Alumnus of the Year 2007
Thomas G. McClay '67
Milton Hershey School® (MHS) has named the president and owner of five successful electronics businesses, Thomas G. McClay of Hershey, as the 2007 Alumnus of the Year. This year marks the 53rd anniversary of the award.
Recipients have demonstrated humanitarianism and exemplary service to others, achieved distinguished service in their careers, and have demonstrated high standards of achievement, both personally and professionally. The Alumnus of the Year serves as a role model for MHS students and an example of achievement to which they can aspire.
McClay, a 1967 graduate of MHS, enrolled at the School in 1953 at the age of four from Upper Darby. His brothers, John '59 and Barry '64, had already been enrolled, following their father's death on the job in the railroad industry.
Enrolled in the School's electronics program, McClay says his career success began with a conversation with a teacher and mentor at MHS. He said that the late Ken Cook and he discussed electronics and the role they would have in the future.
"Ken Cook had a real vision of the future," said McClay. "He told me that one day computers would be so small that everyone could own one."
Following graduation from MHS, McClay earned an associate's degree in engineering from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston in 1970 and a bachelor's degree through a cooperative program between Wentworth College and Northeastern University in 1972.
He began his career as a computer system design engineer with Honeywell Controls Co. in Harrisburg and started his first business in 1976. Today, his companies operate out of Hazleton, Williamsport, and Philadelphia, PA; Atlantic City, NJ; Wilmington, DE; Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville, and Cape Canaveral, FL; and Vandenberg AFB, CA, with company headquarters in Steelton.
In 2006, his businesses grossed more than $250 million and employ more than 350 people nationwide. His companies serve schools, hospitals, prisons, federal and state governments, and the biochemical manufacturing industry for building automation, energy management, fire alarm and security, automatic temperature control, and space launch guidance systems.
Today, McClay enjoys giving back to his alma mater by sharing his expertise as a Career Day speaker and having MHS student interns work at his companies. In the greater community, he has been an active volunteer for the American Red Cross, the YMCA, the National MS Society, United Cerebral Palsy, the Central PA Food Bank, the Bethesda Mission, and the American Lung Association.
He resides in Hershey with his wife Mary Beth. He is the father of three children, John, age 33; Kelly, age 23; and Alison, who passed away following an auto accident in 1998.
