Business: Video To Go, 300 N. Clippert St, Frandor Shopping Center, in Lansing
Name: Tom Leach, owner
Age: 59
Time with the business: 24 years. Leach opened the store in 1981, and he says it's "probably the oldest video store in Lansing."
Education: Bachelor's degree in communication from MSU in 1978
Family: Wife Bernadette, daughter Michelle, 37, and son Justin, 31
Background: Leach grew up in Jamestown, N.Y. and moved to East Lansing when he was 12.
How he became interested in film: He had an old 8 mm projector in his home when he was a child and he charged neighborhood children 10 cents to watch rented movies in his basement.
Favorite movies: "Harold and Maude" (1971), "The Godfather" Parts I and II (1972, 1974), and "Forrest Gump" (1994).
He said he also likes films with John Wayne, Reese Witherspoon and Jodie Foster.
Leach said he enjoyed "Crash" for this year's films, and he said he thinks it will earn Academy Award nominations in February.
Wacky film facts: Leach, an adopted child, met his biological mother for the first time after seeing The Abyss (1989) in theaters with his son, Justin.
Justin now works in Los Angeles with George Lucas, as an animator for the "Star Wars" films.
When Leach was working with the campus films in the 1970s, he said that during that time almost all members of the "Star Trek" and "Leave It To Beaver" casts visited campus.
Number of films he watches a month: About ten. Leach said he enjoys a variety of genres and thinks good writing is important for a film's quality.
Best part of the business: Leach said he was proud of his store's selection of films because Video To Go has "a lot of films that other stores don't have." The store offers over 26,000 titles and 40,000 movies, including both VHS and DVD selections. "The film selection is second to none," he said.
Leach said he likes giving "students and residents the opportunity to see films they normally wouldn't see."
Types of customers: Leach said MSU students are "very loyal" to the store, but he also has customers that come in from out of town and are surprised at the size and selection of the store.
Activities outside of the business: He used to organize films on campus through the Men's Halls Association and the Women's Inter-residence Council during the late 1960s. Now, he works with the University Activities Board and the Residence Halls Association of MSU as the Campus Center Film Coordinator, where he coordinates the movies shown for students at Wells Hall.
Spare time activities: When Leach isn't working at Video To Go or on campus, he enjoys photography, film editing, traveling and "going out to the movies."
