Lee Moore -- in for a Penny, in for a Career
January 2, 2000, article one

PIX# 1 Meeting Mr. Penney Former Fostorian Lee Moore looks on while his wife, Pat, shakes hands with J.C. Penney's founder, Mr. Penney at Mr. Penney's 95th birthday. Moore worked for J.C. Penney from 1941-79, working his way up to being a director of the company.

In 1941, Fostorian Lee Moore was applying for a job in Troy. The application asked why he wanted the position.

He wrote, "to get out of blind alley jobs." He succeeded.

The job he was applying for was with the J.C. Penney Co., the same company he retired from in 1979.

Any new employee is eager for that first paycheck. Lee, however, had very special plans for his. He used it to buy an engagement ring for a girl named Pat.

Lee "Junior" Moore graduated from Fostoria High School in 1937. He married Pat Miller (FHS, '40) and they have three children.

"The paycheck wasn't very big, but neither was the ring," said Lee. "But I have great memories of that time in my life."

So his new career at Penney's was off to a good start. It was a sign of better things to come.

In 1953, he was promoted to manager of the St. Louis store. In 1960, he was brought into the New York office as sales manager. By 1967, he was a vice president.

But it was in 1971, that Lee's career took a major turn. He was sent to Belgium as president of Sarma, a retail company Penney's acquired the year before.

It was Lee's second experience overseas. Right after he took that first job in Troy, his plans were detoured when America entered World War II.

"As a member of the U.S. Air Force, I went to Europe in 1943 after teaching meteorology in the States for two years," he said. "I was assigned the task of setting up weather reporting stations in Alaska, North Africa and southern Europe.

"In 1975, I was sent to Brussels, Belgium as president of Sarma---There was no culture shock! Both occasions broadened the circle of friends and provided great memories for the present."

Lee spent four years with Sarma before returning to this country. He was elected executive vice president in 1975 and a J.C. Penney director a year later.

That's a lot of success, though Lee is unassuming about it all.

"I've never considered anything about myself spectacular. I just tried to do each personal assignment to the absolute best of my ability," he said. "At Penney's, I was just blessed with working around people who made me look smart."

And people, in spite of all the changes that have occurred in the workplace, are still the indispensable ingredient for success in the business world as far as Lee is concerned.

The element of people is still the most important thing at Penney's, even in our high-tech society," Lee said. "Things change more rapidly because of the computer age and all, but from what I've seen, Penney's people still rely on one another a lot and that reliance lingers after retirement."

Lee said his two "European sojourns are best described by two words -- busy and pleasant!"

Consequently, it's hardly surprising that much of his retirement is taken up with travel.

"I love travel. In almost anyplace, you can discover something new," he said.

If that's true, the Moores' have discovered enough to last a lifetime.

Their journeys have taken them to the Caribbean, Jamaica, Alaska, the West Coast, England, Scotland and Mexico. They divide their non-travel time between homes in Connecticut and Florida.

Retirement notwithstanding, Lee maintains ties with Penney's and the people he worked with.

"Its people," he said, "have always set Penney's apart from other companies. When I started with the company in 1941, the associates were much more important to me than the company's balance sheet. Friendships really tied me to the company.

"These same friendships are still important in retirement. Lingering friendships with Penney people are and always will be a major part of my life."

(Material for this article was gathered from J.C. Penney's H.C.S.C. Partners newsletter Feb./March 1989, a conversation with Clarence and Jean Jacob and correspondence with Mr. Moore.)