A clipping from his interview
in Bergen Magazine, 1973, discussing 
 the role of  a CPA in business


 

RDH working for Uncle Sam
in Alaska, early 1940’s

Larry Cinquegrana presenting an award to
 Bob Hunter at a NJSCPA meeting, 1982.

Addressing a New Jersey State Society group,
mid-1970s

The “young turks” at play: Bob Hunter and
Larry Cinquegrana, circa early 1960’s,
preparing to launch an early spring assault
on the golf course.
 

The Hunter family: (Left to Right)
Daughters Alayne, Leanne, and Kerry
together with wife, Chick.

Those interested in honoring the
memory of Mr. Hunter send donations
to the Robert D. Hunter Accounting Scholarship at Bucknell University.

Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA 17837
Attn: The Robert D. Hunter Scholarship Fund.

(note: there is no street address for Bucknell.)

 A Tribute to RDH

While it is profoundly sad to write about the passing of our founder, Robert D. “RD” Hunter, it is equally daunting to pay proper tribute to him. His dedication, drive and vision inspired the careers of many, while his expertise and personality made him the trusted advisor to many more. In this edition, it is our unique honor to pay tribute to the man who created our firm and led its growth through the early years.

Born in 1925, RD entered Bucknell University in 1942, however his college plans were interrupted by World War II, where he joined the US Army Air Corps and served in active duty until 1946. Unlike many, instead of the Pacific theatre or the shores of Normandy, RD’s assignment brought him to Wales, Alaska, where he reported weather conditions to the US, to aid planes coming up the Bering sea to Russia.

Bob Hunter returned to Bucknell in 1946, becoming active in the Phi Kappa Psi, a fraternity that he would remain actively involved in for 55 years, including some 30 years as a Board member. It was during these years at Bucknell that Mr. Hunter met his wife, then aspiring Bucknell student Maurette (Chick) Boynton.

Upon graduating in 1949, Mr. Hunter joined the accounting firm of Lybrand, Ross Bros. & Montgomery (which today is part of the “big 4” firm Price WaterhouseCoopers). It was not too long into his career when a few clients and friends urged him to start his own practice, and in October of 1956 he formed RD Hunter & Company (now Hunter Group) in Paramus.

Mr. Hunter was always known for working hard. His firm grew quickly as the quiet farms of Bergen County transformed into one of the nation’s most desired suburban communities. Mr. Hunter knew everyone who was anyone in the area in those days, tirelessly networking contacts and building a reputation as a leader, a thinker and a “can-do” guy. Never shy about speaking up or in backing his words, Mr. Hunter was actively involved in growing the area’s booming business environment. He became one of the early Presidents of the Paramus Chamber of Commerce, and was known to make at least a few business deals while strolling through a round of golf.

RD was a true leader. Not only was he an active member of the New Jersey State Society of CPAs, he became the Society’s president in 1973. However, as RD Hunter & Company grew under his stewardship, Bob Hunter began to notice that the clients of CPA firms like his were looking for service needs beyond their backyard. Mr. Hunter realized that larger business clients would be seeking out CPA firms with regional or even national resources. In the late 1970s, he and a small group of firm owners across the country co-founded Accounting Firms Associated International (AFAi) to help share experiences, talents, best practices and even people and engagements when practical.

Today, AFAi (now CPAmerica International) is one of the nation’s leading CPA sharing networks, with nearly 80 members across the nation, and far-reaching international connections as well.

CPAmerica President Doug Thompson, a long-time friend, sharing his memories of Mr. Hunter at his funeral in June, proudly called him a true friend, both professionally and personally. This view is shared by many who knew him.

Fellow CPAmerica network firm partners also commented recently on Mr. Hunter’s passing. Carl Alongi of Pulakos & Alongi, Ltd. in Albuqueque, NM, noted that “Once you were his friend, you were his friend forever.” Phil Neville, partner, Anderson & Whitney, PC, Greeley, CO said “Bob was all these things to me: patient, responsive, objective, persuasive, energetic, respected.” CPA Dan Eigeman, from Kalispell, Montana, remarked that “Bob Hunter was my mentor. He took me under his wing and, by example, taught me leadership skills which I follow even today.” CPAmerica executive secretary Barbara Cottingham, who worked closely with Bob for nearly a decade, reflected that “Mr. Hunter—always Mr. Hunter—had a no-nonsense approach to business that I admire, together with integrity and vision.”

In late 1990, upon his retirement from RD Hunter & Company, CPAmerica International established the Robert D. Hunter Accounting Scholarship at Bucknell University in his honor. Each year, a deserving accounting student receives this award to help fund a career path into accounting. His affection for Bucknell endured for a lifetime, where he served as a member of the Board of Trustees from 1973 to 1978. In fact, his daughter, Kerry, also graduated from Bucknell in 1973, followed more recently by one of his grandchildren.

Mr. Hunter was also President of the Bergen Chapter of NJSCPAs, a member of the AICPA, and the New York State Society of CPAs, Secretary of the Oradell Planning Board, Director of the Paramus Rotary Club, Director of the Pascack Valley Chamber of Commerce, Member of the Bergen County Chamber of Commerce, Director of the Bergen County Young Men’s Christian Association, Director of the Bergen County Boy Scout Council, Director of the Oradell Swim Club, Director and President of Bucknell University General Alumni Association, President of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity Corporation at Bucknell, Trustee of Bucknell University, Trustee of Hackensack Golf Club, Director of Citizens First National Bank of New Jersey,
Director of Unimed Inc., and Director and Chairman of CPA Mutual Insurance Company.

While most of us knew him as a professional or as the founder of RD Hunter & Company, Mr. Hunter was also a father and husband. He and his wife Chick spent a lifetime together, raising three daughters, Kerry, Leanne and Alayne, who provided them with 9 grandchildren.

In her warm and heartfelt words at the memorial service, Alayne shared her unique perspective on growing up with a dad like RD Hunter.

“My dad was a self-determined man, extremely driven and extremely inflexible. Fortunately, he would let us tease him about how inflexible he was. We called him “Flexible Bob” because he was so incredibly the opposite. He’d even say, “You know me…Flexible Bob!”

“It took a long time for me to realize that all these qualities about him…this inflexibility, and determination are what made him who he was and brought him success in his life. My father also had a very sentimental side that many of you may have never seen.

“In his own unique way, my dad taught us how to love life by the way he lived his own life. Be yourself, set your standards high, do what you love and surround yourself with good people. He loved his life and he loved so many things in his life. He loved his country, he loved his community, he loved his home, he loved Bucknell, he loved his profession of accounting, he loved the game of golf, he loved his Giants, he loved his friends, he loved his wife, he loved his children and he loved his grandchildren. We should all be so lucky to even have all those things in our lives, and then to love them with the passion that he did.”