Giving credit where credit is due

I thought that rather than the normal technology blog or talking about how to do remote development and articles like that, today I would spend some time honoring the people who have been instrumental in my life. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and any attempt to do so will always be incomplete. I will also come back to this article as more people are brought to my mind.

• Richard & Alice Chernesky - I absolutely have to start here. My parents are amazing and they both provided opportunities and learning opportunities that made me who I am. They both modeled hard work for me and taught me excellence. Thank you mom and dad for all that you have done and continue to do!
• Darrell Watson - One of my teachers in elementary school in Waynesville. He introduced me to the Atari computers and encouraged me to learn how to program them. From there, it was GAME OVER. Really, this is what sparked my interest in computers and what made everything after this possible. I owe a HUGE debt of gratitude to this man who saw an interest and added oxygen to the coal.
• Gary Boy - There are times in your life when someone above you on the ladder of life reaches down and changes everything about your life. Gary would be that person for me. I was a small town graphic artist who enjoyed programming in his spare time. Gary saw something in me and saw that I had some programming skills and pulled me up into an architect posititon at Chase Manhattan Mortage in Columbus. I had to work my backside off for the next few years there to be able to be effective in that position. It was totally undeserved, but I will forever be thankful for the opportunity that Gary gave to me.
• Jeremy Kahne - Jeremy is both a friend and a mentor. I was one of the people on the team at Balanced Insight who hired Jeremy and he was a developer there along with me. After I was downsized at Balanced Insight, Jeremy and I kept in touch for a few years and when I wanted to get into Ruby On Rails, Jeremy knew of my capabilities and convinced his boss to hire me at SCRIP-SAFE. Working with Jeremy and at SCRIP-SAFE was instrumental to where I am now. I am so thankful for this friendship and our iron sharpening iron friendship.
• Mark Wheby - When I was downsized from Balanced Insight, Mark reached out and offered me a contract with a local large insurance carrier. That was my first foray into independent contracting after working for companies as an employee for a decade. This, and contracting for him in 2015, were instrumental to getting to where I am now. I'm very thankful for the opportunities he has given me in my career
• Ken Auer - I worked for Ken's company as an independent for about nine months in 2016 before I dealt with exhaustion. He treated me like family and inspired me in the contracts that I worked on. It was really hard for me to leave the team, but at the time I really needed to cut back and focus on other core contracts. I learned more of what it meant to be a Craftsman and do excellent work. Ken is truly an inspiration.

I hope to find some more mentors in the future as Tinderglow grows and I mature. There is an awesome book titled "Stepping Up", by Dennis Rainey that deals with some of those topics and I think that it is an amazing book showing the strengths of mentors and the impacts that they have on your life. It's my goal to also mentor others and give others the same opportunities that have been given to me.