Loyalty is one of those seemingly  old-fashioned values that you don’t hear much about anymore.  It is even rarer to see loyalty expressed over a long period of time.  Brian Dean marked 27 years at CTaccess this year.  What a milestone!

Many customers and friends of CTaccess know Brian well and appreciate his humor mixed with a heartfelt interest in people. Brian understands that the IT services field is one of service to others, and this has shown over the years in the way he relates to people.

We recently paid tribute to Brian during a company meeting. It made me reminisce just a little. Brian started with CTaccess on 5/7/97. It seems so long ago, but it feels like yesterday, too!

Anyone who stays for 27 years at one company has influence. I think it is fair to say that Brian has become part of the fabric of CTaccess. He knows our values and has challenged me more than once about whether I was on target. Over the years, he has become a friend, even like the brother I never had.

When Brian started at CTaccess, it was just Computer Technologies. Shortly after, we became Computer Technologies of Wisconsin, Inc., and Brian still has the old nameplates on his office wall!

I remember Brian asking to come on board at CTaccess. He worked for one of our customers in their drafting department and was looking for a change.  Brian offered to come on for low pay and learn his way up. We cautiously took him up on his offer, and he did just what he said.

Looking back, he learned tech quickly, but even more importantly, he recognized that creating strong relationships with people was even more important than technical skills.

Brian learned everything he could about the people he worked with; he could tell you where their kids went to school, what pets they had, and what their hobbies were. Brian took time to talk to people. In the technical world, it is easy to keep pushing forward and not notice.

As I think about Brian’s tenure at CTaccess, I am struck by the technology change we have seen together… 

• When Brian started, we still ran lots of Dos 3.3 and booted computers off floppy disks.
• We regularly helped people with Windows 3.1, WordPerfect, and Lotus 123.
• We saw the emergence of the Internet as something small and medium-sized businesses began to use.
• We custom-built firewalls and email servers on Linux back then.
• We used Palm Pilots for time reporting and notes.
• We had bag phones, then brick phones, then flip phones, and those very early smartphones.
• The Internet was the Wild West, and security was not a big concern in its early days. What a difference from our current environment of hyper-diligence regarding security.
• We installed and set up dialup and then the Lan Modem, which allowed a whole company to dial up to the Internet through a single phone line. We thought 56K was pretty fast at the time!
• We struggled through certification classes for the leading network server platform, which was then Novell.
• We worked through getting Microsoft Certified Partner status.
• We went to Laserfiche conferences to learn how to install and support what was then just a document management system, which now is a workflow and everything automation.
• We navigated the move from a break-fix provider to a true managed service provider over many years.
• We were very small in some of those years, and Brian stuck through a couple of rough times when two of our techs left at once, and we were working like crazy just to keep the wheels on.  I don’t miss those days at all.

When Brian started working at CTaccess, I was the Service Team Manager. Only Brian and one other guy reported to me. The three of us all did hands-on technology work.  Brian told me from early on that he wanted my job.  As we grew, I moved into more leadership, customer advisory, and sales. Brian got what he asked for in my job as a Service Manager.  He continued to ask for my job. We gave him more opportunities as a vCIO.  Brian enabled CTaccess to grow by taking things off my plate and leading others, too!

Unfortunately, we are seeing Brian off here at the end of August. He has been battling serious health issues and recently decided to stop full-time employment with CTaccess.

We send him off with great appreciation for his loyalty and contribution over so many years. Our friend and brother, what a ride it has been!  Brian, know that we love and appreciate you, and we wish you all the best in your journey forward!

Update: Brian, though battling cancer, wanted to finish strong and get through his final week at CTaccess.  He called into our leader’s huddle on Friday the 30th at 11:11, faithfully as always, and managed an upbeat check in.  We knew he was struggling, but not quite how much. He was admitted to the hospital on Friday night. We were able to visit him on Saturday.  Monday,  we received the sad call that he had passed on.  We are so thankful for the time we spent here on this earth with him.  We pray for God’s comfort and blessing on his family. We will miss you, Brian!