Hal Blackman
Class of 1977
Hal Blackman is a Hicksville High School Class of 1977 graduate. He is the president, CEO, and founder of IST Management Services. Hal built IST into a national company. He graduated Cum Laude from West Virginia University in 1997. Presently, he lives in Georgia. His two sons, Joshua and Sean, both graduated from the Naval Academy and served in the US Navy. Hal was kind enough to take time out of his extremely busy day to update Hixnews.com about his life and accomplishments.
Hicksville High School Experience
We asked Hal about his experiences at HHS. His favorite class was Chemistry with Mr. Paisner. I remember being in that class with Hal. Hal always had a smile on his face, and he liked to make people laugh and feel comfortable. Mr. Paisner, I think, enjoyed his energy until "the magnesium incident". Hal remembers it pretty much the way I do. If you don’t know, Magnesium reacts vigorously when it contacts air. Well, Hal took the magnesium out of the solution and put it into a beaker. You guessed it, it exploded. I do remember someone by the end of class having holes in their jeans because a piece of magnesium landed on them. They were okay, just startled.
Another favorite class of Hal’s was Math. His least favorite was Spanish. He had Mr. Marrocco. As an aside, I wasn’t a fan of that Spanish class either. Unfortunately, Hal could not grasp the language, and Mr. Marrocco sent him to the principal’s office several times for laughing in class. He is now married to, in his words, "a Mexican American gal".
Hal really loved Track and Field when he was in high school. He played football for a season and wrestled for all 3 years. His passion though, was pole vaulting. He held the school record for 11th and 12th grade at 14.6"and was second in New York state. Hal owes his success to Mr. Grantham, who he said was a great coach, as well as Coach Jaworski. Newsday did a great article on him, which he still has.
After Hicksville
After high school, he went to WVU in West Virginia and then entered hotel management with Marriott in Raleigh for 6 months and then was promoted to an Atlanta position where he settled. He started a Diamond business part-time and sold that while working for Marriott. Hal changed jobs when his boys were 8 and 10 and started at Xerox. He then went to another competitor in the Facilities management world.
During that time, his sons were really into gymnastics, and when they hit the national stage, their gym went bankrupt. Hal bought the gym while still working full-time. Purchasing the gym helped both of his sons become gymnastics captains and graduate from the Naval Academy. His oldest, Joshua, was attached to Seal Team 3 as an Intel and Communications Officer. His youngest, Sean, was an F18 Super Hornet fighter pilot.... pretty cool. They are both now 41 and 43. His oldest is working for a PE firm in Atlanta, and his youngest started his own business 4 years ago called Nooks and is "crushing it".
Hal was motivated to start his company when his compensation was cut by 75%. Not only did it happen once, it happened twice. Once when Hal was working with Xerox and again with the last company he worked for, and he had enough. He was able to develop the necessary skills because of his love of learning, although it can take a lifetime to develop the skills needed. While working for the big organizations, he became a SME (Subject Matter Expert) in both Sales and Management, which helped him launch IST.
Fundraising for Cystic Fibrosis
Hal’s company, IST, does a lot of fundraising for Cystic Fibrosis. When he was a catering manager with Marriott, he set up a dinner honoring a doctor in Atlanta who helped the CF community at large. Once he saw all the kids come in with oxygen tanks, it broke his heart. He knew he needed to do something. While he didn’t have much money or means to help back then, he promised himself to get involved when he could. IST has actively supported the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for over a decade. The company has a matching gift program to double the impact of a donation. In 2022, Hal was recognized with the Georgia Chapter’s “Hero of Hope” Award for his efforts.
For anyone who would like to donate, tax-deductible donations can always be made quickly and easily using the Team IST USA link. 100% of the donation goes directly to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
World Traveler
Hal and his wife have traveled all over the world. He loves the ocean and the beach. Two of his favorite places are the Maldives and Bora Bora. Traveling the world allows Hal to meet people from all backgrounds and cultures. Throughout his travels, Hal observed that people usually want the same thing.... food, shelter, safety, and a better life for their children. While travelling, he noticed the differences between the governments of each country he visited. Hal remarked that he has noticed that while traveling to all of these different places, socialism hasn’t worked, and he feels it never will. While Hal and his wife love to travel...they also love coming back home. He loves coming back to the U.S., because it’s the greatest country in the world.
Epilogue
We asked Hal if he had anything else to share:
"I am now married to a Mexican American gal named Rosa via a blind date through a Matchmaking Company in Atlanta, who owns her own Kitchen Design and Construction company and helped her raise her son Maddox since he was 9 ...he's graduating this next spring and is a fine young man. I started IST 28 years ago with 2 employees, which now has over 1,800 employees in 38 cities, and I am privately held with no debt and no outside capital, so it took me a bit longer to grow, but well worth it. I did start a new project 18 months ago, opening a new Food Eatery on the first floor of my corporate office called Halidom. It has 11 great chefs and a cool bar called Bar La Rose, after my wife, Rosa. So, going back to my F&B roots...it’s been a blast. We will be adding a retail center and 25,000 sq foot gym, which I will self-perform on the same land. My vision is to grow IST to 18,000 employees in the next 28 years".
Podcast
Hal produces a podcast that you might find engaging. Hanging with Hal is a series where Hal discusses the lessons, experiences, and values that have shaped his life and the last 28 years of building his company, IST. Click here.
