What Leahy's Peers Had To Say About Him
There is no Leahy Archives Collection that documents Emmett J. Leahy's career as a records management practitioner, promoter, and visionary. Consequently, any in depth understanding of Emmett J. Leahy must be gleaned from memos, letters, reports, and publications in a variety of archives repositories.
An intriguing aspect of Leahy's career is what his archives and records management peers had to say about him and his work. The absence of a collection of Leahy documentation makes this somewhat problematic. However, oral history interviews, the identification of extant correspondence with Leahy or about him can help compensate for this absence. Below are three instances of what Leahy's peers had to say about him. Several contemporaries of Leahy are still alive (Bill Benedon, Chris Cameron, and Bob Shiff) so it is possible that telephone interviews can be arranged with them.
Margaret Norton, Illinois State Archives (1953)
After her return from the 1953 Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archivists Norton prepared a written report containing observations about the meeting. Ed Leahy was not at the meeting and Ms. Norton noted:
"No one seemed to know just what Ed. Leahy is 'up to.' He withdrew from the non profit National Records Council and formed a company of his own to give records management services. As Herbert Keller said, 'Ed is either an opportunist out to make big money or he sees something bigger and more comprehensively than the rest of us, and I have a hunch it is the latter.'"
Herb Angel, National Archives and Records Service (1965)
Herb Angel, who had worked with Ed Leahy in the Navy Department during World War II, published a two page "In Memoriam" essay in The American Archivist entitled "Emmett Joseph Leahy 1910–1964." Angel concluded his essay with this assessment:
"Leahy's influence extended far beyond the Federal Government. Through his management consulting organizations he advised and assisted State and local governments, foreign governments, and numerous commercial clients. He lectured on records management at New York University and the University of California. He was active in the American Management Association, the American Historical Association, and the Society of American Archivists. He was a charter member of the Society, served for a period as reviews editor of The American Archivist, contributed articles to this journal, as previously noted was active in committee work, and was elected a Fellow of the Society.
"Far more could be said, but he will be remembered for two contributions. With his ambition, zeal, lively imagination, and a real flair for the dramatic, Leahy was for a quarter of a century, and in the best sense of the word, the foremost promoter of records management that the profession has ever known. His second legacy was his influence on his associates, whose loyalties he earned, whom he encouraged to develop and to apply their best talents to the task at hand, and who dozens of them — carry on today his crusade for better records management."
Ben L. Oliver (July 2006)
Ben Oliver, who is the 1978 recipient of the Leahy Award, recently recounted his impressions of Ed Leahy. In 1945 Oliver was asked to take on the task of organizing a records management program in the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships. He had no experience in records management (he was 21 years old) so he contacted Herb Angel and Ev Allredge, who succeeded Leahy in running the Navy Records Management program, for advice and guidance. Later Angel and Allredge invited Oliver to attend a meeting where Ed Leahy was the featured speaker. During his presentation, Leahy declared that records management needed young blood with new ideas and Oliver felt that Leahy was speaking directly to him. At the conclusion of the meeting, Oliver spoke to Leahy and told him that he was taking on a records management project and he could use all the help available. Leahy told him that Angel and Allredge were excellent sources but that he would be delighted to discuss records management issues with him. He gave Oliver his telephone number and told him to feel free to telephone him at any time.
Oliver never felt it necessary to contact Leahy directly as he implemented a successful records management program at the Bureau of Ships. Later Oliver brought his records management expertise to the newly established National Archives and Records Service. At his retirement in 1975 "Ben Oliver probably was the best known and widely respected records management in the federal service."
Ben Oliver's brief encounter in 1945 with Ed Leahy was the only time he talked with him. Nonetheless, Oliver kept track of what Leahy was doing (largely through Herb Angel and Ev Allredge) and strived to emulate Leahy as a records management practitioner, promoter, and visionary. Being named the 1978 Leahy Award Winner was a fitting cap to Oliver's illustrious records management career that would have made Ed Leahy proud.
William Benedon (December 2006)
William (Bill) Benedon, who is the recipient of the 1968 Emmett Leahy Award, recently recounted in his own words his impressions of Emmett J. Leahy
I was teaching junior-senior high school in the 1947-1950 period and taking my master's degree at NYU in accounting and foreign trade. I selected as my thesis “The Preservation of Accounting Records” (I don't really know why). I felt I didn't really want to be an accountant but I wondered what such practitioners did with all their records. Bob Schiff, a senior officer in the National Records Management Council (NAREMCO) was teaching at NYU at the time, had read my thesis because of the title, and suggested I make an appointment to meet Ed Leahy, president of NAREMCO and discuss a fellowship with the organization. Thus started a long and happy career in records management, but the real inspiration was my first meeting with Ed Leahy
I was impressed the moment I met him. He had an exciting gleam in his eyes, an award winning smile, and an air of dignity and knowledge. He immediately put me at ease with his relaxing approach to talking about me and my interests with his personal anecdotes injected as we went along. From that day forward I felt the confidence to make a mark in the records management profession. At the time Ed Leahy also operated the Leahy Business Archives (the first commercial records center system) and I spent the first six months as a records center clerk in that operation. Then I quickly graduated to consulting analyst and worked on projects at Union Carbide, Monsanto Chemical, the City of New York , Oneida Knitting Mills, and Mine Safety Appliances (my first solo operation). While I had the opportunity to work with such notables as Bob Schiff, Bob Weil, and Art Barken, Ed was always available for comments and concerns. He had a practice of taking his analysts out to lunch when they were in town at his favorite Irish restaurant on 23rd Street in New York . The purpose of such get-togethers was to make us feel a part of a great adventure into this exciting world of records management.
I had the opportunity to attend many of Ed Leahy's speeches and accompany him on visits to company president's offices to talk about impending projects. Each trip was a learning experience and critiques that followed these meetings left long-range values for individual growth. I was continually impressed with his ease of presentation and ability to sell his ideas to all levels of management. I remember his telling me that 80% of records management was salesmanship, making certain your clients felt at ease by listening to them and taking their ideas into account. Salesman extrodinaire, you bet, and only in the most positive manner.
With Ed Leahy as a mentor, success was guaranteed. He had the dedication, the personality, and the knowledge to inspire confidence and commitment. What better advocate could there have been to address the records management needs of business, government and industry.