Paul Steffes never forgets the story behind Gatorade. Doctors in the 1960s at the University of Florida took a small, simple problem - dehydration of the university's football players - and turned it into a world-renowned sports drink company worth millions of dollars. Today, Gatorade is one of the most recognized names in athletic drinks. Steffes would love to make a Gatorade dream come true for North Dakota.

"I want all of North Dakota to be the best it can be. Ideally, we'll find the Gatorade of North Dakota and all of North Dakota will be the beneficiary," said Steffes, BS '73, mechanical engineering, the newest member of the NDSU Research and Technology Park board of directors.

The chief executive officer of Steffes Corp. in Dickinson, N.D., has the entrepreneurial expertise to make his dream come true. Born with intense optimism and the kind of work ethic that has put North Dakota on the map, Steffes turned down job offers from Firestone Tire, Trane and Caterpillar to stay in North Dakota. A Dickinson native, he moved home to start a business with his father. "I did the first five years of starvation, but luckily at that time I lived at home so I didn't go without food. I'd get a $5 bill for a date on Saturday as my pay," said Steffes.

As his fledgling business worked its way into the manufacturing market, Steffes played the roles of salesperson, delivery man, accountant, head of research and development, product designer, foreman and vice president. By 1988 the business had grown to 15 employees. They developed a product - electric thermal storage heating units - that launched the company to a new level of success. Today Steffes Corp. is a world leader in electric thermal storage and has grown to 160 employees.

Steffes describes himself as a product designer by trade and a business person by chance. "I've been around many business start-ups. I've made many deals," Steffes said, "even though I don't have a degree in business, I know business."

As a board member Steffes hopes to put his business and engineering experience to good use for both the university and the state. "I certainly have NDSU's best interest at heart," he said. But if he can help bring economic growth to all of North Dakota, "that's an extra bonus."