Mike Hosang: Steeplechase officer strives to make Aiken community even better | Sunday Best

When you ask Aikenites who know him well – and even those who don’t – about Mike Hosang, they only have good things to say.

Their comments are enthusiastic, and their praise is effusive.

“I could spend a day talking about Mike Hosang,” said Aiken Steeplechase Association President Paul Sauerborn. “He’s a wonderful friend and a tribute to the community in the sense that he has served on so many boards, mostly for nonprofits. He is highly sought after for his excellent work and dedication. We’re lucky to have him on our board.”

Hosang, 75, is the secretary and treasurer of the Steeplechase Association, which will be welcoming thousands of spectators to its new venue on Richland Avenue East for the Aiken Spring Steeplechase on March 26.

To complete the first phase of the facility’s construction, an investment of more than $4 million was required.

That figure includes $1 million from the City of Aiken and the $2.112-million cost of the land.

“Early on, when we were contemplating moving forward on the property that we purchased, Mike was very helpful in facilitating meetings between the city and the bank, in this case Security Federal,” Sauerborn said. “He also was very helpful in our transition from Bruce’s Field to our new place.”

Also a Hosang fan is Bill Reynolds, president of the Friends of the Aiken County Public Library.

“First of all, Mike is very level-headed,” Reynolds said. “He also is a people person. He tries to understand all points of view, and helps guide everyone to the right decision.”

When the roughly $3 million renovation of Aiken County Public Library began in January 2020, Hosang was the Friends of the Library’s vice president.

That group teamed up with Aiken County government to fund the project.

Hosang no longer is on the Friend’s of the Library’s Executive Board, but Reynolds hasn’t forgotten his contributions.

“Mike was my wingman,” Reynolds said. “He was on the committee to select the architect, which was very important. He also helped our Finance Committee select the financial advisor for the endowment fund, and he helped select the contractor for the (new) front steps.”

The other local organizations and good causes that Hosang has been involved with over the years are so numerous that he has trouble remembering them all.

In addition to his leadership role with the Steeplechase Association, Hosang currently is the treasurer of the Green Boundary Club and is on the Aiken Land Conservancy’s Advisory Council.

He also is a past president of the Aiken Center for the Arts and continues to serve that nonprofit as a member of its board of directors.

“I guess that’s all,” Hosang said. “I’m trying to think if there is anything else.”

In the past, Hosang has been an officer and/or a board member of such organizations as the SPCA, Friends of Hopelands and Rye Patch, Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness, Aiken Board of Realtors and Aiken Chamber of Commerce.

Before the Aiken County Public Library moved to its location on Chesterfield Street in 1990, the building needed to be refurbished and “I helped raise the money for that,” Hosang said. “I was sort of the campaign chair for private donations during that period.”

Hosang’s love of Aiken, where he was born and raised, is a big motivator for his volunteer activities.

“Aiken is a sophisticated small town that has a lot of amenities in a pleasant part of the country with good weather,” he said. “There are a lot of things for people to do here recreationally, and we have a lot of things that other people in South Carolina wish they had like Hitchcock Woods and the equestrian community. When I go somewhere else, I actually look forward to coming back. It’s a great place to be.”

And Hosang wants to make Aiken even better.

“It’s almost like a hobby for me, my effort to give back to the community that I grew up in and feel so strongly about,” Hosang said. “I want to see it prosper and flourish in the future. I enjoy teamwork and helping to solve problems. I don’t have a lot of money, so I give my time. I feel like that offering my help is one way that I can serve the community rather than financially.”

Hosang’s father, Johnny, was an announcer for polo matches and managed Woodside Plantation before it became a gated community. There were forests, fields and ponds on the land back then, and its owners, the Burden family, used it for foxhunting, fishing and bird shooting.

“My mom (Mildred) was primarily a homemaker, but she was very active in the Aiken Diabetes Association,” Hosang said. “I had a brother, David, and I still have David. He lives in my parents’ home on Silver Bluff Road.”

After graduating from St. Angela Academy, a small Catholic school, Hosang headed to Athens, Ohio, where he attended Ohio University and studied economics.

“A friend of our family, Walter Shapter, was a big supporter of Ohio University and he had gone there many years before,” Hosang said. “He helped me to obtain a scholarship and sort of sponsored me. He and his wife had no children of their own, so they liked to help kids go to college.”

Following the completion of his studies, Hosang was drafted into the Army.

The Vietnam War was underway.

“I served for two years,” Hosang said. “I was in the U.S. for a year and Vietnam for a year, where I was a forward observer for mortars and artillery. That means I wandered around out in the jungle with an infantry company, and if they got fired upon, I called in artillery and mortar support.”

During the summer while in college, Hosang worked for Owens Corning. After his stint in the military ended, he returned to that company and sold building materials in the Midwest and Northeast.

“Then I decided to come back to Aiken,” Hosang said. “I wanted to be back home.”

He ended up settling down for good and launched a career in banking and financial services. Palmetto Federal, Security Federal and Merrill Lynch were his employers at various times.

During the transformation of Woodside Plantation into a gated community, Hosang was the president of the Woodside Development Company for a while.

“It was kind of the end of an era,” he said.

Hosang’s volunteer efforts with the Aiken Partnership Board, which raises money for USC Aiken, led to a position with the school as the assistant chancellor for development and alumni affairs.

“I was there for about nine years and then I went to work in the real estate business at the Carolina Real Estate Company with my wife, Lisa,” Hosang said. “She was so busy, and I thought it would be fun to work together with her.

“I had always been interested in real estate,” he continued. “The gentleman who helped me go to college, Mr. Shapter, was in the real estate business in Ohio as a young man, and he was a mentor to me. I was interested in his work, and I thought I would like to do that. When I was the president of the Woodside Development Company, I got a real estate brokerage license.

“Unfortunately, Lisa passed away in 2016,” Hosang added, “but I’ve continued on in the real estate business.”

For Hosang, selling residential and commercial properties, undeveloped land and farms is enjoyable.

“It gives me the opportunity to meet new people and introduce them to Aiken,” Hosang said. “I like helping them understand the community,” he said. “I think that’s part of the process, helping people realize what is available here. I also like helping them understand the history and charm of Aiken.”

To relax, Hosang goes on walks with this dog, Sparky.

“I also like to play golf occasionally,” Hosang said.