Edited
by Frank R. Shaw, FSA Scot, Dawsonville, GA, USA
Email:
jurascot@earthlink.net
John P. Imlay, Jr
At our monthly meeting of
the Burns Club of Atlanta this week, a guest of member Bill Tucker was
introduced. He was none other than John Imlay, a prominent Atlanta
businessman who “is considered a leading authority and pioneer in the
software industry”. Before going any farther though, let me tell you a bit
about this Scotsman as shared by Mr. Imlay’s assistant, Barbara Brooks, and
thank her for this insight.
“Mr. and Mrs. Imlay live in
Scotland four months of the year each summer. They own a manor house,
Westerdunes, in North Berwick. The North Berwick Burns' Club is the oldest
of the Burns' Clubs and John has attended several Burns' dinners at that
club.
Photograph courtesy of Burns Club Newsletter
Editor Bill Tucker
While reviewing the Imlay
family genealogy they discovered a poet, John Imlah, from Aberdeen,
Scotland, circa 1840. Ten years ago, some friends of theirs found a book of
poetry by Mr. Imlah and this book included the poem on Burns. The most
famous poem/song of his was "O! Gin I Were Where Gadie Rins," which is a
staple wherever the bagpipes are played in Scotland.
Mr. Imlay appreciated the opportunity to read John Imlah's Burns' poem and
enjoyed meeting all of you.”
I went a step farther and
checked with my old friend George F. Black, author of The Surnames
of Scotland which was first published in 1946. Black describes the name
Imlay as “a softened form of Imlach, q.v. Agnes Imelie was
burnt for witchcraft in Aberdeen in 1597”. We can’t stop with this tidbit
of information since we are referred by Black to Imlach in
which we find the name John Imlah (1799 -1846), poet born in Aberdeen, who
was author of “O gin I were where Gadie runs”, referenced above by Ms.
Brooks.
Photograph by talented fiddler and Burns Club
member Keith Dunn
John P. Imlay, Jr. is
Chairman of Imlay Investments, Inc., a private investment firm which manages
capital and provides venture funds for small technology companies. Imlay
chaired the software industry association and has been a prominent spokesman
for the computer services industry for twenty years.
Imlay is the retired
Chairman and CEO of Management Science America, Inc. (MSA). MSA was among
the top ten software companies in the world with 60 offices worldwide and
over 12,000 customers. Under his leadership, the company grew from $2
million in revenue in 1970 to $280 million in 1989 when the company was
purchased by The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation. Imlay directed the merger of
MSA and McCormack and Dodge, an existing division of Dun & Bradstreet, into
Dun & Bradstreet Software and served as Chairman for six years until his
retirement in 1996.
Upon selling the company,
Imlay formed Imlay Investments and The Imlay Foundation. He currently
serves on the board of the Atlanta Falcons and is a minority owner of the
Atlanta Falcons.
Before heading MSA, Imlay
held various positions at Univac and Honeywell. He holds a bachelors degree
in industrial management from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an
honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Mercer University. In 1994 Imlay was
inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame for Georgia and in 1997 received
the Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.
John Imlay is author of the
management book, Jungle Rules, published in the United States by
Dutton, October 1994, and internationally by Kogan Page (London), November,
1996.
Club Affiliations
United States: Scotland:
Peachtree Golf Club Royal
and Ancient
Atlanta Athletic Club Honourable Company of Edimburgh Golfers
East Lake Golf Club Royal Troon
Honors Course North Berwick
Capital City Club Loch Lomond
Archerfield
Renaissance
I have often heard people
read a poem on Burns that an ancestor wrote or even ones they wrote
themselves and wondered why. Why would they write a poem on Burns? There
really is nothing new to say about him that has not been said in one form or
fashion years ago. Many of them are extremely sentimental and too mushy. So
I must confess that I was not too excited about a guest of the club reading
another tribute to Burns, even if it was written in 1841. I have a second
confession to make. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Before Mr. Imlay got
through his first page, I was hooked! When the club paused for a break, I
made my way over to him, congratulated him on the poem, and requested a copy
to share in the pages of Robert Burns Lives! and he readily
agreed. Not even 24 hours had passed before I had it in hand. I then
inquired about a bio and a bit or two of information about Mr. Imlay and his
Scottish connections and followed that up with a request for a photo as
well. All arrived in a timely fashion with the picture coming within minutes
of my email to Ms. Brooks.
The Burns Club of Atlanta,
founded in 1896, is a unique Burns group. One is always in for a treat when
attending the meetings as our speakers seem to go all out to address this
club whose clubhouse was first occupied in 1911. Not only is it a treat to
listen to guest speakers, but our membership is usually treated to an
interesting evening when members themselves give a talk. I have seen
speakers from Scotland stand almost dumbfounded when they set foot in the
building for the first time, a structure that was built like the Scottish
home in Ayr where Burns was born in during the 18th century.
Usually the first thing they do is grab their cameras and begin taking
pictures.
We deeply appreciate John
Imlay sharing this family heirloom with us and will welcome him back to the
Burns Club of Atlanta anytime he chooses to speak to us. (FRS: 9.11.13)
Poems and Songs
By John Imlah (1841)
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