Elyria Catholic Welcomes Jim Hammond '66 to the Monsignor Newton Legacy Society
Jim Hammond '66 attended Catholic grade school in Cleveland for eight years and started his first year of high school in the Cleveland public school system before his dad and family relocated to Elyria for his job. Jim was grateful to attend Elyria Catholic which felt more comfortable and familiar. He was the oldest of 5 family members to attend Elyria Catholic. Jim says, “I received an excellent education, especially in math and science, and the discipline and emphasis on responsibility and respect were very important in shaping my life.” He specifically remembers Sister Mary Ida who challenged her classes in both math and Physics. Jim studied engineering at Cleveland State University for a while before taking a job in sales in the electronics industry. He developed a passion and interest in computers, products that were just starting to be developed at the time, and left his position as district manager to join a small start-up company of nine people.
The company developed and launched a software management tool for law firms. After a few other career opportunities, Jim eventually served as president of Rainmaker Software for twenty years before the company and its product were sold to a venture capital firm. After spending most of his life in the Philadelphia area, Jim and his wife, Diane,
