David Hackett knew he would never be a star athlete, but that never diminished his love for sports—especially basketball.
When Gary James, a retired social studies teacher at Strath Haven Middle School, needed a manager for the middle school basketball team, Hackett stepped up to the job. Later, when he attended Duke University after high school with a major in political science, some of the teachers helped advocate for Hackett to be a manager for the Duke basketball team, which won the national championship in 1991.
In high school, Hackett served on Student Council and was elected president in his senior year. He was also the student manager for the basketball team, a tennis athlete, and involved in TV and audio visuals where he announced football games and soccer games for the high school.
When Hackett returned to Delaware County after graduating from college, he worked for Congressman Kurt Weldon, who represented most of Delaware County and part of Chester County.
“As a legislative assistant, I was in charge of labor, education, taxes, and a number of issues for him. I would be up to date on those issues and work with the congressman to address those concerns,” Hackett said.
Hackett was selected to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers 2017-2022 list. Now, Hackett works on the management side, representing employers in the labor and employment area.
“It can be dealing with unions, which is called traditional labor law. I also deal with advising employers to make sure that they have the right policies in place to comply with labor laws and employment laws that apply to them,” Hackett said.
The many opportunities provided by Haven made Hackett a well-rounded person.
“A good public school makes you interact with people from different backgrounds, which I also thought was a great experience and made me understand people from different backgrounds and be able to respect them and honor them,” Hackett said.
James described Hackett as a top student in class whose work was always well done.
“A lot of kids are reluctant to raise their hands to provide an answer or volunteer to do something. Dave was just the opposite. He was quick to volunteer his services,” James said.
As a student at Strath Haven, Hackett was impressed by the ABC program, which provides opportunities to minority students who show academic promise but don’t have strong educational opportunities where they live. When he came back to Delaware County after getting married in 1997, Hackett decided that he wanted to get involved with the ABC program.
“I joined the board and worked with the resident directors. I’m not on the board anymore, but I continue to financially support ABC because of the important role that it plays,” Hackett said.
Hackett also volunteers as the head usher at St John’s, is on the Civil Service Commission for hiring police at Nether Providence, and is on the chair of the Riddle Hospital Foundation.
“Dave deserves all the good things that have come his way because he’s worked. I know he’s a devoted family man. And when you get to know him and he gets to know you, you pretty much have a friend for life,” James said.
