Richard Sweet

I own Vantage Point Risk and am involved in the business’s day-to-day operations, sales, and service. My diverse career background helps me bring a unique perspective to operating a business and helping customers with risk and insurance. If you want to learn more beyond what I have shared below, shoot me a note. I’d love to get a coffee with you sometime.

There are many things I care deeply about, but first and foremost is my family: my wife Rebecca, my son Cayden, and my two dogs Olive and Niko.

My wife Rebecca is one of the most adventurous people I know, and she has to be to be married to me! I am always amazed at the adventures she is willing to go on, from mountain biking to scuba diving to adventure motorcycling to hunting to traveling. You name it, and she always seems to be up for it. She also does her best to keep me grounded and is my sounding board when life is hectic and messy.

My son Cayden has just reached his teenage years, and wow! He continually amazes me with how he is growing into a young adult. Last year (2023), he started doing organized sports for the first time and fell in love with track & field. Granted, he doesn’t want to run more than 100 meters at a time, but he is pretty good at those 100 meters and qualified for districts in his first season. Since then, he has done ultimate frisbee and basketball, but his focus remains on track. He also still likes hunting, fishing, and camping with Dad, so I feel cool enough for him.

My dogs, Olive, a Wired Haired Pointing Griffon, and Niko, a Pudelpointer, are what our lives revolve around outside of my son’s activities. They are both bird-hunting dogs but also wonderful family dogs. If I am not working, we spend time with our dogs on fun adventures.

I love business and always have; I went to school to be a mechanical engineer and also studied business operations. After my career as a mechanical engineer, I spent several years working with companies focused on business operations, helping them refine how they made money in many different aspects of business. I spent about 14 years working in the wood products industry, then another 11 years in the waste and recycling industry. I learned a lot about business management and operations worldwide during those two periods. It helped me develop a more profound passion for understanding and helping businesses survive and thrive, including mine.

Another passion of mine is community, both personally and professionally. I spent a lot of time building professional relationships that help me as a business owner and my customers as resources. I am a member of the Springfield and Eugene Chambers and an active member of the Springfield Chamber Membership Experience Committee, where we work with chamber business members to help them get the most out of their membership.

My personal community is a small, close-knit group of friends and family who share similar passions. We all love the outdoors in some way, whether camping, backcountry exploring, fishing, hunting, scuba diving, or traveling.