Awwww,  I am so sorry to learn of Ben's passing.  I will ALWAYS have fond memories of my time at Leland, and thankful and grateful for the opportunity that Ben gave me.  Leland was a such special place to work, and I often reflect back on it with fond memories.  Ben and Nancy's generous and gracious spirits will always be cherished.  I am absolutely positive  that I am better for having known them and having them in my life! 

I am just a little bit sadder in knowing that Ben is no longer with us and  will be keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers.

With deepest sympathy, condolences and love,

Lydia Boykin

August 27, 2024

Dear Ben,

For almost twenty years, 1980 through 1999, you were a significant part of my life, both professionally and personally. Your departure from this life has triggered some memories, and I wanted to share some of them with your family.

On the day after Thanksgiving, 1979. I flew from my Largo, Florida home to interview with you for a consulting position at Leland Computer Services, Inc., then located at 4450 Harris Trail in Atlanta. We spent the day together discussing matters present and future, professional and personal. I left with the feeling that I had touched something different and very special, and I soon signed on for the ride. I never regretted my decision.

I threw myself into what I believed Leland to be. You told me I would succeed if I could accept freedom’s responsibility, a concept understandable immediately at a surface level, but one whose meaning grew within me over the years of our association. Embracing it allowed us to relate with each other with complete trust, a rare commodity in this or any day and age.

You challenged me to take on marketing, recruiting, and management responsibilities before I thought I was ready, all the while mentoring and guiding without micro-managing, which was never your style anyway. You advised me to do it with my own style. With you, there were no rules, only guidelines and total honesty. Our Word truly was a Promise.

In 1989, you made me a Principal in Leland, yet another challenge to reach within myself and continue to grow. The turbulent eighties were coming to a close, and our business model was about to change rapidly and drastically, and we would all need to have our wits about us to keep the Leland we knew and loved alive while retooling quickly. I remember all too well some somber Executive Committee meetings in 1990 and 1991 during which we developed and reviewed contingency plans designed to keep the Company alive during hard times, should we need them.

Then, almost out of nowhere, along came a Dutchman named Jan Baan, with ideas and a product so foreign to us that we thought you had gone mad. The truth was that in a strange way you were both visionaries with a similar vision, the decision was a stroke of genius on your part, and we were off to the races again. The entire staff had to retool, and your phasing of that process over the years helped to steady the turbulent waters of the early nineties. Many times during that unstable period I was bolstered and supported by your wise guidance and the bond we had developed.

Your vision proved prophetic. We enjoyed a prosperity and success I never dreamed possible. We built a loyal staff, a mixture of old timers who survived the early nineties and high quality new people we could identify as “Lelanders” during our recruiting. The business has changed dramatically, but those attributes which make up a “Lelander” are timeless.

Goodbye, my mentor and friend.

Andy Warner