Robert Hege III

Year Inducted: 2017

Robert Hege III was born in Davidson County and graduated from North Davidson High School. He also graduated from North Carolina State University in 1965 with a B.S. Degree in Agricultural Engineering.

Hege was in the U. S. Army from 1965 to 1967 and the Reserve from 1965 to 1973. He served in Dominican Republic and received Expeditionary Force Medal and Association of American States Commendation Medal.

Hege’s career with Duke Power began when he joined Duke as a trainee in Winston-Salem in 1965. Upon his return from the Army in 1967, he moved to Burlington as an Agricultural Engineer. In 1971 Hege was promoted to Branch Manager in Graham and in 1973 was promoted to manager in North Wilkesboro. Hege was a Member of Duke Power Management Council and retired as District Manager in March 1991.

In Wilkes, Hege has been involved with the Wilkes Chamber of Commerce, having served as a Director and President in 1978. He has also held the positions of Vice-President of Community Development and Vice-President of Economic Development. He is a member of the North Wilkesboro Kiwanis Club and served as President in 1979. Other involvements include Northwest N. C. Forum Director, Wachovia/Wells Fargo Wilkes County Director, Wilkes ADAP Director from 1976 to 1988, and ADAP President in 1985. Hege was a Wilkes United Way Director from 1978 to 1992. He has served as Chairman and President of the Wilkes Education Foundation and President of the N.C. State Alumni Association in 1988 and 1989. He has been a member of the Wilkes Community College Advisory Council, Vice President of the Society of Preservation of Old Mills, and has served on the Wilkes County Extension Advisory Board since 2007. Hege has been President of Meadows Mills, Inc. since 2007.

In 2016, Hege was appointed as a Wilkes Community College Trustee. Hege and his wife June live in North Wilkesboro and have two sons and four grandchildren.