Rick Barnes:
CLASS OF 1981
Stockbridge High SchoolClass of 1981
Stockbridge, GA
Rick's Story
Life
Well, we successfully completed the move from the Shenandoah Valley back to civilization. We are about 35 miles west of Washington DC, nestled in with about 30 billion other folks that don't want to drive for hours each way to and from their jobs.
Cars continue to keep my interest, or obsession, depending upon your perspective. My primary car is my black 2006 Corvette Z06. The Porsche Boxster developed some health problems, so I traded it for a 2003 Chevrolet SSR, which will eventually become Elizabeth's some day. I continue to be the webmaster and a club officer of the Old Dominion Corvette Club, which keeps me busy outside of normal family stuff with meetings and events.
College
Did some college during my military career. Completed the Associate's level but never continued. I suppose life, love, hate, and tragedy got in the way. Nevertheless, I wouldn't change a thing!!
Workplace
Let's see. My real work career began when my U.S. Air Force career ended. But, I was on the fast track to success while still in High School. For those that dont recall, I worked at McDonald's (where Tommy Mitchell was arrested) at South Dekalb Mall, and let's not forget about Cindy's! Now that was a great place to work and I must say, Malik Karimi, was a great boss too. I have to thank Sue S., Cheryl C., Cindy B., David J., Chris W., and whoever the other poor souls were that wasted time there. But seriously, my first job out of the service was as a glorified repo man if you can believe that. Nothing like having a gun pointed at your head over a VCR. From there I became an electrician's apprentice until I got electrocuted. AC Electric in Washington DC. I decided then that being an electrician wasn't for me (no offense Rob W.).
I went into the hi-tech world by becoming an electronics technician and spent a couple of years working on some really old LORAN-C comm gear as a contractor to the US Coast Guard. That was RJO Enterprises in MD. From there I went into the fast-paced world of computers, which was right around 1987 if memory serves. That was my first US Government job outside of the USAF, which was the National Science Foundation in DC. After being at NSF for about 3 years, I got really bored and decided to jump into the private sector seeking fame and fortune. I worked for a couple of consulting firms and then landed a Manager/Director position with a company called GTSI in VA.
I was with GTSI for nearly 7 years when I chose to leave my cushy corporate job and jump back into true consulti...Expand for more
ng. The company was ESI based out of Chicago IL. I was the Managing Director of Network Solutions running their networking practice nation-wide. Very good money, but I soon found myself in a huge lawsuit between the 2 founding members. After the suit was settled, I then went back to what I thought would be another cushy corporate job with GE. It was with the American Communications arm of GE, creating a satellite-based broadband delivery network. I developed the architecture and began the implementation when GE opted to sell the business unit. Ooops! That wasn't supposed to happen.
I put word on the street that I was looking and soon interviewed with Cramer Systems, a UK-based software (OSS/BSS) development company. After much negotiating, I took the job as Director of North American Network Operations. It was a good job, got to travel to the UK for the first time, met some really great people, and discovered John Smith's Ale. After many firings and a distinct lack of corporate direction, I left to work for NTT/Verio as Director of Quality Assurance.
My God, what a huge mistake! I spent nearly a year doing 12-14 hour days only to have my boss fired, and our engineering division scattered. There were people in jobs that they clearly couldn't do. Let's just say I was MISERABLE. And don't ever believe for a second that the Japanese have anything over Americans on how to do business. It is simply not true. My wife talked me into applying for another US Government position after seeing my misery and not liking the looong hours; which I did.
Upon submitting my first application, I was called for an interview with the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General. The interview went well, and I even recall going home and telling my wife that I had "nailed it"! A few days later I got a call for the second interview, and the rest is history.
My job with the USPS OIG is by far the best career move I have ever made. I managed the organization's Computer Assisted Assessments Techniques (CAATs) directorate until the middle of September '07, when I was promoted to Acting Director of IT Operations by the CIO. Much more responsibility and functioning at a higher level within the organization.
As of January 2008, I was selected / promoted as the Deputy Chief Information Officer of the OIG and cannot put into words how happy I am. I have a great sense of accomplishment, and I hope to stay here for a good long while. Again, very exciting and challenging, but still, happy as a clam!!
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