CityView Magazine

tion, Apple saw an unprecedented corpo- rate renaissance which would eventually lead it to become the second most profit- able brand in the world, behind BP. Dur- ing this period, Jobs brought us such hugely-successful products as the iPod, iPhone, iPad and MacBook. Of course, one needn't look any fur- ther than downtown Fayetteville to wit- ness the impact of Jobs' success: an au- thorized Apple retailer and repair center located at 103 Hay street. Owner Owner Doug Horn readily admits that his busi- ness wouldn't exist if not for Apple's past-decade resurgence. "Steve was instrumental in bringing "I was in the room a few times: Jobs and my father talked about a lot of different things — life and such. For the longest time I didn't know it was Jobs because dad just referred to him as 'Steve'." — Jonathan Chestnut Shortly after his father passed away, Jonathan received a phone call from Jobs. "I told him about what had hap- pened and he explained how much his conversions with my father had meant to him and what a great man he thought my father was," Jonathan said. "Jobs was sincere and I have always thought well of him," he added. While Chestnut can fondly recall Ap- ple and Jobs' lucrative first generation, another graphic design professor at yet another Fayetteville college was in- volved with the company during its tu- multuous second-act. Throughout the nineties, Kerry Jen- kins, who currently teaches design at Methodist University, created several ad- vertisements and promotional materials for Apple, Inc. Most notably, the teacher spearheaded a successful education campaign for the company in 1993. "I was working as an art director for a design firm in Charlotte. Apple's southeast education rep was a client and needed some work on a newsletter template, an open house invitation, and a few other items to distribute to the ed- ucation sales reps in her region. She was looking for a way to enlighten the school systems beyond their assumptions that 60 | November/December • 2011 Apple computers were only used in el- ementary schools," Jenkins explained. While Jenkins was working for Ap- ple, Jobs wasn't. After being forced out by the company's board of directors, the former-CEO was concentrating on his latest invention: The ill-fated NeXT computer. By the late-nineties, however, both companies were struggling. A shadow of its former self, Apple was ridiculed by the press and appeared to be destined for bankruptcy before the start of the new millennium. NeXT, meanwhile, was having difficulty making a splash in an already-overcrowded computer market. No matter how bleak its future seemed at the time, Jenkins remained loyal to Apple and claims that he never consid- ered switching sides. "When there was finally a viable [alternative] option, my own learning curve and any personal investments were already on the Apple side, and I wasn't going to "jump ship" with a new operating system," he said. Jobs returned to Apple in 1996, fol- lowing the company's acquisition of NeXT. Under the reinstated CEO's direc- Apple back from the brink of disaster. His vision for the future of personal computing and the company he started, coupled with his inherent resolve, ush- ered in an unprecedented era of growth and prosperity for a company that, just a few years earlier, nearly imploded," Horn explained. With their driving creative force out of the picture, many analysts have pre- dicted the end of Apple's technological reign. Apple Specialist Tommy Johnson disagrees. "The best parts of Steve's philoso- phies and vision have been imprinted on the company. He also was very care- ful to hire people who are at the top of their respec- tive fields of speciality, people who were willing to think differently from the rest of the industry. I see many more future suc- cesses for Apple as a company," Johnson said. If history is any indication, you can expect to see a little bit of Fayetteville in that future. CV

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