Keystone Staff

Every year, Keystone's staff get together for a bit of fun one Friday during December. Everyone contributes a dish to our potluck lunch and brings a gift for our White Elephant gift exchange. For this week's blog post, I thought y'all might enjoy a look at some of last Friday's festivities.

We had a wonderful spread of food including all the holiday favorites like sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and more!

This year's potluck included a battle of the soups between John O's Sausage Toretellini soup and my Chicken Taco soup, but in the end, both were declared a winner!

This year James and Colin contributed what might have been "THE BIGGEST APPLE PIE EVER" (TM). In addition to being enormous, it was also super tasty!

It's always fun to try to figure out who brought what present. Be careful, heavy doesn't always mean good. ;)

Happy Holidays from the Keystone staff! One of the greatest joys of this season is getting to say THANK YOU for the opportunity to serve you and to wish you the very best for the New Year!

Keystone has some annual holiday celebrations during the month of December that give our staff and families an opportunity to gather together, enjoy some delicious food, reflect on what we've accomplished over the last year, and discuss what might be possible in the next. This year, our Holiday Dinner and our office potluck / white elephant gift exchange happened on consecutive days.

On the evening of Tuesday, December 19, we gathered around a long table in a private room at Cafe Luna in downtown Raleigh for an evening of wonderful Italian food. The conversation was lively and everyone enjoyed the opportunity to catch up on the lives of our coworkers outside of the office.

Just after noon on Wednesday, December 20, we gathered in our project area for our annual office potluck. We are always impressed by the variety of choices once everyone's contribution is added to the buffet spread. Our staff even thoughtfully create dishes taking into account known food allergies and sensitivities, so there's something to appeal to everyone and no one goes hungry!

After our potluck lunch, we do a white elephant / dirty Santa gift exchange. Our rules are: only one steal per gift per round, and everything's in play until the person with the last number's round. Does your organization do a white elephant exchange? If so, what are your rules?

I hope you enjoyed a brief look at some of this year's Keystone holiday celebrations. Hopefully, your year end also included festive gatherings such as ours, or at least some good rest and relaxation.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from all of us!

For this week's blog post, we thought you'd enjoy some of our staff's photos of the snow we got in Raleigh over the last couple of days.

Let's start with a .gif of Katy's cat Paws watching the snowfall through the sliding glass door of her townhouse.

Here was Drea's view out her home's front door on Monday.

Also, these two pictures of the table, chairs, and pergola on her upper deck show just how much snow accumulated. We got approximately 7 inches of snow on Sunday and even more fell on Monday morning. Raleigh usually averages 6 inches of snow total per season.

Finally, this is what her backyard looked like blanketed in all the white stuff. Her dogs definitely didn't appreciate it as much as she did. You can see their tracks going off the lower deck and around the firepit.

Nancy shared this picture trees in her backyard covered in snow.

Katy also enjoyed the snow on the tree outside of her window.

And, her kitty, Paws, enjoyed watching it fall through the large sliding glass door.

It was only a matter of time. In December one of our own, John Owen, contracted COVID-19 and spent two weeks off of work fighting it. Thankfully he recovered and has not experienced any of devastating or long-term side effects.

Troubled by the lack or therapeutics available to COVID patients John jumped at the chance to help one of the most vulnerable communities. As soon as he was able, he donated his plasma that now contains the antibodies that can help those who are critically ill have a better chance at recovery.

John said this about his plasma donation:

“I’ve done it once and found out that I can continue to donate plasma every seven days until my annual limit. One small needle prick and an hour in a recliner is nothing compared to the chance that my donations can help critically ill patients have a fighting chance at recovery. This disease is no joke, and I am so thankful that my wife and family have so far been spared.”

Some photos John took during the donation procedure and of his "badge of honor" stickers. 

“Life is a journey, not a destination.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Late last year, I reached the age where I became eligible for full Social Security retirement benefits. I decided at that point that I wanted to be able to spend time doing fun things with the family and travel during a time when my health was not a problem. My wife, Aimée, retired a couple of years ago, and she has been patiently waiting for me to join her. We have seen a goodly number of people who have worked longer years, and then had mobility or other health issues facing them by the time they retired. As such, during these last few weeks, I have been drawing to a close my time at Keystone.

When my career at Keystone started in August of 2004, I was unfamiliar with the programming language used here. I’ve always enjoyed learning new things, finding it fun to figure out how programming languages work. This set the stage for an enjoyable, new challenge.

The NLS Books on Tape program was not, however, unfamiliar territory. My father, Joe White, had retinitis pigmentosa, and his vision had regressed, several years prior to his passing in 2002, to the point where he was eligible for the program. He was a customer of the Louisiana State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and I had seen the tapes, floppy discs, green boxes, and the player when our family visited him and my mother at the house where I grew up. He often talked about how much he enjoyed listening to the books and magazines. He and my mother would comb through the TBT listings when they were sent, to pick out those titles he would be interested in hearing.

I’m a back-room kind of guy. I talk in geek-speak, and usually need real-people interpreters in order to effectively interact with customers. For that reason, you may not know me, even though I’ve been here a while. You may be more familiar with some of my favorite projects, in which I have played a major role, that are still around – Nightly (both the original, now termed “physical”, version and the more recent service queue fill version), Excel export, some accessibility improvements with browses and Supertabs, the Service Queue tab in the Patron module, and the PIMMS interface.

I won’t delve into the geekiness of all of the fun I had working on all of those (as well as others), but I would like to let you know that working on the nightly programs was a very personally rewarding experience. Though my Dad was no longer around, I still felt a personal connection to serving content to the patrons in the best way I could, because I approached the project as if my Dad were here to receive the results. (Louisiana is a KLAS customer; so, if he were still a patron, that would have been the case. How rewarding that would have been!)

There is one other project left for the end of this list. Along the way in my journey here, I have worked and reworked, and reworked again the series processing in KLAS. Aspects of series processing have gotten very complex over the years. In the latest KLAS release (7.7.65, currently in testing) is my last big project – taking into account when serving a patron a series involves a single title that appears in multiple series, or a single KLAS title that houses a compilation of multiple entries in a single series. It has been a fun challenge to end my time here. My sincere hope is that these updates serve you and the patrons well.

I have enjoyed working with the management and staff at Keystone. They have helped me grow over my time here, both technically and professionally. I have welcomed the times I have gotten to meet with you, the customers. It is both important and interesting to understand your work and how we software developers can best serve you. I appreciate your feedback, positive or negative, as it has always helped improve our process.

Thank you for all you do to serve this sector of the public. Your work is truly a valuable public service. I am genuinely honored to have played even a small part in it.

Peace and Good Fortune to you all!
Brian White

I want to take some time to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to you all, my customers and friends. In my twenty years at Keystone I've tried to develop and foster relationships with all that have reached out to me for help. Keystone allowed and encouraged this and I'm thankful to them for trusting me with your care.

It's now time for me to start the next phase of my life. My wife Laura retired almost three years ago and it's time for me to join her. Friday December 30, 2022 will be my last day at Keystone. We plan to travel and enjoy spur of the moment adventures with family and friends. Plus a few “Honey Do's” that she's been listing over the years.

Thank you all and God Bless each and every one.
John Owen

After over 20 years of service in Keystone's Customer Support department, John Owen retired on December 30, 2022. Last Thursday, Keystone staff gathered at Margaux's Restaurant in Raleigh, NC to enjoy a celebratory dinner in honor of John and his dedication to his clients and coworkers. John will be remembered for his calming voice, adeptness at diagnosing and fixing various types of mailing card printers, and his unrivaled selection of shoes. While his presence is already missed, we're excited to have had Katharina training for six months in anticipation of his departure.

John, we wish you all the best in the next chapter of your life! You and Laura will always be a part of the Keystone family!

Below are a selection of photos taken at John's retirement celebration:

The PowerPoint presentations and recordings of the 2022 Online KLAS Users' Mini-Conference sessions held on Tuesday, May 3 and Wednesday, May 4 are now available. 

Tuesday, May 3

KLAS New Features for Libraries for the Blind & Print Disabled

• PowerPoint - NewFeatures-22-5-lbpd.pptx 

Keystone Updates

• PowerPoint - MiniUC2022_Keystone_Updates.pptx

KLAS New Features for Instructional Resource / Materials Centers

• PowerPoint - NewFeatures-22-5-lbpd.pptx

Wednesday, May 4

KLAS Users' Group Business Meeting

• PowerPoint - 2022_KLAS_Users_Group_Business_Meeting.pptx
• PDF - 2022_KLAS Users' Group Business_Meeting_Minutes.pdf

It's March 2021. By mid-month last year, all of Keystone's staff started working remotely full time for an undetermined amount of time. Personally, I never thought I'd still be working in my home office across the desk from my husband a full year later! We made changes to how we met as a staff, set expectations for communications and interactions with our coworkers and customers, and started writing blog posts with tips & tricks about remote work with KLAS and how users might continue to serve patrons.

We initially thought we'd be back sometime early that summer. When that no longer seemed likely, we began making adjustments to how we offer KLAS Admin Training, helped more libraries move to Duplication on Demand, and shared a blog series from libraries about the impact of COVID on their operations. Check out the COVD-19 Keynotes Blog Posts to Date from July 2020 to see the initial ones we wrote and those authored by KLAS Users.

Then it seemed sometime in the fall might be possible, but positive numbers and hospitalizations started going up again and we chose to continue working from home. We attended the 2020 APH and NLS conferences online and eventually decided (in conversation with the planning committees) that our own 2021 KLAS Users' Conference will also occur virtually. Even with the choice to continue working remotely, we still had staff who contracted the virus--fortunately, not being in the office kept the rest of us safe and healthy. After his recovery, a January 2021 Key Notes blog post shared John Owen's decision and experience donating plasma with COVID antibodies to try and help others.

After this tumultuous year, some of our customers are back working in an office, others are still working remotely, and plenty have some mix or balance between the two. Here at Keystone, we're still working to support all of our users' efforts to continue serving their patrons no matter where they are. In fact, in just the past couple of weeks, we've gotten some great questions and tips from KLAS Users that we thought might benefit others in similar situations.

Erin from CA IRC is a JAWS user who shared her experience using KLAS on her laptop. She says, "I have discovered that working on a personal laptop at home is not always conducive to things working like they do at work. My laptop has function keys that share the F keys at the top of my keyboard. While using the F11 and F12 keys when I was attempting to set up Supertabs (in order to correct where my cursor will originate in my find screens), it would raise and lower the screen brightness. However, I found that the Supertabs were still set up after this happened. I just thought if anyone else thought their laptop wouldn't work because of this, it indeed might!" We're relieved that the extra functions sharing her F keys didn't keep Erin from using Supertabs and navigating KLAS with JAWS.

David from Minnesota's Machine Lending Agency sent an inquiry to Keystone Customer support wanting to know "if it is possible to use KLAS to track the computers we loan volunteers for in-home recording. We have 75, so a little cumbersome for a spreadsheet." The answer is YES it is! To do so, Nancy set up with a Patron Type for the volunteers and an Equipment record for the recording computers, and sent along workflow instructions to keep the volunteer records out of PIMMS.

Do you have something you've found that makes working from remote easier, were there changes to your library's policies and procedures to help continue service over the past year, or do you have questions about how KLAS can help you better adapt to a new situation, such as tracking equipment lent to volunteers? We'd love to answer questions, host discussion on the forums, or share info in a blog post. We've all had to get creative, and asking questions and sharing information has helped us all adapt and overcome to the best of our abilities.

We're still doing all we can to try to provide our customers with quality software and service, though how we do so has definitely changed. I think we've all made some positive changes and learned a lot in the past twelve months. At this point, I'm very excited that we now have three vaccines available and the pace of immunizations is picking up, but there's still no clear timeline or picture of what Keystone staff's work environment will look like in the next year. One thing that's sure: we'll still be here (wherever "here" is) to help!

This week's post shares some insider info about our Software Development Project Lead. Read on to learn something new about Brian...

Basic Stats:

Name of Staff Member: Brian White

Year Hired: 2004

Current Job Title: Software Development – Project Lead

Getting to Know You Q&A:

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

A: Piecing together the parts of a software process to make something that will make someone's job easier.

Q: What did you do before working for Keystone?

A: Worked for a programming staff supplement service. I worked at 2 customer sites over the 20+ years there.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

A: Singing in a church choir, playing handbells.

Q: If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?

A: Australia

Q: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?

A: We are currently without pets. We have had dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and a rabbit in the past.

Welcome back to the "The Stars of Keystone Systems' Staff" series. Each will include some basic info and insight into one of our staff members. We hope these posts will provide you a look into who makes up our diverse, supportive, and knowledgeable staff.

Basic Stats:

Name of Staff Member: Drea Callicutt

Year Hired: 2002

Current Job Title: Marketing, Sales & Communications Coordinator

Getting to Know You Q&A:

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

A: Collaborating with other Keystone staff as well as staff from our various libraries and organizations to create and provide opportunities for our users to learn and share how to better serve your patrons.

Q: What did you do before working for Keystone?

A: After graduating with a B.A. in Journalism, I was a teacher’s assistant in a Montessori classroom and then worked for Tech Resource Group providing onsite and then phone-based tech support for contracted clients.

I joined Keystone in December 2002 and combined my Communications degree and experience in software and hardware to fill the position of “Sales & Marketing Support”. In 2011, I decided to go back to school part-time. I graduated in 2014 with a Masters in Library Science with a concentration in Special Libraries and an emphasis on community / public relations, outreach, and serving special populations.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

A: My husband and I have participated in non-profit medieval reenactment organization for over 20 years. In fact, we met at a business meeting of our local group. A few years ago, we also became costumed volunteers at Jamestown Settlement in VA where we interpret and teach the public about life in the colony including historic clothing, foodways, etc. Also, I love to travel, sew, cook, read, and play board and card games.

Q: If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?

A: I am very interested in traveling to the far east, in particular, India and Thailand. I especially love the history, arts, and food of each of these cultures.

Q: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?

A: My husband and I have three dogs. Enoch Squirrlesbane’s a 9 or 10-year-old pug / beagle mix that was found as a stray. Lafayette Nubbintail is a 3-year-old French bulldog chihuahua mix from a local animal shelter. Hercules Maximillian Mulligan aka Max is a 9-year-old pug from NC Pug Rescue.

Our blog post this week is the latest in our "Stars of Keystone" series. This time we're highlighting our newest Keystone staff member, so let's welcome and learn more about George!

Basic Stats:

Name of Staff Member: George Martell

Year Hired: 2022

Current Job Title: Software Development Specialist

Getting to Know You Q&A:

Q: What are you most excited about / looking forward as a new KLAS developer?

A: Much of my life has been spent serving various communities and trying to develop tools that enable people to do more. I love to pursue the promise of technology where it allows us to do things that we couldn’t do before, do them more efficiently, or do things in new ways that were previously thought impossible. Technology has the power to transform lives, and being able to contribute my small part to that gives me purpose.

Q: What did you do before working for Keystone?

A: IT, Safety, and Security at NC State University. Taught Nuclear Power, Radiological Chemistry, electronics repair and design at a Department of Energy Site. Operated, Maintained, and Repaired Nuclear reactors for 10 year, 5 of which I lived on a submarine.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

A: plants, backpacking, pretty much anything outdoors, building things.

Q: If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?

A: Somewhere I haven’t been before, I love to explore.

Q: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?

A: Turtle, had her since I was in elementary school, her name is Urtle (give me a break on the name, I was in elementary school).

A map of places where George has traveled.

Our "Stars of Keystone's Staff" series includes some basic info and insight into one of our staff members. We hope these posts will provide you a look into who makes up our diverse, supportive, and knowledgeable staff.

This week's post shares some insider info about a member of our Executive Managment Team. Read on to learn something new about James...

Basic Stats:

Name of Staff Member: James Burts

Year Hired: 1992 (27 years ago) -- Yikes! That’s a long time!!!

Current Job Title: Executive Vice President, Lead dishwasher, Junior Assistant Gopher 2nd Class

Getting to Know You Q&A:

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

A: Being a small company, no day is ever the same as any other day we’ve ever had. There is no routine, boring day of doing the same thing for the 1,000th day in a row. I really like how many different things I get to do here, how many hats I wind up wearing. Also, I really appreciate how what we do really makes a difference to the Patrons that KLAS helps serve. I think that it’s true of all of Keystone’s staff, but knowing that at the end of the day we’re really helping make people’s lives better is a huge draw for me.

Q: What did you do before working for Keystone?

A: I started working for Keystone as a summer job, while I was studying Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. My first tasks were helping write documentation for KLAS v2 and then v3. Over time, my work grew to writing some reports on the side, which turned to joining and eventually leading the software development team, and ultimately led to my current position.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

A: Making stuff, strangely most of my hobbies involve fire or excessive heat. I do glassblowing. I do metalwork. Lately, my son’s been really excited with creating electric vehicles, so we’ve been working on the welding, metal fabrication, and electronics for that. Currently, we’re building our own version of a OneWheel, and have an EV club that he’s involved in where they’re starting to build their second electric go cart.

Q: If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?

A: Probably Bermuda. I’ve done a few trips there, and really love it. The snorkelling is fantastic, and I hope to learn to do some scuba there.

Q: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?

A: We have a dog, a Shiba Inu named Kuma.

The snow has melted, the Holidays are rapidly approaching, and it's time for another post in our "Stars of Keystone's Staff" series. Each will include some basic info and insight into one of our staff members. We hope these posts will provide you a look into who makes up our diverse, supportive, and knowledgeable staff.

Basic Stats:

Name of Staff Member: John Owen

Year Hired: August 2002

Current Job Title: Senior Support Analyst

Getting to Know You Q&A:

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

A: Developing relationships. Of course, helping but always building trust.

Q: What did you do before working for Keystone?

A: Technical and sales support for a major semiconductor manufacturer and point of sale company.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

A: My grandchildren, my church and my music, and Alabama Football...Roll Tide!

Q: If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?

A: Fiji and Vietnam

Q: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?

A: One cat, Belle Belle hired us six years ago.

The grandkids:

John working with kids in Haiti:

 Belle Belle, managing her staff:

 And a throwback to high school basketball--can you tell which of these players is John?

In this week's blog post and latest in our "Stars of Keystone" series, we're excited to introduce the newest member of the Keystone Customer Support Team! She's been with us since early July, and we are already benefiting from her contributions to our support services. So, please join us in welcoming Katharina!

Basic Stats:

Name of Staff Member: Katharina Stevens

Year Hired: 2022

Current Job Title: Customer Support Specialist

Getting to Know You Q&A:

Q: What are you most excited about / looking forward to as a new KLAS customer support specialist?

A: I think reading and access to books is very important. In America we are blessed with an over abundance of resources though we don’t always realize it. I’m excited to be a small part in promoting and improving access to reading materials.

Q: What did you do before working for Keystone?

A: I was the school librarian at an international school in East Africa for nine years. The only wildlife I saw in my yard were geckos, birds and stray cats but coworkers had monkeys that would visit.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

A: Reading, traveling, board games and being an aunt.

Katharina standing in front of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Q: If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?

A: New Zealand & Australia and then somewhere in South America so I can say I’ve been to all continents (except Antarctica).

Q: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?

A: While in East Africa my housemate and I found two puppies in the field across the street. The mama was the neighborhood stray so we ended up taking the puppies. Roo and Stoney (named after a Ugandan ginger soda) needed a bath every day for a month to get them clean and bug free.

Today we're starting the first in a series of Key Notes blog posts called "The Stars of Keystone Systems' Staff". Each will include some basic info and insight into one of our staff members. We hope these posts will provide you a look into who makes up our diverse, supportive, and knowledgeable staff.

Basic Stats:

Name of Staff Member: Katy Patrick

Year Hired: 2017

Current Job Title: Technical Writer

Getting to Know You Q&A:

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

A: I love the variety: I get to work on a wide variety of things from how-to documents and blog posts to pitching in to help test new releases. I always have a lot of different projects in the works, so I never get bored.

Q: What did you do before working for Keystone?

A: I worked as a Reader Adviser for Kansas' and then Illinois' Talking Books programs. That work meant a lot to me, so I'm glad that I have been able to stay connected to that community despite moving on to a new type of work.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

A: Fiction writing, mostly fantasy novels. I haven't gotten anything polished and ready for publishing yet, but maybe someday! I also enjoy sewing, digital art, photography, and gardening.

Q: If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?

A: I'd love to go to Machu Picchu. It looks like such an amazing window into another time and culture and set in an incredibly beautiful landscape.

Q: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?

A: I have a pair of finches: Terragon (a Spice Finch) and Wrenegade (a Society Finch). They love birdbaths and listening to the radio, and their favorite treat is carrots.

Our "Stars of Keystone's Staff" series includes some basic info and insight into one of our staff members. We hope these posts will provide you a look into who makes up our diverse, supportive, and knowledgeable staff.

With KLAS 7.7 on the verge of general release and just a month until the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference, we thought it was a perfect time to let you learn more about Kyle Honeycutt, Keystone's Manager of Software Development in this instalment of our "Stars of Keystone" blog series.

Basic Stats:

Name: Kyle Honeycutt

Year Hired: 1994

Current Job Title: Manager of Software Development

Getting to Know You Q&A:

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

A: Hearing of a need from customers, designing and programming a solution to that problem, and seeing the customers put that solution to use.

Q: What did you do before working for Keystone?

A: I was a student. This is my first job out of school. In school I did work as a lab assistant, helping other students debug their Assembly, C and Pascal programs.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

A: I'm very active in my church, both working in teaching ministries, and working with the technology needs of the church. I am also the Secretary/Treasurer of a non-profit cemetery association, so I am actively involved in the management and operation of the cemetery. Otherwise, I do yard work, odd jobs, and garden work at our home in Raleigh and my home-place in Benson. We always had a large vegetable garden, and my Dad and I raised collards, a tradition I carried on after my Dad passed. I stopped most of that recent years, but hope to get back on my tractors in the near future.

Q: If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?

A: Home. I don't get to spend as much time at either of the places that I call home as I would like. Otherwise, I'd just like to spend a while traveling across the country, seeing the sights I've never seen and seeing how agriculture is done across our land.

Q: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?

A: We have four cats – Maggie, Wendy, Teddy, and Stanley. We had not intended on adopting a fourth cat, but Stanley just showed up as a skinny stray a few days after Teddy got out. He's now a plump, happy part of the family.

Wendy is a sweet calico.

 Teddy is a black and white tuxedo kitty. He like lounging on laps.

Maggie is a grey tabby.

Stanley is a light orange tabby.

Welcome back to the "The Stars of Keystone Systems' Staff" series. Each will include some basic info and insight into one of our staff members. We hope these posts will provide you a look into who makes up our diverse, supportive, and knowledgeable staff.

Basic Stats:

Name of Staff Member: Marion A. W. Campbell

Year Hired: 2008

Current Job Title: Customer Service Representative

Getting to Know You Q&A:

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

A: Working with librarians and IRC staff.

Q: What did you do before working for Keystone?

A: I taught High School Chemistry. During my time teaching, I had two students who were blind and one who was deaf.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

A: Glassblowing, Historical Reenactment, and Blacksmithing

Q: If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?

A: Italy

Q: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?

A: Yes. 2 cats and a bunny. Tinkerbell is our older calico cat, and Bobbles is our black kitten. Bun Bun, the bunny, is a Jersey Wooly which is a dwarf / angora mix.

Our "Stars of Keystone's Staff" series includes some basic info and insight into one of our staff members. We hope these posts will provide you a look into who makes up our diverse, supportive, and knowledgeable staff.

With the upcoming release of KLAS 7.7, we thought it is good time to bring you our latest "Stars of Keystone Staff" so we can highlight our staff member who has helped to coordinate, support, and install many versions of KLAS in his time at Keystone. He is also the person our staff calls when we can't get on the VPN, we need our email account unlocked, or need to be reminded of how to log onto a customer's database after a change in IP address.

Basic Stats:

Name: Mark Gardner

Year Hired: 1985

Current Job Title: Manager of Systems and Networking

Getting to Know You Q&A:

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

A: Solving problems, working on different projects, working with others

Q: What did you do before working for Keystone?

A: Programmer, Piedmont Microsystems

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

A: Country Music Concerts, Photography, Fantasy Basketball, Fishing, Anything blue (Doctor Who, M&M’s, etc)

Q: If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?

A: Austin Texas, Australia

Q: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?

A: No pets, just occasional visits from our rabbits