PROFILE: John Lynch
From kayaking each day on Charlotte Harbor with his lovely wife, Debbie, to biking through the streets of Boca Grande, to overseeing the fundraising efforts of A Better Shot at Lemon Bay Golf Club, John Lynch is a man of vision and a man of action.
“I’m a bike rider, I’m an exerciser, so I have to keep moving,” John explained. “I enjoy keeping busy. And could you find a better place than Boca Grande to be an outdoorsman?”
John Lynch isn’t just a man of vision, he’s a force of nature, and his positivity is downright contagious.
Born in Chicago, John didn’t stay in the windy city for long, moving to Virginia at the age of 3. His family finally settled in Pittsburgh, PA, in a small town called Crafton, where he spent his formative years.
“I moved to Crafton in second grade, graduated from high school, and went to Duquesne University where I got a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy,” he explained. “That’s where I met my wife, Debbie, who also graduated from Duquesne University. We married in 1981 and moved to Scottsdale, Ariz.”
Today, we take for granted the process of going to the doctor, getting our prescription sent to the Pharmacy, and having it filled, the process completely computerized. John Lynch was at the forefront of this technology.
John started his career as a pharmacist with Walgreens in Scottsdale, Ariz., and was soon promoted to store manager.
“I got a bug for computers because Walgreens was just going into computers around the country. This was at the time when we were filling prescriptions on typewriters. We wanted to move away from that to computers, and they asked if I would lead the project in implementing a system across the country, starting in Arizona.”
The project was massive, but John gave it his all.
“I didn’t know much about computers: They did a nice job of teaching me how to get started in that area, and it was very successful,” he recalled.
So successful that Walgreens asked if John would be interested in going to Florida to continue to train other locations.
“I said, ‘I got a wife, you know, and she’s working out here, so there’s just no way I could spend half of a year traveling state to state.’”
So Walgreens brought the mountain to Mohammed, sending pharmacists to Arizona so that John could train the employees. “I started training all of the states on what we did and how we did it, and boom, next thing you know, the entire country is computerized.”
John and Debbie were happily settled in Scottsdale until fate stepped in with a call from John’s father.
“Walgreens had me on this executive program, and I had a nice career going. Then my dad asked, ‘Will you come back and work with me in my business?’ When your dad asks you to join his business, you do it.”
John’s father had started a business in 1972 called ECSI, a business that provided software services to colleges and institutions.
“My father came out to Scottsdale and asked me if I’d be interested in getting involved in his business,” he said. “So in 1989, I came back to Pittsburgh and started working at ECSI. My wife wasn’t pleased about that move.”
John dug in and learned the business from the bottom up. “ECSI centered around the college business office. We managed all their student loan programs and their tuition payment plans. Everything that happened in the business office, we provided those software services.”
Decades ahead of their time, ECSI was at the forefront of computerizing the college student loan and financial systems. John found himself, once again, in the computer industry years before the first personal computers hit the mainstream market.
“Computers were starting, and it was more of a mainframe world,” he said. “This was when computers took up a whole room and did very little computing. How that has all changed from that point to where we are today is incredible. But my dad, he had this vision back in 1972 that maybe there’s something here, and he jumped in.”
As in all new, groundbreaking enterprises, the road was rough. “It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, and we struggled. I jumped into something that I truly had no clue. I wasn’t sure if I had made the right move.”
John put all of his positive energy to work, went back to school and learned to do computer programming, and designed with his team, a lot of the software still being used today.
“I was watching what the competition was doing, and we were beating them. The next thing you know, we were knocking the country dead and taking over everywhere.”
When John joined his father in 1989, they had 40 colleges and universities. When John sold the business in December 2012, they had 2,200 colleges and universities in all 50 states.
“Unfortunately, my dad died in January of 2000 and he never got to see the incredible growth, but he was the start of that business,” John said, wistfully.
In December of 2012, John received a call from Heartland Payment Systems, a Fortune 500 company, asking to buy his business. “I said, ‘Thank you, that’s flattering, but the business is great, and I love what I’m doing.’ And they said, ‘How about if we offered you money that you couldn’t refuse?’
“I said, ‘Well, then I’d be very interested.’”
John sold ECSI in December 2012 and stayed on as a consultant through most of 2016 and has since retired.
“I don’t think anybody can go from running a company seven days a week and building a business to the size that we were, and then just stop and do nothing.”
Since his retirement, John has kept active with investments.
“I’m invested now in several different drug companies with two drugs going through FDA approval right now; I’m into manufacturing and with a company that makes motherboards and so forth. I mentor as well as sit on several boards.”
A friend asked John to come down and see this place called Boca Grande. “I asked him, ‘You mean Boca Raton?’ And he said, ‘No, I said Boca Grande.’ I hadn’t heard of the place, so we looked on the map, and there it was, Boca Grande.”
John and Debbie came down eight years ago to check it out. “I said, ‘Boy, this isn’t Florida! Boca Grande is different, so laid back and cool.’”
John and Debbie rented for a month, then rented for six weeks and eventually bought a home in Boca Bay, with Charlotte Harbor as their backyard. “We love where we are and everything about this area. We’re just so happy here.”
John has several hobbies, but his passion is golf. “I’m a member at Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh, Laurel Valley Golf Club in Pittsburgh, and Allegheny Country Club. Debbie doesn’t understand would anybody needs three clubs. Now that I’m here, I immediately joined Lemon Bay Golf Club.”
John’s talent for computers, his passion for mentoring and his experience and knowledge with college student loans have now come full circle with his work with Lemon Bay Golf Club’s A Better Shot scholarship program.
“This is something near and dear to my heart. I worked in the student loan business for 25 years with colleges and universities, and I truly understand the ins and outs. I saw firsthand the struggles of a kid trying to put money together to go to college. When I learned about A Better Shot, I knew this was right up my alley.
“When Kim Honey started this program 25 years ago, it was originally about providing scholarships to colleges and universities. Today we recognize that a college education isn’t for everybody, and there are great trade schools where you can make great money and have a great career. We have monies available for these trade programs, for community colleges, whatever the case might be. Our country needs more tradespeople.”
John is on the committee organizing the A Better Shot Golf Foundation, which is holding its First Annual Auction on Friday, March 18. The event will occur the evening before the Better Shot Golf Tournament scheduled for the next day, Saturday, March 19, at the Lemon Bay Golf Club.
“Once I learned about this program, I jumped in right away. I want to watch this thing grow. Someday, I hope we can give 50 kids full scholarships, and watch what happens to a person who doesn’t have any college debt. We’re over a trillion dollars in college student loan debt across the country.”
With mentoring, kayaking, four golf clubs and working with A Better Shot, John and Debbie still find time for other hobbies. “We love to travel, and I love to read. We enjoy wine and love to socialize with fellow wine drinkers.”
John and Debbie are looking forward to traveling to Europe. “Our goal is to be able to see a little bit more of Europe. Debbie wants to go back to Italy, Lake Como, and the Amalfi Coast.”
In the meantime, John is focused on A Better Shot. “It’s my field of expertise. We’re raising money, getting better each year, so we can do a little more to help the children in need. It’s one of those philanthropy pieces that means a great deal to me. It’s how I want to give my money and spend my energy and time. It all fits in perfectly with A Better Shot.”
