Features March 2023

People may say don’t fix what’s not broken, but that isn’t Sherry Lawdermilt’s motto. “Technology doesn’t always need to be solving a problem,” says the chief information officer at Bemidji State University. “It can also just make life easier or open up new avenues.” For instance, each semester, students at BSU, located in Minnesota, pay […]

Always better to listen than to talk. So emphasizes Bill Young as he oversees infotech with a staff of 33 at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas. How they had their ears to the ground three years ago as COVID-19 shook up campus life here as well as most everywhere. “For so many of […]

It’s a term the Grateful Dead used to explain their longevity: misfit power. C. Chris Meystrik nods approvingly when asked whether it’s in the secret sauce of his infotech division at Jewelry Television (JTV). “I like it,” he answers. “At another company, a manager might roll his eyes and say, ‘that guy’s really out there’ […]

Some IT professionals have a college course or video game that inspired them to pursue a career in technology. Richard Maxwell? He had a bad back.  Maxwell was in his 20s when he severely injured his back while working construction jobs in Alabama. A doctor gave him two options: stop working construction or get major […]

Founded as an accounting firm in 1938, Clark Schaefer Hackett Business Advisors has greatly expanded over the years, and it now offers everything from accounting and auditing to consulting in areas including technology and risk management.  But since 2018, the company has really hit the gas, acquiring at least four other businesses.  Though CSH had […]

When the first Hooters restaurant opened in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983, the company branded itself as “delightfully tacky, yet unrefined.” Servers in low-cut shirts and short orange skirts served basic fare like chicken wings, burgers and beer. Nearly 40 years later, those staples remain, but behind the scenes, technology infrastructure provides modern conveniences that serve […]

As chief information officer for Five Brothers, a property preservation company headquartered north of Detroit in Warren, Michigan, Bill Walsworth needs to make sure everyone gets the picture. Actually, it’s millions of pictures—the fronts of homes, the sides of homes, damage to homes, even grass that needs cutting as part of the property services Five […]