In Memoriam
|
|
Harold Gray, Ph.D.
R.I.P., Dr. Harold Gray By P. Michæl Young It was only late in the spring of 2003 that we belatedly learned of the passing of the Founder of Executive Writing Services, former University of Nebraska at Omaha Professor of Business Administration, Dr. Harold Gray. The university website carried the following obituary notice. “Flag Lowering” “Flags will be lowered to half-staff today, March 10, in honor of UNO retiree Harold Gray, who passed away March 3 at the age of 89. Dr. Gray, a professor in the University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Business Administration, retired in 1985. He had been with the university for more than 12 years.” I met Hal Gray in summer of 1986. He had placed an ad under the businesses for sale section of the Omaha World-Herald. I was very skeptical about buying a résumé service. My experience was that résumé services are nothing but clueless résumé MILLS, places where you go to have “something typed up.” Having studied direct mail marketing in journalism school, I realized that a résumé can be the gateway to a job interview, OR it can be a barrier! At that time, I held all résumé services in utter contempt! I realized that a résumé is a first impression that can lead to a lasting impression and an interview, OR it can be a last impression . I was pleasantly surprised at what I encountered when I visited Dr. Gray's professional office at 7701 Pacific in Omaha , Nebraska . Having administered a law office for many years previous to this venture, I was immediately impressed by the professionalism of Dr. Gray's office. Here was a consultancy , not just another paper mill. Dr. Gray and his capable wife and partner Joy Gray considered their people CLIENTS, not customers. Each client was given a confidential consultation and a résumé was then authored, tailored and designed in order to showcase each employment candidate's unique experience, expertise, education, qualifications, achievements and capabilities. Underline those words: qualifications, achievements and capabilities . In short, Hal and Joy Gray provided their clients with résumés that were employment marketing tools, not mere cookie-cutter outlines with dates and canned job descriptions. The Grays expressed to me their primary concern that their business should pass into capable hands. The last thing that they wanted was for yet another clueless clerk-typist with no grammar, punctuation, spelling or writing skills, much less employment marketing skills, to sully the professional reputation they had worked so hard to establish since 1981. It was a meeting of the minds. We met. We negotiated. We decided that this was a good match of talent to need. The rest is history. Since 1986 Executive Writing Services has catapulted from 2000 résumés stored on computer disk to over 27,000 -- now in 50 states and over 20 countries, most recently including Iraq and Japan . Today 45% of my new clients are referrals from old clients. After retiring from teaching at UNO and from Executive Writing Services, Dr. Gray pursued a successful second career designing and launching training centers nationwide for the United States Air Force for many years. During this time, and after, he continued to author textbooks that are still in use in colleges nationwide. Unlike so many professors of Business Administration, he was a businessman himself , and Executive Writing Services is a large part of his legacy. We remember “the Prof” for his astute business acumen, his wry wit, his sharp, natty attire and his athletic lifestyle. On his 70th birthday he and his daughter climbed and conquered Mount Gray in Colorado . Dr. Gray swam laps every day at the gym and played tennis well into his 80s. He was the epitome of joie de vivre -- of carpe diem -- of living life at its fullest. We mourn the passing of Dr. Harold Gray, and we honor him as an educator, entrepreneur, employment marketing counselor and mentor to untold thousands. And friend. We strive to continue his legacy. P. Michæl Young |
|
