JOHNSTON COUNTY — It was 1970. Don Reichard’s college days were coming to an end, and the military draft was inching closer and closer to his number.

“I had full expectations that I was going to graduate and go to Vietnam,” he said. But it wasn’t to be.

The military granted Reichard an education deferment, and he joined a newly-formed graduate program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania for community college teachers. By 1972, he was its first graduate.

“I guess I made up my mind in seventh grade that I was going to be a teacher,” Reichard said. “I had a history teacher ... she was not only good looking; she was a good teacher.”

Last week, Reichard retired as president of Johnston Community College, saying it was time to play more golf after 39 years on the job. He served as president of both James Sprunt Community College and JCC, holding the latter post for a decade.

“Thank you, Big Kahuna! Good luck!” blinked the words on JCC’s entrance sign last Tuesday.

Reichard led the college during a decade of growth and steered it through the first months of the recession. Since 1999, the college’s enrollment across all programs has risen 57 percent to about 20,500 full- and part-time students.

Herman Kight, vice president of administrative services, said the college built new buildings and launched new programs during Reichard’s tenure.

“Since 1999, the college has constructed state-of-the-art classrooms for biotechnology and public-safety training, renovated and upgraded numerous buildings, and developed the unique Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center and the Arboretum,” Kight said in a prepared statement.

“Under Dr. Reichard’s leadership, the college has experienced tremendous growth in terms of facilities, and it’s been an honor for me to be a part of it,” Kight added.

Reichard would like to see two or three buildings added to the Workforce Development Center near Clayton; for him, it represents one of the school’s key roles.

“It doesn’t matter whether you have the best program in the world if people graduating from it aren’t getting the jobs in the business,” he said. “Our whole goal is to get folks employed; that’s our primary mission.”

Around campus, Reichard is known for his no-nonsense style and the occasional wide-open smile. His parking spot was reserved for “The Big Kahuna,” as he was nicknamed years ago by Kay Lanier. When staff came to him with problems, he often gave them a one-minute “manager session,” and Reichard lived by the words “be succinct.”

Beverly Gibson, Reichard’s administrative assistant, said he always had a sense of humor on the job. “If he found out it was your birthday, he would call you and wish you a happy birthday and tell you that you could leave five minutes early,” she said.

The college’s new president, Dr. David Johnson, will face an enrollment surge and budget cuts, Reichard said. “We’re going to be run over with students this fall; I’m afraid we’re going to have to turn students away,” he said.

Beyond the recession, the college needs to find more funding for equipment and a way to raise staff salaries, Reichard added.

But those problems will fall to the next president. Meantime, Reichard plans to golf, fish, volunteer and get around to the “honey-do” list his wife has up on the fridge.