Uncrowned Community Builders

Anthony L. (Tony) Watson Sr., rose from the segregated school system of Oklahoma City to compete in the Olympics and later become the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Emblem Health, Inc.
Born February 5, 1941 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, he was one of three children born to the late Robert C. Watson Sr. and Texanna Watson.
Mr. Watson, who retired in May 2013, was named to the top leadership position at HIP Health Plan in 1990. A dominating presence at 6'5", Mr. Watson was one of the first African Americans to head a major health care corporation. Under his leadership, HIP soon emerged as the principal health care provider for New York City public employees and became recognized as one of the nation's leading health care plans by the National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA) and other independent rating organizations.
Before his arrival at HIP, Mr. Watson was Executive Director of the Health Systems Agency of New York City from 1976 to 1985. From 1970 to 1976, he was Deputy Director of the Comprehensive Health Planning Agency of New York. From 1966 to 1970, he was a Supervising Public Health Advisor to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service Center for Disease Control. Mr. Watson also served on the New York Governor's Health Care Advisory Board and the New York State Hospital Review and Planning Council.
Following a merger between HIP and Group Health, Inc. (GHI), Mr. Watson ultimately became the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Emblem Health. At the time of his retirement, Emblem had approximately four million members, 85,000 providers in more than 140,000 locations, and $8 billion in revenue. Emblem was also the largest New York-based insurer during his tenure. Mr. Watson also played an important role in working with the Mayor and Governor of New York to be one of the first companies to move its headquarters to lower Manhattan and help New York City recover after 9/11. He was a leader in the Battery Park restoration efforts and an important crusader for diversity, inclusion and social justice.
Mr. Watson was an architect of health care reforms initiated in the early-1990s, including redefining limits on pre-existing conditions, which were later adopted by the Clinton administration and ultimately incorporated into "Obamacare."
From 1976 to 1985, Mr. Watson was Executive Director of the Health Systems Agency of New York City. Prior to that, he was Deputy Director of the Comprehensive Health Planning Agency of New York and Supervising Public Health Advisor to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare/ Public Health Service Center for Disease Control.
Mr. Watson served on the New York Governor's Health Care Advisory Board and the New York State Hospital Review and Planning Council. He was named by President Bill Clinton to serve as a member of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare in 1998. Mr. Watson was a past chairman of the AAHP (later the Association of Health Insurance Plans). He served on the board of NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, Sierra Health Services of Las Vegas, YMCA of Greater New York, the NYC2012 Olympic Committee and the International Federation of Health Plans, the Alliance for Downtown New York; and, the Battery Conservancy. Mr. Watson was also a member of the Board of Directors of The Money Store, Inc. and a Trustee of Manhattanville College.
In 1994, the New York Academy of Medicine honored him with the title "Fellow of the Academy". He was also awarded the annual Spirit of the City Award, conferred by the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on individuals who have distinguished themselves through service to New York that enhances its character as a city of accomplishment, compassion and determination in 2004; the Schlesinger Award for outstanding contribution to Community Health Planning in 1983; he was honored by the Jewish National Fund in 1993; received the Congressional Recognition Award of the United States House of Representatives in 1987,1993,1997; and the New York Urban League Award in 1999; the Blanton-Peale Institute presented him with the Norman Vincent Peale Award for Positive Thinking in 1997 and the Battery Conservancy
Representatives in 1987,1993,1997; and the New York Urban League Award in 1999; the Blanton-Peale Institute presented him with the Norman Vincent Peale Award for Positive Thinking in 1997 and the Battery Conservancy awarded Mr. Watson the Battery Medal for Corporate Leadership in 2005. The Battery Conservancy League awarded Mr. Watson the Battery Medal of Corporate Leadership in the wake of the September 11 attacks. He received numerous other awards, including the United Hospital Fund's "Health Care Leadership Award" in 2008.
An avid sports fan, Mr. Watson was a member of the United States Olympic track and field team which competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics. He attended the University of Oklahoma, Central State College, where he earned a degree in Political Science, attended Columbia University's School of Public Health and earned Advanced Certificates from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University's Executive Development Program and received numerous Honorary Doctorate Degrees. Though he lived and worked in Manhattan for decades, the Oklahoma native was most at peace on his farm in upstate New York, where he would hunt, fish, and spend hours on his tractors.
Mr. Watson played an important national leadership role in establishing a major healthcare organization and was a founder of state and national efforts to initiate health planning and protect consumers by distributing resources efficiently and effectively, but was a loving and dedicated family man.
Mr. Watson is survived by his wife Desiree A. (Boling), one son Anthony L. Watson Jr., Seattle, WA., and two daughters Alayjah Traoré (Mohamed) NYC, and Sheridan Nordahl-Hansen (Peter) Los Angeles, CA. He was looking forward to becoming a grandfather in May.
He is also survived by a sister; Bonita (Willie) Dixon and a brother; Robert C. Watson (Johnnie) Jr. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and a host of other relatives and friends.