HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 7853
City of Palo Alto (ID # 7853)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Special Orders of the Day Meeting Date: 3/20/2017
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: Proclamation in Honor of Roy Clay
Title: Proclamation of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Honoring Roy Clay
From: City Manager
Lead Department: City Clerk
Attachments:
Attachment A: Proclamation Honoring Roy Clay
Proclamation
Honoring Roy Clay
WHEREAS, Palo Alto is honored to recognize long-time Palo Alto resident Roy Clay as a technology
pioneer who made significant professional contributions to the rise of the computer and software industries in
the community we now know as Silicon Valley; and
WHEREAS, Roy Clay, who grew up in Missouri and arrived in Palo Alto in 1962, became the first African-
American hired locally in high tech and went on to establish the software development facility at Hewlett
Packard, managed the company’s emerging computer division, and aided in HP’s emergence as a computer
company; and
WHEREAS, Roy Clay was a guiding hand behind a venture capital firm’s technology investments in
emerging companies like Tandem, Compaq and Intel; and
WHEREAS, because of the impact of his work, Roy Clay became known as the Godfather of Silicon Valley,
and in 2003 was inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Council’s Hall of Fame, alongside Bill Hewlett,
Dave Packard, Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore; and
WHEREAS, Roy Clay also founded the electrical safety test equipment company, ROD-L Electronics in
1977, served as President of San Francisco’s Olympic Club home of U.S. amateur tournaments, and served over
35 years in community organizations like JobTrain and the Girl’s Club of the Midpeninsula to improve the
quality of the life of our communities; and
WHEREAS, Roy Clay became the first person of color to serve on the Palo Alto City Council from 1973 to
1979, and he was Palo Alto’s first African-American Vice Mayor in 1976 and 1977.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, H. Gregory Scharff, Mayor of the City of Palo Alto, on behalf of the City
Council, do hereby recognize Roy Clay as a community hero and extend appreciation for his years of valuable
contributions and service.
Presented: February 27, 2017
______________________________
H. Gregory Scharff
Mayor