James S. McDonnell (3 of 4)
A Friend of the Community
Through the family and company philanthropic funds, Mr. Mac oversaw the distribution of millions of dollars for charity and for scientific and medical research. He helped provide seed money for the construction of the landmark McDonnell Planetarium in St. Louis. This spirit of giving lives on in the Boeing Employees Community Fund and the Boeing-McDonnell Foundation. Boeing and the Boeing-McDonnell Foundation, for example, recently pledged $3 million for the renovation of the Planetarium into a space-age learning center.
From A Foundation of Strength
Mr. Mac believed that "peace must be waged from a foundation of strength." He devoted considerable energy to fostering acceptance of the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. There is nothing contradictory, he said, "about supporting preparedness as the surest safeguard against war and supporting the United Nations. They mark the surest road to peace." In 1958, his company became the first in the world to observe UN Day as a paid holiday, a practice which continued until the late 1980s.
In The Spirit of Team Work
Mr. Mac considered all employees to be members of the team. So in his first address over the new company's public address system, Mr. Mac talked to his "teammates" in the deliberate halting speech pattern that grew so familiar over the years. He sponsored company picnics, sports leagues and recreational clubs to promote camaraderie. And he never hesitated to pitch in. During World War II, when workers were in short supply, "Mr. Mac would buck rivets and when your partner showed up, he'd sweep up the chips," a retiree recalled.