Richard A. Lipsey is the owner, with his family, of Lipsey’s, one of the nation’s largest sporting goods distributors; HASPEL, a major line of men’s tailored clothing; and the founder and partner in Lipsey Communications, LLC, a chain of Sprint wireless phone stores that stretches from Arizona to North Carolina.
He is a graduate from University High School and LSU. After two years service in the Army In Washington as an Aide to a General and working closely with President John F Kennedy, he returned to Baton Rouge and entered the family business, Steinberg Sports Centers. He became President in 1966 and remained so until he sold the business in 1990. In 1988 he graduated from the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management (OPM).
Richard is currently a member of the Chief Executives Organization, the World Presidents Organization, the National Sports Shooting Foundation and the Pennington Medical Foundation and the Biomedical Foundation boards. Throughout the years, he has volunteered his time and served on many boards and chair capacities for companies and organizations and remains very active in various community and civic associations.
Among his numerous awards is the Outstanding Citizen of the Year (2000) &(2012) from the Boy Scouts of Baton Rouge; the 2004 and the 2015 “Man of the Year” from the Baton Rouge Chapter of Ducks Unlimited, Shot Business Magazine’s 2005 Man of the Year, and the 2005 National Conference of Christians and Jews annual Brotherhood Award. He was named the Baton Rouge Business Laureate in 2014 and Golden Deeds winner in 2013. He was also presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by both the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers and the National Shooting Sports Foundaton in 2015/2016. During the crisis that followed Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, he organized rescue efforts in New Orleans and led a fund drive to assist families who had suffered total loss from Rita. For these efforts, he was awarded the Humanitarian Award (2006) by the Anti-Defamation League.
He resides in Baton Rouge with his wife, Susan Haspel Lipsey, and has two daughters and three grandchildren.
Mr. Lipsey represents the 6th Congressional District, has chaired the Board for two years and his term of service ends December 31, 2018.