Lloyd T Rochford
A hometown hero, Tim Rochford grew up near the University of Redlands and graduated from Redlands High School in 1965. Tim joined the Navy and married his former high school classmate and girlfriend, Carol Drewitz. Tim and Carol have been married 58 years and have two children, two granddaughters and 5 great grandchildren.

Tim Rochford is a successful entrepreneur and innovator in the oil and gas industry whose exemplary career has been instrumental in the formation and development of successful natural resource companies in the United States, an accomplishment surpassed only by his more recent role as philanthropist. As an entrepreneur, Tim became active in the oil and gas industry in the Midwest in the 1970s. During this time, he operated wells, evaluated leasehold drilling and production projects and raised private and public financing for oil and gas projects and developing multiple, successful NYSE-listed oil and natural gas companies. He was founding CEO and president of Arena Resources-which received accolades from publications including Businessweek, Entrepreneur, Fortune and Forbes. He is co-founder of Texas-based RING Energy, Inc., a NYSE-listed company.

Rochford’s immense success in the business world is equally matched by his dedication, generosity and outstanding work with youth. In 2008 he fulfilled A lifelong dream and established the Rochford Foundation a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving disadvantaged children in Redlands. Rochford and his wife Carol currently serve as trustees of the foundation and have preserved and transformed the 17-acre Burrage Mansion into a haven for children with an activity center, playfield, trails, low ropes course, golf course, dance studio, art room and more. . Many local non profits and children’s organizations use the Burrage Mansion free-of-charge for events and activities, including the Redlands Boys & Girls Club. The foundation also sponsors its very own Burrage Buddies after-school enrichment workshops for Redlands Unified Schools.

In the spirit of giving back to his hometown of Redlands, Tim has purchased and restored several downtown historic buildings, including those housing the Chamber of Commerce, Speakeasy on State, Wilson’s Jewelers, and Rok N’ Fondue. All these buildings and the Burrage Mansion have clocks identified with the initials LTR.
In 2017, Tim and Carol Rochford provided a founding grant to the University of Redlands to establish the Rochford Scholars College Access Program, which offers tutoring and mentoring to selected students from middle school through high school graduation and then provides college tuition scholarships. To date more than 90 students have benefited from this program.

Tim’s most recent involvement has been with the Museum of Redlands. He was a major part of the capital campaign which recently completed the museum and allowed the 25 million project to be gifted to the City of Redlands. When time allows, Tim enjoys travelling with Carol, golf, boating, and has been active in youth sports, coaching for more than 20 years.

Tim received the Town & Gown Award of Distinction in 2014 and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Redlands in 2015. He also has been recognized by numerous local service organizations, receiving many awards and accolades, including the prestigious 2018 Stater Bros. Charities Captian Leland F. Norton Award. Tim and Carol received the Loma Linda Children’s Hospital Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.