[0:26] What’s your background, and how did you become a popular IT nerd?

I started back in ’92. I’m dating myself a little bit. Back then, everybody wanted experience, but I was able to find a temporary job with a telecom company. Then I decided to join the Air Force, which really put me down the path of IT. I spent 24 years in the Air Force: 4 years in active duty, 10 years in Air Force reserves, and 10 years in the guard in Tennessee.

[2:41] You mentioned a 66 block—tell our listeners what that is. 

It looks like a rectangle with a bunch of metal hooks on it. It allowed for electrical contact on one of those metal contacts, and gave you three or four more so you could add things to it.

[6:23] So when you were working for Gaylord Entertainment, you supported more than one location, correct?

I worked at the corporate office, and the IT staff in the hotels said I worked at the “Ivory Tower.” We helped design the network stack that supported the business and the customers for what they needed when they came in. The hotel is a little but like a hospital—they want heads in beds. Working in an environment like that, you really had to know the ins-and-outs of networking to give people a great experience.

[9:20] Yeah. When you put on a convention hosting hundreds or even thousands of people at the same time, it’s a lot of networking.

When you have six or seven hundred people in a convention space, how do you lay out an access point floor plan to support them without creating too much interference? I got into leadership because I was able to think beyond the individual task and thought about the bigger picture. Eventually, Gaylord Entertainment sold out to Marriott, which is how I ended up working in the value-added retail (VAR) space.

[13:00] With your work later in VAR, it must have been nice to not worry about the cleanup and documentation.

One great part is that when we were designing, we documented before we did it because it was needed for approval. There were always changes, but the major goal was already done.

[15:52] So with the VAR work, was it all networking stuff there?

I was also doing VOIP. During that time, I had the opportunity to interview with Dollar General. It wasn’t a good fit at the time, so I turned it down. Six months later, they came back and asked me to take a different position. I took it, and I’m glad I did. I met a mentor there who is great from a technical perspective and a people perspective. He always encouraged me to think outside the box.

[22:22] What were the questions he would ask?

“What’s the impact?” was always a big one. “What’s the anticipated repair time?” —the answer is always “I’ll give you an update in 30 minutes”. This was also a place I spent a lot of time being proactive and building relationships in all directions of the organization. Not just down, but up and sideways. And figuring out how to influence people.

[28:10] What do you love about networking?

I always relate networking to classes in school. I consider networking math: It’s binary. It’s on or it’s off. The systems teams seem more like English—there’re many ways of doing it.

[33:23] Fairly early on in COVID, you went through a change. Tell us about that.

I had an opportunity to join CPI Card Group. They produce credit cards. The technology it takes to put together that small piece of plastic in your pocket is amazing. After my role there, I connected with Specialty Dental Brands. We provide HR, finance, and IT support to specialty dental companies. We’re just getting out of the “start-up mode.” It’s been a great opportunity to start to build something from the ground up.

[47:50] What do you like to do when you’re not at the office?

I just disconnect. I’m currently building a house, and it’s been relatively relaxing. There’s something about doing anything non-IT that makes it automatically feel like it’s not a job.