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Roland Hymel Jr., an Inspiration to Us All

Roland Hymel

Roland Hymel Jr., Class of 1953

Throughout his life, Roland Hymel Jr. has been an active and generous part of the Loyola University New Orleans community. He graduated from Loyola in 1953 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing and a minor in accounting. As a student, Roland was a member of SAK fraternity and a member of the Blue Key service club. He was a varsity athlete and the first letterman in the sport of archery. Now retired from a highly successful insurance business, this Loyola Athletics Hall of Famer receives great satisfaction in helping others be successful.

Surprising Change of Plans

Roland played football in high school and planned to attend LSU on a football scholarship. Following high school graduation, his father got him a summer job in Shreveport installing ceilings. While he was away, Loyola Athletics Coach Jim McCafferty paid his parents a visit and offered Roland a track and field scholarship to pole vault. As Roland tells the story, his mother signed on the dotted line. When he came home to New Orleans to prepare for early football practice, she told him that he was not going to LSU. She wanted Roland at home so he could focus on his studies and absolutely did not want him to play football. We can thank Roland's mom for all the rest!

A Helping Hand Leads to Great Success

Pursuing an interest in business, Roland soon realized that he was going to have to study a lot harder than he had originally planned. He liked that all of his professors took a sincere interest in him and fellow students and recognized their individual talents. At the end of his senior year, Roland visited with Fr. Joseph A. Butt, S.J., for whom the business school at Loyola is now named. The Jesuit priest asked what Roland intended to do after graduation and recommended a position in sales. When Roland said that he did not have a job yet, Fr. Butt picked up the phone and called an alumnus working at IBM, who in turn arranged an interview for Roland.

Roland got the job at IBM and spent the next two years training for the new position, which often took him away from home. He went on to serve two years of military active duty, and when he returned to IBM, IBM wanted him to transfer to Memphis to become a manager. His wife, the former Mary Ann Leggio, was unsure about leaving the couple's hometown of New Orleans, so Roland took a job selling insurance for Mass Mutual Insurance. The business was very rewarding, and after two years, he was offered a General Agency with State Mutual of America.

Roland founded the Hymel Group, which provided consulting, insurance plans and products, tax-qualified plan design and administrative services. He built the business into three companies with 90-plus agents generating millions in agent income in seven Louisiana and Mississippi offices with more than 50 administrative personnel.

His many successes include pioneering the satellite office management approach and being one of the first to fully computerize office operations. In addition, he developed the Executive Income Plan, a tax-sheltered, deferred-compensation benefits program for select executives which he copyrighted and sold to Met Life in 1989. Roland is the former Board Chairman for the City of New Orleans Retirement Plan, and under his direction, the fund experienced the largest growth in the plan's history. Roland has a Master of Science degree in financial services and holds several professional certifications.

The Satisfaction of Giving

In addition to being a father of four, a grandfather of nine, a great-grandfather of two, and a highly successful General Agent for a multibillion-dollar insurance carrier and recipient of numerous company and national awards, Roland has always taken an active interest in his alma mater. A past recipient of the College of Business Alumnus of the Year Award, he volunteered over the years on alumni committees to help raise funds for professorships in honor of Fr. Butt, Dean Henry Engler, and the founding dean of the College of Business, Dr. John V. "Doc" Connor. 

Roland is also an avid supporter of Wolf Pack Athletics. In 2002, he was inducted into the Loyola University Athletics Hall of Fame for his contribution to athletics while he was a student at Loyola. In 2011, Roland, who is also a member of the Hall of Fame track teams of 1951 and 1952, received the treasured St. Sebastian Award, awarded to an athlete who exhibits outstanding charitable, community, civic and spiritual service to humanity. Recently, he participated in fundraising for The James "Big Jim" McCafferty Endowed Scholarship Fund for student athletes.

Roland has served as a role model and mentor to many Loyola students over the years. He has hired students as interns and part-time employees so that they can gain knowledge, experience, and extra money while pursuing their educations.

In 2004, Roland worked with the College of Business and the Small Business Development Center to turn his family's plantation into a fully operating attraction for visitors. Students worked with Roland and his family to promote and publicize St. Joseph Plantation. Loyola students helped to develop a marketing plan and operating strategies for the facility. The Loyola University community joined with Roland for a successful grand opening on the Feast of St. Joseph in 2005.

Roland regularly works with other alumni to help them understand the benefits of giving to Loyola. He is nationally known for his pioneering work in tax-sheltered trusts and is happy to share his knowledge with others. He has served as a financial advisor to many alumni interested in deferred giving and encourages them to give back so that others may be successful.     

"My education has taught me that the gift is tax-deductible, and it gives me great satisfaction while I am living that I am giving back to the educational institution that taught me this principle."

A True Inspiration

Personally, he has been very generous. Roland has set up charitable gift annuities to establish two professorships at Loyola and is participating in the Faith in the Future Comprehensive Campaign through multiple gifts to the Wolf Pack Athletics Facilities Fund. He is truly an advocate for remaining an active and supportive alumnus.

Roland has continuously shown his love of Loyola and his community by unselfishly giving of his time, his talent, and his treasure. He serves as an inspiration to alumni and students across the university.  

There are many ways you can make a difference at Loyola—just as Roland Hymel Jr. has. Contact Kevin Maney 504-861-5442 or kmaney@loyno.edu to learn more.

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Information contained herein was accurate at the time of posting. The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. Figures cited in any examples are for illustrative purposes only. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results. California residents: Annuities are subject to regulation by the State of California. Payments under such agreements, however, are not protected or otherwise guaranteed by any government agency or the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association. Oklahoma residents: A charitable gift annuity is not regulated by the Oklahoma Insurance Department and is not protected by a guaranty association affiliated with the Oklahoma Insurance Department. South Dakota residents: Charitable gift annuities are not regulated by and are not under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Division of Insurance.

A charitable bequest is one or two sentences in your will or living trust that leave to Loyola University New Orleans a specific item, an amount of money, a gift contingent upon certain events or a percentage of your estate.

an individual or organization designated to receive benefits or funds under a will or other contract, such as an insurance policy, trust or retirement plan

"I, [name], of [city, state, ZIP], give, devise and bequeath to Loyola University New Orleans [written amount or percentage of the estate or description of property] for its unrestricted use and purpose."

able to be changed or cancelled

A revocable living trust is set up during your lifetime and can be revoked at any time before death. They allow assets held in the trust to pass directly to beneficiaries without probate court proceedings and can also reduce federal estate taxes.

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tax on gifts generally paid by the person making the gift rather than the recipient

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the price a willing buyer and willing seller can agree on

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Securities, real estate, or any other property having a fair market value greater than its original purchase price.

Real estate can be a personal residence, vacation home, timeshare property, farm, commercial property, or undeveloped land.

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You give assets to a trust that pays our organization set payments for a number of years, which you choose. The longer the length of time, the better the potential tax savings to you. When the term is up, the remaining trust assets go to you, your family or other beneficiaries you select. This is an excellent way to transfer property to family members at a minimal cost.

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You fund this trust with cash or appreciated assets—and may qualify for a federal income tax charitable deduction when you itemize. Each year the trust pays you or another named individual the same dollar amount you choose at the start. When the trust terminates, the remaining principal goes to Loyola University New Orleans as a lump sum.

A beneficiary designation clearly identifies how specific assets will be distributed after your death.

A charitable gift annuity involves a simple contract between you and Loyola University New Orleans where you agree to make a gift to Loyola University New Orleans and we, in return, agree to pay you (and someone else, if you choose) a fixed amount each year for the rest of your life.
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