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A Sad Farewell - Jack Lyne In Memoriam

By Richard Kadzis posted Dec 05, 2011 12:05 PM

  
Thank you, Jack Lyne.

The real estate industry's most insightful and pithy journalist died suddenly December 3, and I want to express my appreciation to Jack personally.

For many years - over the course of 3 decades - Jack either ran or contributed to Site Selection magazine's editorial portfolio, helping make the publication's annual "Ranking of State Economic Climates" one of the most high-profile manifestations of corporate real estate.

Certainly from the standpoint of the vital location decisions companies make; decisions that bring jobs, payrolls, capital investments, expanded tax bases and other benefits to local communities, Jack's body of work over time also speaks volumes about his vision. It was and still is a narrative that the national and global business press find relevant.

Jack had the professional pedigree needed to realize the level of excellence he imparted on people who worked around him, including myself.

He wrote for CNN before he joined the staff of Conway Data, the company that owns and publishes Site Selection

His "Insider" weekly industry newsletter inspired my "Industry Tracker" concept for LEADER Magazine in the years that followed my migration to CoreNet Global.

It was Jack who published my first piece of reportage about corporate real estate. I clearly recall the story was about performance metrics, featuring the expertise of Keith Perske (then of Sun Microsystems) and David Clute (then of Cisco Systems). I was writing a mere web summary of Keith and Dave's workshop held at an IDRC World Congress, but Jack saw my potential in a more "camera ready" sense.

Jack literally married into the business, but not before proving himself inside Conway. My heart especially goes out to his wife Laura Lyne, who today runs Conway Data in the aftermath earlier this year of IDRC founder Mac Conway's death. Mac was Laura's father, and Jack's father in law.

Mac's knack for innovation rubbed off on Jack, who spoke eloquently and of course humorously of Mac's many contributions only a couple of months ago at a memorial service held in Atlanta.

Now, it is our turn to speak of Jack's contributions.

During the memorial service for Mac, the last thing I said to Jack was, "IDRC may be a thing of the past, but I hope we get a chance to collaborate again." I can still do that; only now in some cosmic, creative way.

Thank you, Jack, for helping show me the way down that path to creativity. Despite mergers and acquisitions, or competitive posturing, we're always connected.
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Dec 05, 2011 12:37 PM

Well written Richard.... and like so many others, Janet and I will miss Jack too!
John Dues