This month I will be taking over the Spotlight column as I interview our regular columnist, Mel Weinzimer.
I first met Mel when we both attended Raytheon Program Management classes in the 70’s. We connected again when I served as Raytheon’s United Way Campaign Chairman. After a long stretch we connected once again when I joined the ARR Board of Directors. Mel has had an extraordinary career at Raytheon but what is even more interesting is his personal history. As he shared this with the board at a recent board meeting we felt strongly that he should share his story with our membership.
Mel joined Raytheon in 1968, a year when Missile Systems Division was ramping up its hiring to support the newly won SAM-D program. Mel started in the Radar Systems Lab of Bedford Laboratories as a bench engineer, held subsequent positions as Section Manager, and Lead Engineer. He joined the Advanced Systems Center of Missile Systems Division as a Program Manager. He then spent the next 10 years in the Standard Missile Program Office, serving as Software Lead for the Block IV Program and then Program Manager for the SM-3 Program. When all Standard Missile programs were transferred to Missile Systems in Tucson in 1999 Mel transferred to Network Centric Systems in Marlborough, MA where he joined the Air Traffic Management Group.
Mel retired in 2006 as a Director, Radar Systems and Surveillance, at Network Centric Systems. Despite being retired Mel keeps busy serving on a number of Boards including our own ARR, volunteering as part of RSVA at a local Middle School, and teaching part time. His 50 years at Raytheon have been filled with interesting and challenging assignments and his personal history is a remarkable one.
WJ: Tell me a little about yourself.
MW: I’ll start with my personal history since you and the board were so fascinated by it. My twin brother and I were born in a UN-operated refugee camp in Eshwege, Germany in 1946 just after WWII ended. My parents were holocaust survivors. At the start of the war, when the Germans invaded, they left their native Poland, headed East to Russia where they were immediately arrested, imprisoned and sent to Siberia to a work camp. As the war ended, they were freed, and returned to their native Poland to look for their families. None had survived. They lost their parents, brothers, sisters and even children. They made their way to Germany and found refuge at a UN-operated refugee camp in 1945. My brother and I were born there in 1946. My father had two brothers and a sister that were living in New York and had immigrated to the US before the war started. They sponsored us. Immigration quotas for Displaced Persons were significantly increased through a Directive signed by President Harry Truman and my family was issued Visas to enter the United States. In October 1947, we arrived in New York on the SS Marine Flasher, a converted troop carrier, which had departed from Bremen, Germany. With the help of HIAS, the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society, we were settled in The Bronx, New York, close to my uncles and aunts and began our lives in the United States of America. Our story is a familiar one to so many immigrant families: learning the language, parents getting a job, fitting in with the culture, moving from a small to larger apartment, then to house, sending the first generation off to college.
I went to a small but well respected Engineering School, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, earned my degree in Electrical Engineering, married after graduation, and continued at the University of Pennsylvania where I earned my Master’s Degree. I was hired by Raytheon, Missile Systems Division, Bedford Labs, in June, 1968 and began my 38 year career at Raytheon. I retired in 2006 and have truly enjoyed these retirement years. I continued to work for Raytheon as a contractor for an additional 12 years, culminating 50 years with Raytheon.
WJ: Where do you make home now and what do you do to keep busy?
MW: We live in Framingham, MA our home of 46 years. Since I’ve retired, my wife and I spend our summers in New England and our winters in Deerfield Beach, Florida, escaping the cold and snow. We have a small condo at a large retirement community and I stay busy playing tennis daily, serving on my Condo and Tennis Club boards, and visiting with our many friends that also come to Florida during the winter. This of course includes our kids and grandkids who always visit during school breaks.
During the non-winter months, when I’m up North, I keep busy with lots of activities. I volunteer at the Middle School in my community where I helped start a Robotics club a number of years ago. The club has been very successful, growing from a handful of students to seventy five students. They have competed in the VEX Robotics World Championships during the last three years and have again qualified to compete this year. It’s been a very rewarding experience. I’ve also volunteered in the school’s math club. Besides serving on the ARR board I’m also a board member of the Retirees School Volunteer Association, a group of Raytheon retirees who volunteer in local schools in their communities.
Before I retired I taught a number of different courses at Raytheon’s in-house Program Management course held at Babson College, Wellesley, MA. Following retirement I continued to teach there. I also teach at the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) at their San Diego and Huntsville campuses as a visiting lecturer for their PMT401 Program Management class.
My three kids and their families, including five grandchildren, all live in the New York City area and we visit them often. During my remaining free time I play tennis and take care of my house. We also spend time on Cape Cod where my daughter has a summer home.
WJ: Who are the leaders that you worked with that you most admired at Raytheon? What were your most interesting assignments?
MW: I’ve had many bosses during my Raytheon career and for the most part, they have been excellent. They steered me to interesting assignments, provided guidance and leadership, gave me the opportunity to take management courses and encouraged me to advance my career. At Bedford Labs I recall Ed Segerra, Jack Perkins, Frank Ricciardi. At the Advanced Systems Center I worked for Stan Sharenson, Henry Zuerndorfer. Bob Whellock, and Harold Geller. I also worked briefly for Peter Ventresca and Alex Veliko.
I joined the Standard Missile Program Office in 1990 working for John Brecken on a number of assignments. He was a terrific PM. John Matuszewski and Frank Marchilena followed John Brecken after he retired. Frank was a great PM, and he helped get the SM-2 Block IV Missile program successfully through DT/OT Tests and production approval. At NCS, I worked under Mike Hoeffler, Bob Eckel and Andy Zogg.
I’ve had many interesting assignments during my Raytheon career: flight testing a new missile seeker in Raytheon’s B-26 aircraft; spending over 50 hours flying in circles in a C-130 gunship aircraft evaluating a new radar gun control system, contributing to the development of a new active seeker for the Navy’s Standard Missile. But my most interesting and challenging assignment involved not missile technology but the completion of a natural gas-fueled power plant that Raytheon was obligated to complete following the sale of Raytheon Engineers and Constructors. I spent a year in Weymouth, MA leading a management team that was overseeing the plant construction. It was quite an experience.
WJ: There’s a saying that scientists discover things but engineers make things that change the world. What did you do to change the world that you are most proud of?
MW: When I look back on my career and the many projects that I worked on, there are three that stand out: completing the Power Plant in Weymouth, the SM-3 program and the STARS program. The Weymouth plant provides power for over 75,000 homes. When I fly into Logan airport, I can usually see it from the air and I feel proud that I helped put it there and get in on line. SM-3 started as a joint program between Raytheon, Hughes and Standard Missile Company. It was a real challenge to put this team of competing companies together, establish work share, integrate our product teams and work together constructively. We were successful and the program is now in its 24th year. It brought in billions for the company and more importantly it provided a reliable sea based ballistic missile interceptor for the Navy and is deployed on AEGIS cruisers providing missile defense for the fleet. The STARS program provided modern, reliable computers and displays for use by air traffic controllers at airports throughout the USA and overseas. This was a tough program with a demanding customer, the FAA. First deployed at Eglin Air Force Base and Philadelphia Airports, STARS systems are now deployed at over 300 civilian and military air traffic control centers (TRACONS) across the country. When your aircraft is taking off or landing, the air traffic controller is using the Raytheon-developed STARS system to help guide you safely.
I was involved in two other activities worth mentioning. Under Ray Snay I helped start a Toastmasters Club at Bedford labs. We helped many employees overcome their fear of public speaking through that program. I also served as Company-wide United Way Chairman helping to raise funds at Raytheon sites throughout the US.
Following my retirement, I’m most proud of having helped to continue the operation of the Association of Raytheon Retirees. In 2007 the organization was almost disbanded but a handful of retirees led by Bob Hamilton agreed to continue to lead the organization. We have helped countless retirees resolve pension, medical and insurance issues. We improved the relationship between the ARR and Raytheon Company and we’ve held annual meetings that have been fun, educational, informative, and have served to connect retirees with their coworkers and friends. I think we’ve done a lot of good.
WJ: Do you stay in touch with any of the people that you had worked with at Raytheon?
MW: I attend monthly luncheons with retirees from the Air Traffic Management Group at Marlboro that I worked with. Mort Cohen has organized these monthly luncheons for over 15 years. Of course I see many folks I worked with at our Annual ARR meetings held in May. Some go back to my early days at Raytheon including Dick Greene, Bill Sciaretta, Rod Hersh, Peter Cerniglia and lots of others. I also see Ray Snay, a coworker, friend and mentor.
WJ: Would you like your fellow retirees to contact you? If yes, how can they reach you?
MW: They can contact me via email at melweinzimer@yahoo.com or through the Association of Raytheon Retirees at mel@raytheonretirees.org. I’d love to hear from anyone that I’ve worked with.