Hayden Named Alumni of the Year for 2023

Oct. 10, 2023 - On Wednesday, Oct. 4, Tim Hayden walked across the stage of the Cole Auditorium to receive Richmond Community College’s 2023 Alumni of the Year Award. Ironically, several years ago Hayden’s construction business handled the water mitigation and dry out of the auditorium when it suffered major flooding due to a pipe that burst overnight.

Hayden has come a long way since graduating from RichmondCC in 2000 with an associate degree in business. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of North Carolina-Pembroke, and he has a long list of workforce certifications and licenses for general contractors.

Hayden is the owner of Drop a Box LLC and president of Hayden Construction, Inc. A long-time resident of Richmond County, he builds, renovates and restores both residential and commercial properties in North and South Carolina.

Prior to owning his own business, he worked for many years in a mobile home production facility, and he worked for Lowes for seven years. He also began investing in residential real estate in 1995.

“My mother told me I had champagne tastes on a beer budget. I broke that down to mean make more and spend less,” said Hayden.

Hayden’s extensive knowledge and experience in building and renovations allows him to help his clients make the best decisions for their needs and unique situations. Restoration projects have ranged from minor fire/water losses to complete fire loss builds and time sensitive water losses.

In addition to the Cole Auditorium project in 2017, his company undertook the mitigation and restoration of the rotunda in the Hamlet Train Depot when it was flooded from a busted sprinkler head in 2014. This was a $14 million historically significant project.

Hayden has served on a variety of boards and organizations, from the Richmond County Chamber of Commerce, Richmond County Zoning Board, Richmond County Homebuilders Association and Habitat for Humanities. He has also been a member of Better Business Bureau, United Way and Rotary Club.

“We believe Tim Hayden is an excellent choice for our 2023 Alumni of the Year award. He is a very successful businessman and entrepreneur in Richmond County, and he is highly involved in our community through various volunteer groups,” said Dr. Hal Shuler, Associate Vice President for Development. “He and his wife, Nicole, have given back to RichmondCC in the way of the Tim & Nicole Hayden Scholarship given annually to a student in the Business & Information Technology programs.”

Hayden was surprised to receive the Alumni of the Year award.

“It was both an honor and very humbling,” he said. “It means I need to do more and be better to make sure I live up to it.”

Hayden is thankful to the many faculty and staff members at RichmondCC who helped him when he was a student.

“There’s a real personal touch at RichmmondCC. You’re able to build relationships with both faculty and students,” Hayden said. “I still do business and work deals with other alumni to this day.”

Hayden and his wife live in Rockingham, and they have three sons, Timothy, Lee and Josh, and one daughter, Jordyn.