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Returning to His Roots
It took some time, but Joel Langsfeld finally returned to where he began his college career.
m By Simit Shah
Most of the people featured in this space often espouse their lifelong devotion to Georgia Tech and usually relate their early memories of cheering for the white and gold. That’s not quite the case with Joel Langsfeld. Though he’s an ardent supporter these days, the 1980 industrial management graduate took some time to come around. “To be honest, when I got out of school I didn’t like Georgia Tech,” he said. “It was hard work and a grind, and it wasn’t exactly the fondest of memories. Because of that, I kept my distance for a long time. “With the passage of time and maturity, I realized what a great education it was and how well it prepared me for practicing law and real estate development. Georgia Tech really taught me about discipline and the value of hard work.” Those early seeds were planted by his father, who was an Atlanta-based FBI agent. Langsfeld was the fifth of six children and attended Briarcliff High School in Dekalb County. When it came time to pick a college in 1976, he needed to stay in-state for financial reasons and decided to follow his older brother Mark, who was a junior majoring in biology at Georgia Tech and is now a vascular surgeon in New Mexico. “To be honest, I went to Tech for really no other reason,” Langsfeld said. “I didn’t know a whole lot about the school.” Out of necessity, Langsfeld took a full-time job at a law firm near campus to help with tuition costs while tackling the school’s well-known academic rigors. “Because of my father, I always had an interest in law,” he explained. “I knew while I was at Tech that I eventually wanted to go to law school, so I took pretty much any course related to law, plus an internship in the state legislature.” His time for extracurricular activities was somewhat limited, but he was active on the intramural scene - playing, officiating and even working in the office when his schedule allowed. He is very proud of winning two intramural school championships in soccer with his brother as a teammate. Despite his demanding schedule, Langsfeld carried a full course load and found time to squeeze in a class or two over the summer, allowing him to graduate a quarter early with highest honors in 1980. Upon graduation, Langsfeld had been accepted to law school, but he decided to defer for a while and get his feet wet in the working world. He got a several job offers and decided to accept a position with accounting giant Arthur Andersen in their management consulting division. “I didn’t quite fully understand what I was getting in to,” Langsfeld readily admitted. “I thought they were paying me to carry a briefcase, go to a client’s office and tell them what to do. After I was hired, I realized the job was actually computer programming in those archaic languages like FORTRAN and IBM Assembler. That was probably my weakest subject at Tech. “So after less than a full month at Arthur Andersen, I had to go in and tell them that this wasn’t for me,” he laughed. “They were very understanding. I decided at that point I didn’t really need to defer law school.” Langsfeld enrolled in law at the University of Georgia (where three of his siblings also went as undergraduates) and was somewhat surprised by what he found.
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The Buzz
Jack Thompson played a key role in Joel Langsfeld’s return to the Flats, and Tech Athletics have reaped the benefits of such a loyal supporter. “I was very well prepared academically for Georgia’s law school,” Langsfeld noted. “You wouldn’t think that since I had a technical degree, but I found myself very prepared. You’d think that the folks with the political science and English degrees would be better prepared, but it was the opposite. The Tech people did exceedingly well in law school.” Langsfeld graduated with honors in 1983 and embarked on what he figured to be a long career in law. He joined a law firm in Atlanta focusing on corporate and securities work, and then branched out to start his own firm with three partners in 1986. For the next 10 years, Langsfeld built a successful law practice specializing primarily in commercial real estate transactions. His work put him into contact with a prominent developer, Bruce Rakay of Sarasota, Florida, who persuaded Langsfeld to consider a career change. “Bruce was himself a ‘recovering lawyer,’” Langsfeld recalled. “He subsequently hired me to help represent his company. Being a lawyer, he figured that I hated what I did, so he asked if I’d be interested in partnering with him in retail development.” After a year of both working in his law practice and starting several retail development projects, Langsfeld took the plunge and started Grace Enterprises, named after his daughter, currently a senior at The Lovett School in Atlanta. “Business just took off,” he said. “We were working 16 hours a day, seven days a week. From 1996 to 2000, we developed about 130 free-standing drug stores in about 12 states.” As his company grew, one of his hires was former Georgia Tech defensive back Bubba Hoats, most
famous for his school record three-interception game in a 6-0 victory over Georgia in 1969. “Bubba was our site acquisition man, and he helped with the majority of our deals,” Langsfeld said. “I still hadn’t warmed up to Tech at that point, but Bubba introduced me to (associate director of athletics) Jack Thompson. That was the start for me to get involved with being active with Georgia Tech again.” In recent years, Langsfeld has become a Life Member of the Alexander-Tharpe Fund, and his family is a fixture at football and basketball games. In fact, he and his wife, Andrea, had their first date at a Georgia Tech-Virginia (her alma mater) basketball game at the Thrillerdome. He often uses his extra tickets to recruit new Georgia Tech fans, including his daughter Grace’s high school friends. Thompson introduced Langsfeld to Georgia Tech’s director of player development Eric Ciano, who has given the 50-year-old plenty of guidance on getting back into shape. “Eric does a great job for Georgia Tech, and he’s really helped me get back into a routine as well,” Langsfeld said. In fact, one of Langsfeld’s gifts to Tech has been directed towards improvements in the weight room. So while it took some time, Langsfeld now bleeds white and gold. “I have heard athletics described as being the front porch of the university, and it’s a great way to present the school on a national stage,” he said. “It creates loyalty, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve become involved. I think it’s a vital part of Georgia Tech. Without athletics, Tech is a different school.” ■