I read of Bob Ray Sanders’ loss of his college ring and how UNT awarded him a ring (“Last Word,” summer 2009). I, as a senior senator in 1949, was assigned the task of designing a new official ring. I worked with three ring companies to complete the design and put the order out for bids. This design of the Eagle with its claws on the college seal endured for years.

Events happen over which we sometimes have little control. In 1972, I was offered the North Texas territory with the L.G. Balfour ring company (which had won the contract as North Texas ring supplier in 1949). One of my proudest accomplishments was that I became the salesman for rings, graduation announcements and diplomas at North Texas.

By hard work, I became the No. 9 salesman in the world in 1978. I give a lot of credit to the training I received at North Texas. My grandson, Perry West, is seeking his master’s degree at UNT.

Robert A. Lynch (’49)
Plano