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Arthur Pleasants, III
Operations Vice President

Arthur is an original member of Friends of Hexagon, having been involved in its founding in 2001. He has been extremely active as a volunteer in amateur theater. He has worked on over 150 shows (46 of them Hexagon) as producer, set designer, technical director, master carpenter, photographer, data base designer, and stage crew chief. He was elected to the Hexagon Board of Directors for 11 years in five different positions, including twice as President. He also served as Technical Facility Manager for 25 years, designing the work spaces for Hexagon's Springfield Technical Facility. He has served on numerous committees and has hosted many Hexagon parties. He won the first Hexagon President's Award for long-term devoted service in 1986. He has served on the Boards of Directors of The Arlington Players, Georgetown Summer Theater, and Fairfax Cable Access Corporation (later Channel 10) and as Executive Producer for Dominion Stage.

Arthur is presently retired. He enlisted in the Navy during WWII at the age of 17. Nominated by the commanding officer of his ship and successfully completing the highly- competitive entrance examinations, he entered the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated in 1950, just in time for the Korean War. After over 5 years at sea, he resigned and received an MBA from The University of Virginia's Darden School, where he was Treasurer of his class. He accepted a position as Senior Designer in the nuclear power field, and spent over 3 years working on the propulsion plant of the Navy's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Upon receiving an offer of an Assistantship he returned to UVA to work on a PhD in economics He completed all of the requirements for the PhD except the dissertation and was admitted to candidacy before leaving for financial reasons. He worked as an engineer for several Washington organizations and then accepted a position with the Department of Commerce, from which he retired as head of the Radio and Television Section of the Science and Electronics Division.

Arthur retained his commission as a Naval Reserve Officer, and volunteered to be recalled during the Vietnam War, serving again for nearly 2 years.