Having to prepare and administer the village's $30 million budget may seem intimidating to some, but Richardson likes the challenge. "I like setting standards that will help the community in the long run," Richardson said. "The part of the job I enjoy the most is providing direction to the village board on budgetary issues and helping them see the bigger picture."

Back when Richardson was in high school, the bigger picture of his future was a little fuzzy. "When I was in high school, I didn't have a lot of direction," Richardson said. "Waubonsee allows you to experiment with basic courses and get a feel for what you want to do before you have to spend the big bucks at a bigger university. Plus, you may not be ready to move away from home, so attending Waubonsee lets you get a few more years of maturity under your belt."

After getting his associate's degree in accounting, a more mature Richardson went on to earn a bachelor's degree in accounting from Illinois State University.

Upon graduation, Richardson taught accounting at Elgin Community College before becoming an audit manager with an accounting firm in Wheaton. Then, when Richardson was about 10 years into his current position, his manager encouraged him to go back to school. Richardson liked the idea.

"I figured it would round out my education as well as add to the credibility of the community by showing that we have qualified individuals running our government," Richardson said. He received his master's degree in Public Administration from Roosevelt University in 1994.

Even after attending two other institutions of higher education, Waubonsee still sticks out for Richardson. "With my other educational experiences, I don't have any of that like I had with those guys," Richardson said. "Those guys" are the members of Waubonsee's 1974 golf team. These past teammates are still present friends who get together annually to play 18 holes of golf in what they have dubbed the "Bonzo Open." "It's just a great time to rekindle past friendships and reminisce about some of the best days of our lives," Richardson said.

Richardson remembers Waubonsee not only with a sense of fun but also with a sense of duty. Waubonsee's Director of Financial Services, Darla Cardine, serves with Richardson in both the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association (IGFOA) and remembers a specific time when he helped the college.

"A presentation of WCC's Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the GFOA was scheduled for Waubonsee's August 2000 board of trustees meeting," Cardine said. "Due to a sudden illness, the original presenter was unable to come. A call was made to Dave on the afternoon of the meeting. He responded and presented the award to Waubonsee's board that evening. I have found Dave to be very responsive to Waubonsee and feel he exemplifies the college's value of service."

Just as he helped his old school, Richardson is now helping his children's current school as a member of St. Edward High School's Council of Education. "We're like a school board," Richardson said. "We set policies and salaries, help with hiring issues, and do a lot of long-range planning."

And Richardson thinks he'll be doing such long-range planning for the long haul, even after his children have graduated and he has retired from the Village of Streamwood. "That's how I see myself spending most of my time later in life--helping other institutions in the community with those kinds of issues."