Call me "Josh"
I was born in Richmond, VA on a cold April morning. I have no memory of Richmond because my family moved to Altavista, VA when I was two years old. Since then I have stayed in Southside Virginia, never moving more than an hour away from Altavista. I graduated high school from Lynchburg Christian Academy (now Liberty Christian Academy). Currently, I live in Lynchburg, VA with my girlfriend and two dogs, Tomato and Charlie. Tomato is a quiet Great Pyrenees/Kangal mix and Charlie is a loud Miniature Pinscher.Knowledgeable skills
My dad tells me that he's always had trouble keeping me from taking things apart to see how things work. As he was in the alarm system business, he would bring things that were old or broken to me to work on. Alarm system components, obviously, but also, phones, cameras, tape recorders, computers, audio systems, just about anything. Sometimes I could fix them, sometimes I couldn't, but on occasion I took different components to make something new. This natural talent of figuring out things or "troubleshooting" has helped me develop many other skills. It has lead me to the knowledge to build, create, repair, or improve a multitude of things.30+ year hobby
I was first introduced to computers with the Apple IIe when I was eight. At 15 I built my first computer from new parts and got online not long after that in the summer of 1994. I have been online ever since and I have watched all the growth that has happened for more than two decades. I have used every version of Windows since Windows 3.1, including MS-DOS. I've dealt with MacOS, both classic and OS-X. In 2000 I found Linux and FreeBSD and started building networks and servers with them. I have ruined computers by pushing them too hard and fixed them. I have brought new life to old computers by changing a few things. And I keep up to date on the IT world.Business practices
In January 2015, I bought The Computer Repair Shop in Goode, VA. I had been working there for a couple of years and the owner wanted to go for something new. I made an offer when he told me he was thinking about closing up shop. After going through the books, seeing the strain that the Moneta, VA location put on it, I decided to close that store and just keep the Goode location. After looking at years of not being profitable, I was able to streamline things and turn a tiny profit the first year. The second year that profit rose 1000%. But sadly, because of a faulty laptop battery, there was a fire that destroyed the building in the middle of the third year.Military life
I joined the VA National Guard in August 2001, one month before 9/11. Orders for my first deployment came down just a month after getting out of BASIC and AIT. I spent almost a year in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. We were only supposed to be there six months, but all the orders Army wide changed to year long deployments. We were extended for only four months. After I came back for a time, I got put on state orders at Ft. Pickett, VA. I stayed there voluntarily for just over two years. I then reclassed as an MP and headed to Iraq for a year. While there I was placed on three separate teams and one back-up. I was running 32 hour days and I consider that to be my year of insomnia.Teamwork and leadership
In the places that I've been and the various businesses that I've worked, I have learned that teamwork and leadership go hand in hand. I have worked in teams as small as two of us and as large as 300. I have also been in charge of one person and as many as 25. In that I have been told that I was a natural leader, that I try to think of every way something can happen and make the call accordingly while getting dirty with the team. I have seen good and bad leaders. Good leaders work with the people they are in charge of, part of the team. They help, support, teach, train, correct, and so on. Bad leaders only tell people what to do and walk away. Then they come back saying people aren't team players.High School
August 1992 - May 1996
Graduated
College
August 1996 - December 1997
General Studies
Did not complete