Happy 50th Anniversary: Who Would Be At The Top Of The Armonk Hall Of Fame? There would be many admirable nominees for an Armonk Hall of Fame. It would include Jack Lombardi who served as Supervisor for 44 years, my classmate Peter Gallagher who had a leading role in “Titanic” and a TV series, and several professional athletes who have North Castle homes. I recently wrote about the late ABC News President Roone Arledge, and said “The hamlet of Armonk, NY has less than 4,500 people, but according to TIME magazine, it can claim two of the 100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century. My nominee for the premiere position in an Armonk Hall of Fame would be the other person on the TIME list. He is forgotten today but he significantly changed our town and the world. He paid for it many times over, so Byram Hills High School should have been named after him. For over 25 years his company was responsible for 45% of the town’s revenue base. My nominee suffered from clinical depression and dyslexia, and medications available today would have greatly helped him. He coped with “black periods,” but his years of lightning were impressive. Thomas J. Watson, Jr. was CEO of IBM for 20 years and in the late 1970’s served as Ambassador to the Soviet Union. Under his leadership IBM had a better than 30% compound growth rate which was maintained for over two decades. It is a record few business leaders have matched. He defied a majority of his Board several times. They wanted the new world headquarters in Garden City but he insisted on Armonk. It was an easy commute from his Greenwich, CT home, and IBM’s 50th anniversary in Armonk was in October. North Castle had wanted a high school for several years but it was a difficult financial challenge. The debate ended when IBM arrived, and what would become BHHS received the green light. In addition to taxes, they have been very generous to town charities. One example is Smith’s Tavern which has received over $200,000 from the company. Todays Information Age began with the development of the IBM 360 mainframe computer. Against the advice of his board, Watson made a $5 billion investment in this new technology. It made IBMs existing products obsolete, but revolutionized the world. An identification plaque on all of the early mainframes contains the words IBM - Armonk, NY. For most of the 20th century IBM employees had to conform to a dress code that required a dark (or gray) suit, white shirt, and a sincere tie. The dress code was relaxed in the mid-1990’s. Watson never lived in Armonk but I think it would be hard to name another person who has had such a major positive impact on the community. PHOTO: IBM Chairman Thomas J. Watson, Jr. dedicates the companys new world headquarters in Armonk on October 21, 1964.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 23:38:13 +0000
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