This week, the “Why Draper?” spotlight falls on Todd Hiday.

Todd is our go-to for special projects. Not only does he back up to territories, but he’s also our AV Bid Coordinator. He helps with window shade requirements for our audiovisual dealers, and is an asset on tech calls. We are lucky to have Todd on our team. I hope you feel the same way!

How did you come to be working at Draper?

I was working for Secretary of State Sue Ann Gilroy at the time on a special project that was coming to a close and heard about a job at Draper through Nate LaMar (Export Regional Manager) and Joyce Veach (retired inside sales). I sent a resume to Bob Mathes (AV Market Manager) and interviewed with him and Fred Mann (retired contract manager).  I think I bugged Bob once a week after that initial interview until he took pity on me and asked me to join the Draper team.

What do you like best about your job?

Draper is a great family place to work. Everyone takes an interest in others and what is going on in their lives outside of work. I also enjoy backing up the Northeast and Rocky Mountain territories because they include a diverse U.S. population and Canada. I enjoy talking with interesting people that have a different perspective on life and world events. I also have the opportunity to work with dealers, not only with our projection screen line, but also our line of window shades.

What do you like to do in your time away from Draper?

I keep myself busy outside of work. I have been the Chairman for the Henry County Republican Party for almost six years now. I have served on the council of Holy Trinity Lutheran church for six years with the last three years as council president. I am also the Treasurer for the Henry County Chapter of the Indiana University Alumni Association. I became a Master Mason in New Castle Lodge 91 12 years ago and try to attend as often as possible. Melissa and I both enjoy reading, hiking, canoeing, trips to Indianapolis to discover new restaurants, and college basketball.

Tell us about your family.

Melissa and I have been married 28 years and have known each other for 34 years. We have a son, Andrew (far left in picture), age 25, who graduated from Butler University in 2012 with a B.S. in Molecular Biology and is now a graduate student studying Neurobiology at IUPUI. He is concentrating his research on Parkinson’s. Our daughter, Shannon (the young lady in stripes), age 21, is in her senior year at Butler. She will have a major in Fine Arts Administration with a minor is English Literature. She spent the summer of 2013 as a junior fellow at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC and her summer 2014 as an archivist for the Indiana State Library. She hopes to become an Archivist Librarian after graduation in May. In the fall of 2012 Melissa and I accepted Gabriel Lopes (the gentleman in the flowered shirt … yes flowers, ha!) into our home as a foreign exchange student from Brazil. He spent his senior year with us and then returned to attend college. He is now a sophomore at Robert Morris University in Springfield, Illinois, where he is also a proud member of their basketball team. We consider him our third child and have enjoyed being part of his life as we have watched him mature into a young man.