AS I ENTERED RING POWER’S SWANKY corporate boardroom, I immediately noticed a lineup of 10 thick photo albums spread across the glossy table. Some were full of black-and-white photographs and diplomas, the pages yellowed and faded. Others spilled over with colorful images that had been taken more recently in familiar destinations such as Bermuda and Costa Rica. ¶ As I perused the chapters of his storied life, Randy Ringhaver, with a dapper black poodle proudly at his side, stepped in to greet me. Dressed in a navy suit and a coral tie dotted with sailfish, Ringhaver quietly welcomed me to Ring Power, the company he led as president and CEO for nearly two decades, and where he continues to serve as chairman.
In addition to his numerous professional achievements, Ringhaver has racked up a long line of personal titles, including husband, father, grandfather and serial boat owner. While his family remains his greatest love, Ringhaver’s fondness for boats swept into his life first. And, as with many good stories, it all begins in a busy boatyard.
IN THE YARD
Ringhaver grew up in St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1950s at Diesel Engine Sales Co., a boatyard that specialized in building trawlers for the worldwide shrimp industry. His father, L.C. “Ring” Ringhaver, didn’t have any experience in boatbuilding when he initially took over the yard, but with his background working as an accountant at General Motors, Ring restructured the business in order to optimize efficiency. DESCO built one trawler