5 years ago - yesterday

…was my last day as a full time employee of the information management group.  a couple weeks prior i sent the following email entitled “going forward”:

please use my hotmail account for email.  i've turned in my full time resignation effective april 1st (one of my favorite days), but will be travelling until then.  i plan to go back as an independent consultant, so if you see me around it's not a cruel april fools joke, it's just that i still want to do what i'm doing. 
i can't begin to tell everyone what a great experience working for img has been (but now i'm going to)...

i've been aware of img since 1992.  i started at gallagher bassett services in itasca, IL as a help desk analyst.  img was working with gb to develop a foxpro application.  i moved into the development group supporting the design and support  on lan manager 2.2 and windows 3.1/windows for workgroups 3.1x.  i would have never guessed that a few years later img would provide the most important consulting opportunity i've had to date.

in 1997 i left gb to become a webmaster/developer at dekalb genetics in dekalb, il and used marc g's asp online training as my intro into advanced web development.

thanks to mark p and michelle m, i started as a consultant at motorola in 1999 and in 2000 img helped me become an mct.  for giving me the opportunity to pursue something i have come to know and love (training), i will be forever grateful.  karen d, richard k, jeff f and martha m were instrumental bringing me on board as a full time employee in 2001.  jessica m (now jessica e) and sherrie t showed me the ropes around the office.  i was surprised to learn that marc g was a part owner of img because he was working for his own company in 1997.  then i met jessica w (j2) and between the two jessica's employment has been really great.

over the next four years i've met and made many lasting friendships and would appreciate everyone keeping in touch whether professionally, personally or both.  in looking at the latest org chart i've gone from knowing 4 or 5 imgers to knowing almost every single one.  my email address is rey_daniel@hotmail.com.

take care everybody,

dan r

since then img sold their training business and almost everyone i worked with has moved on, but every april 1st i think back to this email and the risky career move that 6 months later landed me at microsoft.