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This profile was automatically generated using 2 references found on the Internet. This information has not been verified. Learn more...
This profile was automatically generated using 2 references found on the Internet. This information has not been verified. Learn more...
Web References
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1. Hampton Union Local News: Mass. Maritime Academy thanks Hampton man
www.yorkweekly.com/news/hampto - [Cached]Published on: 9/23/2002 Last Visited: 9/23/2002
The Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne, Mass., on Saturday honored Hampton resident Richard E. Blinn for his contributions to the school with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at an academy building now called Blinn Hall.
Mass. Maritime Academy thanks Hampton man
...
HAMPTON - Richard E. Blinn of Hampton is a self-made man, the kind who reveled in the tough discipline of a maritime academy.
"It was rigid," he said. "I'll never forget. The first year I was called a young man, called nothing but dirt. When we meet one another, we ask, when did you get out? It's tough. In four years, you get a lot of self-confidence."
...
Blinn entered the academy during WWII. He graduated in 1945, just as the war ended. But ships and crews were still needed to transport troops to Europe and back, and Blinn, a marine engineer, was aboard.
He was then called up for the Korean War.
"For some reason, I got along good with people," said Blinn, who was now a lieutenant. He worked on troop ships in Boston and Norfolk, Va. "I got a knack for fixing up diesels," he said.
His knack for fixing things proved to be a benefit when he got home. He took over a hotel in Haverhill, Mass., no one wanted before it was on a major highway. The Best Western Merrimack Valley Lodge on Interstate 495 is now owned and run by his son, Brian.
Blinn, who has lived on the Seacoast since 1975, owns or has owned numerous hotels and motels; yacht businesses in Seabrook and Florida; the Gov. Weare Apartments in Seabrook; and the Seabrook Mobile Home Park. He was a member of the board of directors of Seabrook Bank and Trust Co. and the founder of My Greatest Dream charity.
Blinn, 77 this past week, still keeps an office next to the Gov. Weare Apartments.
"I will never retire," he said. "I'm looking now at building an assisted living center in Portsmouth."
Blinn would give no further details.
He recently served as a member of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Foundation board of trustees, raising money to restore the academy building. When a construction team working on the pier below the structure pulled out the sand supports, the building sank 14 inches into the ground.
...
"How I got involved was there weren't too many people who wanted to open their wallets," Blinn said. "So I got mad. Before I got through (someone said), ‘Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?'"
Blinn and the foundation raised $4 million, with Blinn personally contributing more than half a million dollars.
The maritime school now has 40 buildings and six dormitories for its 900 students. In the past, all buildings were named in honor of previous academy presidents.
The one never used by Blinn is now named in his honor.
"I always loved the sea," he said.
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2. Hampton Union Local News: Mass. Maritime Academy thanks Hampton man
www.seacoastonline.com/news/ha - [Cached]Published on: 9/23/2002 Last Visited: 9/23/2002
The Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne, Mass., on Saturday honored Hampton resident Richard E. Blinn for his contributions to the school with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at an academy building now called Blinn Hall.
Mass. Maritime Academy thanks Hampton man
...
HAMPTON - Richard E. Blinn of Hampton is a self-made man, the kind who reveled in the tough discipline of a maritime academy.
"It was rigid," he said. "I'll never forget. The first year I was called a young man, called nothing but dirt. When we meet one another, we ask, when did you get out? It's tough. In four years, you get a lot of self-confidence."
...
Blinn entered the academy during WWII. He graduated in 1945, just as the war ended. But ships and crews were still needed to transport troops to Europe and back, and Blinn, a marine engineer, was aboard.
He was then called up for the Korean War.
"For some reason, I got along good with people," said Blinn, who was now a lieutenant. He worked on troop ships in Boston and Norfolk, Va. "I got a knack for fixing up diesels," he said.
His knack for fixing things proved to be a benefit when he got home. He took over a hotel in Haverhill, Mass., no one wanted before it was on a major highway. The Best Western Merrimack Valley Lodge on Interstate 495 is now owned and run by his son, Brian.
Blinn, who has lived on the Seacoast since 1975, owns or has owned numerous hotels and motels; yacht businesses in Seabrook and Florida; the Gov. Weare Apartments in Seabrook; and the Seabrook Mobile Home Park. He was a member of the board of directors of Seabrook Bank and Trust Co. and the founder of My Greatest Dream charity.
Blinn, 77 this past week, still keeps an office next to the Gov. Weare Apartments.
"I will never retire," he said. "I'm looking now at building an assisted living center in Portsmouth."
Blinn would give no further details.
He recently served as a member of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Foundation board of trustees, raising money to restore the academy building. When a construction team working on the pier below the structure pulled out the sand supports, the building sank 14 inches into the ground.
...
"How I got involved was there weren't too many people who wanted to open their wallets," Blinn said. "So I got mad. Before I got through (someone said), ‘Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?'"
Blinn and the foundation raised $4 million, with Blinn personally contributing more than half a million dollars.
The maritime school now has 40 buildings and six dormitories for its 900 students. In the past, all buildings were named in honor of previous academy presidents.
The one never used by Blinn is now named in his honor.
"I always loved the sea," he said.
Click here for more news
Click here to send this article to a friend
Seacoast Online is owned and operated by Seacoast Newspapers. Copyright © 2002 Seacoast Online. All rights reserved.
