Morrow, Baxley both ‘blessed’ by friendship with Meadlock

When 92-year-old Jim Meadlock died last month, Alabama lost a pioneer who played a primary role in developing the City of Huntsville’s rise as a technology center, as well as a man who founded one of Alabama’s most important technology companies, Intergraph.

Meadlock passed away August 30th at his home in Palm Beach County, Fla.

He packed a lifetime of significant accomplishments into his 92 years. You won’t find many men more connected in business, technology, government, entertainment and tourism.

And former Franklin County State Representative Johnny Mack Morrow calls it a blessing to have met Meadlock and developed a friendship with this amazing man.

“I knew Jim because when I served as chairman of the House Standing Committee on Tourism and Travel, Jim Meadlock became heavily invested in Alabama tourism when he purchased Perdido Beach Resort at Orange Beach,” Morrow said.

When Meadlock and his wife Cindy moved into the building in Perdido Key, Fla., where Morrow and his wife Martha’s beach home is located, the couples soon became friends.

Both Martha and Cindy would assume leadership roles in the home owners association at Perdido Key, which meant Morrow and Meadlock spent a good bit of time together supporting their wives.

In those many conversations, Morrow learned so much about this humble, well-connected man, and their friendship quickly grew.

Meadlock shared stories about his days at North Carolina State, where he played both football and baseball. Meadlock reminisced about his friendship with Wernher Von Braun and the Apollo astronauts, which he developed during his time working on the Apollo space program developing software that would be critical to the mission.

Years after their mission ended, the Apollo astronauts came together each year for a reunion. Other than their spouses, no one else was invited except two people—Meadlock and singer John Denver, both on the guest list each year.

Morrow learned about Meadlock’s many governmental and political connections, though he never discussed his personal views on politics. Meadlock recalled his friendship with Adolf Hitler’s personal pilot, whom Meadlock met in Huntsville.

Meadlock shared about his ownership of a vineyard and winery in Napa Valley, California, and a visit to the Meadlock home always included a glass of their Napa Valley wine, Morrow said.

Morrow found himself captivated by Meadlock’s many accomplishments and connections, though his humble friend hardly scratched the surface of that long list.

“There are some people you meet in your life who leave an impression because of what they have accomplished. Then there are those rare people who leave an impression because of who they are. Jim Meadlock was both to me,” Morrow said.

“My friendship with Jim gave me an opportunity to know a man who was an extraordinary businessman and innovator, but who never seemed to measure his life simply by his accomplishments,” Morrow added.

Meadlock’s M&S Computing, founded in 1969 as a private computer and engineering consulting firm, later shifted into interactive computer graphics and hardware/software systems, and was renamed Intergraph Corporation in 1980. Intergraph became an integral part of Huntsville’s development into one of the country’s primary centers of aerospace and technology.

Intergraph saw rapid, massive growth, topping $1.2 billion in revenues in 1991, nine years before Meadlock would resign as Intergraph CEO.

When Meadlock purchased the Perdido Beach Resort, former Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley, now in private practice, represented the hotel in its legal matters.

Meadlock bought into Perdido with 50% ownership as a silent partner. But he didn’t remain silent for long, as Baxley explained.

“After he bought out the others, Jim became a hands-on owner. The first thing he wanted to change was Perdido’s affiliation as a Hilton hotel, something that preceded Meadlock’s ownership.

“I was already representing the hotel so that’s how I got to know Jim,” Baxley said. “He wanted to get rid of Hilton. He couldn’t stand thinking Hilton was the boss of the hotel when he owned 100% of it. He wanted me to look for a way to kick Hilton out.

“I reviewed the agreement signed by the previous owner before I represented the hotel and it was going to be very difficult to get out of. I told him I didn’t think he could do it, but he just said for me to keep looking until I found a way,” Baxley added.

Meadlock insisted that Baxley file suit against Hilton, so they did in federal court. A jury trial was set in Mobile and Baxley told his client what he needed to do to relate to the men and women on the jury.

“I said, Jim, you’re going to have to come in and sit with me in this courtroom every day so you will know we are doing everything we can,” Baxley said. “The other side will try to paint you as a rich guy who knows nothing about hotels. You’re going to have to help me bring in the boxes every day and let them see you working with your sleeves rolled up.

“He ended up getting a kick out of doing it, and we ended up winning the case—Hilton was gone. After that, Jim decided he liked me enough to keep me on and we got to be friends. Jim was genuine. There wasn’t a bone of pretension about him. He was the most honest person I’ve ever known,” Baxley added.

Baxley, now doing mediation full-time out of his Birmingham-area office, recalls Meadlock as being extremely generous in supporting charitable causes with no fanfare or self-promotion.

“He was truly a wonderful person and I considered him a wonderful friend,” Baxley said.

Meadlock’s expertise in software design and engineering aided not only the space program, but the airline industry, 911 emergency systems and our national defense.

But what Morrow mostly learned from his friend wasn’t about his many accomplishments.

“Having spent much of my own life in public service, I have met a great many people over the years who were successful, influential and accomplished,” Morrow said. “But I learned that success and character are not necessarily the same thing.

“Jim Meadlock was one of those people for whom the two came together. He had tremendous accomplishments, but he also possessed a humility and decency that I admired. I’m particularly grateful that the opportunity I had to know him came during the years when he was no longer simply building a company or pursuing professional success. I got to know Jim Meadlock as a friend. That is a much more personal thing, and to me, it is much more important,” Morrow said. “I will remember Jim with affection, gratitude and enormous respect. I am proud to have called him my friend, and I consider having known him one of the privileges of my life. He represents an important part of Alabama’s history, and Huntsville’s extraordinary rise as a center of technology and aerospace. His contributions to that story should be remembered, but those of us who knew him personally will remember something more—We will remember the man. His accomplishments made a difference to Huntsville and Alabama...His friendship made a difference to me.”