What's done is done.

Well, I sit here, half of me wanting to celebrate while the other half of me wants to cry. It's 1:18 AM on January 20, 2006. Tonight, I turned in my keys, credit cards, passwords, company truck, and formally resigned as the Chief Operations Officer of Computer Techs Inc, CCT Wholesale Inc, and EpochEast. Tonight I walked away from a dream that I have worked on for two years of my life. I've given my time, my heart, and my soul into seeing that company turn into something and tonight I walked out on it. Those of you who have been talking to me the last few days have known what my possibilities for the future are, and I'll share them here, but in my own time. Not tonight. Tonight I want to think about where I have spent the last two years of my life. What have I done to make a difference with the company that I built? What have I done to improve the lives of those I've put on our team; worked and sweated and sometimes even bled with? How are their lives today after having come to work for me? The truth is, I'm gonna miss it. I know that I am going on to bigger and better things, but this small thing was something I got to watch from a seedling... had to nurture... had to fight to see survive, and in my own way, though I didn't own it, it was mine. It's successes and failures stand as my testament to what I have given it through my experience and my labors. The truth is, I don't think it will survive. After recent events, with the way the corporate officers have been acting, I think others will follow me, though not directly, but in their own paths. The company and the name itself will survive, but the people currently making it what it is most likely will not. In the end, I believe that this was a stepping stone. And if I can do what I plan, and bring those I have lead before together under a new vision, a bigger and better vision, and recreate the trust and loyalty that this team of men has, then I can truly accomplish everything I have ever wanted with a company. Truthfully, that will be extremely hard. It is easy for one man to leave a company and launch away on his own to a brighter future. Bringing a whole team together under a new umbrella of corporate architecture is another challenge altogether. I don't know anyone that has ever done it successfully. They are out there, I'm sure, but I've never met them. Today, I wish I had one of those to talk to. Do I feel that I have been a good leader of my men? Yes. I had that respect and trust vindicated today when one of my men told me that their wife told him in a conversation last night: "Boy, you'd follow Tommy into hell if he was goin', wouldn't you?" He was recanting a joke with his wife. Before I could respond, Tim, one of my best team members looked right at him and said "Damn right." All the things I've ever done in my life in business have meant nothing compared to that. THAT was the defining moment of my career at this company. And if I'm leaving now, then it is because it is the right thing for me and my team to do. Some will follow immediately. Others will have to be worked in over the coming months, but the truth is; they WILL follow me because they trust me and they truly believe that I would never do anything to lead them wrong intentionally. No amount of money can buy that respect. No amount of politics or weaseling can get that trust. That is what is important to me. And in the end, if I have that from my team, then I am coming out better than some people who make millions of dollars more than me to. If, at the end of the day, my men go home to their loved ones, wives, and families, and if they can rest at night and know that they look forward to working under the conditions I have been able to present them with, then I have been a success. So, with this thought in my mind, I toast you all. My team, my friends, and the strength they have brought to our ideas and philosophies; You have my highest praise. To Tim Pendergrass, Frederick Bunch, Chris Comeau, Desmond Marks, and a few others down the line; You are all truly great men and it has been my honor to work with you these last two years. I have learned business skills and how to make money from others in my life, but from you men I have learned the true meaning of a team, of trust in another, and of respect. I owe you all a debt that I will never be able to repay, but Lord willing I am going to try harder than I ever have tried to make your faith become evident and your trust be proven worthy. Thank you all. Thank you Computer Techs. Thank You Scott Smith. Now, finally, I find myself smiling.... and I'm just dying to say these words out loud: Hey... I'm going to Africa bitches!!!" Love you all. PS: I'll update you on the trip later this weekend. I want the time to tell the story in my own way.