sigmas, Branch befriended McMahon and Paul. (Preston gave Paul a ride to class every morning the semester he had a broken femur.) Naturally, Preston was curious about the careers his "boys" had made for themselves. McMahon told him about his new job in New York City, and Paul told him about working nights in the factory. "Preston just looked at me and said, 'Now Ray, don't you worry. Something better will come along.' He really felt sorry for me," Paul recalled with a chuckle.

The experience, which Paul sees as Universal Leaf's "boot camp," served as a weeding-out process. Paul stuck with it and proved himself through hard work and loyalty. After several years he became an officer, and the pace of his traveling accelerated.

Ray Paul '79 stands by a table piled with samples of tobacco from around the world.

Business travel frequently takes Paul to impoverished areas in Africa, India, and China. Often, he explained, tobacco is the only crop that can grow in certain conditions, and seeing the economic relief it provides, in addition to the pride local workers take in their product, offers Paul some peace of mindin the face of political and social anti-tobacco pressures at home.

Although his business trips these days take him to Asia, his country of choice is Italy. "In a way, Italy is like a culmination of my Hampden-Sydney learning-Western Civilization, fine arts, the Classics," he said, fondly recalling classes with Dr. Graves Hayden Thompson '27 and John L. Brinkley '59.

Paul says, "Hampden-Sydney gives a perfect background for business. Not only do you have to understand economic principles and be able to write well," a quality for which he thanks Dr. T. Edward Crawley '41, Hurt Professor of English, "but you have to interact with people and be well-rounded enough to understand and adapt to other cultures."