06/05/2026
After 38.5 incredible years as the Director of Northfield Mount Hermon Dining Services, Rich Messer P ‘06, ’13, ‘16, who has put his heart and soul into the culinary success of NMH, always making sure students have had the most delicious (and nutritious!) meals around, is retiring! Along with his dedication to our dining program, Rich has also been an excellent ambassador, mentor and leader on the hardwood, serving as Girls’ Varsity Basketball coach for many years. Whether you spent four years at NMH or just an afternoon, Rich has probably had a positive impact on your experience either directly or indirectly (by way of his team). Rich navigated NMH Dining Services though turbulent waters, including the campus consolidation, the safety enhancements of Alumni Hall resulting from COVID-19, a full departmental realignment, and everything in between, often behind the scenes and always with a smile on his face, wearing his head, heart and hand on his sleeves.
In a capstone project piece by Soren Anderson-Flynn ‘25, Rich commented: “I’m really competitive, and one of the things I’ve always believed was that I could play a role in making NMH better than other schools. We compete with all these schools for the best kids. Well, if we have a great dining program, that’ll help kids want to pick this one. If we have a great dining program, our faculty will want to stay here because they’ll feel cared for and taken care of.”
During his time at NMH, Rich was always competitive for us, even when we didn’t know there was any competition at all, and we are all beneficiaries of that competitiveness. Everyone attending NMH Reunion this weekend (Rich’s final event as an NMH employee!): Take a moment to thank Rich, and his team, for all they’ve done for this place we love so much. Enjoy retirement, Rich!
