Keystone Staff

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

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: Nancy Underwood Honeycutt

Year Hired: 1998

Current Job Title: Manager, Customer Support

Getting to Know You Q&A:

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

A: I enjoy helping people. It helps that the folks we work for are some of the nicest people around, and they’re doing a good service. So, I feel good when I can help them do that.

Q: What did you do before working for Keystone?

A: I was a middle and high school English teacher.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

A: I do a lot of crafts, most recently quilting and crochet. I get a lot of satisfaction in seeing a project come together from its pieces.

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

A: I’d like to see Australia and New Zealand.

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

A: We’ve got three and a half cats. The three indoor cats – Maggie, Teddy and Wendy – are pretty happy kitties. Meanwhile, Stanley has been hanging out on the back deck for over a year. We’ve decided that we’d like him to come inside, particularly for the upcoming winter, so we’re working on that.

This is Maggie. She's looking on dubiously.

 Here's Teddy with his tuxedo.

 Wendy is the pretty tortie..

 Maggie and Teddy are curled up on the cat tree inside while Stanley lays on the patio table on the deck outside the window.

This week we wanted to give you the opportunity to learn more about the woman who's usually the first voice you hear when you call our office, knows how to use the copier better than anyone else on staff, and can program the heck out of a barcode scanner. Hopefully, you know who I'm about by now...yup it's Tracey Fye!

Basic Stats:

Name of Staff Member: Tracey Fye

Year Hired: 2002

Current Job Title: Administrative Assistant

Getting to Know You Q&A:

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

A: Talking to customers when they call and hearing about their families, etc.

Q: What did you do before working for Keystone?

A: I did title work at an Infiniti car dealership.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

A: Scrapbooking, taking my dog for walks, and playing with my granddaughter.

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

A: Hawaii

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

A: I have a black lab mix named Deuce. He is 100 pounds and thinks he’s a lap dog. He’s about 11 years old. We just got a kitten named Cleopatra (Cleo). She is only 3 pounds and almost three months old. Her and Deuce have become best friends – they will curl up together and sleep. I also have a goldfish named Peaches. She has managed to kill her tank mates and prefers to be an only fish.

Deuce is wearing a purple harness and laying on the floor.

Cleo is asleep on the couch beside a throw pillow.

Keystone Systems' office will be closed Thursday, November 24 and Friday, November 25 in observance of Thanksgiving. But before we send out staff off to gather with friends and family, we asked them to share some of their favorite holiday recipes.

We're all grateful that you're part of our KLAS users family, and hope you all have a lovely holiday!

From Nancy Honeycutt, Customer Support Manager:

Mom would always make refrigerator rolls. One time she left a cookie sheet with rolls rising on the counter while we went to pay a Christmas visit to neighbors. When we came back, the cookie sheet was on the floor, completely cleaned off, and the dog was suspiciously innocent (and sick later that night).

Refrigerator Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 yeast cake
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup mashed potatoes
• 1 c scalded milk
• 6-8 cups flour
• 2 eggs

Instructions

1. Mash potatoes.
2. Add shortening, sugar, salt & eggs. Cream well.
3. Dissolve yeast in water, add to lukewarm milk. Then add to potato mixture.
4. Add sifted flour to make stiff dough. Knead lightly.
5. Place in casserole and brush top with butter.
6. Cover tightly and place in refrigerator until ready to use.
7. About 1/2 hour before baking time remove and shape in rolls. 
8. Cover and let rise until light.
9. Cook at 400* for 10-12 minutes.

From Marion Campbell, Customer Support Specialist:

One of my families favorite food for the holidays are sweet potato biscuits. One holiday when my nephews were 9,10,10-ish, the biscuits came out early and were warming on the table. Slowly, they each snuck a biscuit or 3... when it was time to eat there were no biscuits left in the basket because the boys had eaten them all. Needless to say, a 2nd tray came out soon after but the boys were full from biscuits and did not eat much else that year. They all had tummy aches from the biscuits and now the rule of biscuits is: only eat 2, more than 2 and you will not be happy.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Here's what's cookin': Sweet Potatoe Biscuits
From the kitchen of: Dorothy Wright

Ingredients

• 4 cups packed of sweet potatoes
• 1 cup Crisco
• 1 cup of sugar
• 4 cups of self-rising flour

Instructions

1. Peel sweet potatoes and boil until done.
2. While hot mash and add to them Crisco, sugar, and flour.
3. Mix good.
4. Work into biscuits.
5. More flour is sometimes needed. Depends on wetness of potatoe to be able to handle the mixture.
6. Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes. Depending on size of biscuits.
7. Mix handles better if cooled.
8. Bake on greased cookie sheet.

From Katharina Stevens, Customer Support Specialist:

Among many other things I am thankful for are ovens that allow you to set a specific temperature and that cook evenly. Baking in East Africa was always an adventure. One summer I brought the ingredients for pumpkin pie back with me to make at Thanksgiving. It didn't turn out very pretty. Had to cut off the burnt parts, and take a moto taxi across town to buy some cinnamon whipped cream to hide the mess. Tasted good though.

Seriously though, I'm immensely thankful for family, friends and the blessing that is America. We've come a long way from the 5 kernels of corn that that Pilgrims had to eat each day that first winter of 1620.

From Drea Callicutt, Director of Marketing, Sales & Communications:

One of our favorite holiday dishes is more recent. My sister learned to make duck fat roasted potatoes while she was in graduate school in Edinburgh. She made them for us for the first time for Christmas dinner when were visiting her in Leeds, and they’re now a staple whenever she’s joins us for a holiday meal.

This recipe from Vindulge.com is pretty much how she makes hers:

Roasted Duck Fat Potatoes

Equipment

• Large Sheet Tray
• Parchment Paper
• Ingredients
• 2 pounds yellow potatoes, cut into ½ inch dice
• 2 tablespoons salt (for boiling the potatoes)
• ¼ cup duck fat
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon freshly graded parmesan
• 1 teaspoon thyme, finely diced

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large pan, place the diced potatoes and fill with cold water until it just covers the potatoes. Add 2 tablespoons of salt in the water.
3. Bring to boil. Start timer for 14 minutes. When the potatoes come to boil, reduce heat to a simmer. After timer runs out, strain the potatoes in a colander.
4. In a large bowl, place the potatoes and then add the duck fat, additional kosher salt, and pepper. Stir with your hands to incorporate and then place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Place in the oven, and toss the potatoes every 15 minutes. The duck fat will slowly brown the potatoes, especially the sides touching the pan. So turning the potatoes every 15 minutes will help get more of the crunch on the surface area of the potatoes.
6. After 40-45 minutes, the potatoes should be golden in color. Remove and place them in your favorite serving dish. Top with the parmesan and thyme. Serve warm.