Today we got the opportunity to speak with Matthew Tuck, the newest Tier II tech addition to the Hill Country Tech Guys team. We discussed a wide range of topics including: what it’s like to work in security, retro gaming, moving up through the ranks as a tech, Matt’s hobby of taking things apart to learn how it works, and how Raspberry Pi’s can be a great teaching tool for people of all ages on how to code. This was a fun discussion and appreciate Matt’s joining us!

Today we got the chance to talk with Tyler Merrill, one of the newest Tier I techs hired at Hill Country Tech Guys. Tyler has worked in IT for around 10 years including stints at USAA and Fort Sam Houston. We discussed several topics including: his hobby of mountain biking, fantasy vs sci-fi, Stargate Universe’s superiority as the number one Stargate series, the renaissance festival, competition as a tool to better yourself, some deep sea fishing, and camping.

Today we spoke with Kanika Washington, a Tier I technician at Hill Country Tech Guys. Kaneka joined the Air Force in 2000 right after graduating high school and spent the next 7 years progressively advancing through the ranks. While in the Air Force she found her way into I.T. and enjoying the work decided to stick with it and make a career of it. We also discussed a few more topics including the, Jackson Mississippi and it’s water issues, politics, how South Korea is a great time for a 20 year old, gaming, and the importance of Critical Thinking and it’s effect on society.

Today we spoke with Javarus Burton, the most recent addition to our Tech team. Javarus has an IT background that started with the military in the 101st division. We discussed fewer subjects than we typically do, spent a lot of time talking about football and a whole lot of time discussing rugby. Javarus played running back in high school and convinced his parents to move to Texas to pursue his dream of playing at the highest level he could. We also reviewed the ins and outs of rugby, how many people play on a team, what each position entails, the national and regional level structure, and just in general how rugby is the best sport on the planet 😉

This conversation was a lot of fun! Be sure listen in!

Today we interviewed Michael Duff, a schooled IT technician who lives in Florida and is the newest member of the Hill Country Tech Guys team. We discussed his previous experience owning an IT company in Rhode Island, the trials and tribulations of starting a company from scratch, Commadore 64, and the fact that it required basic coding for any functionality, how Rhode Island actually has seasons, cloud migrations, Florida sunsets, deep sea kayak fishing.

Today we spoke with TD Smyers. TD hosts his own podcast called, No Cliches, which discusses Bold Leadership and interviews leaders from different industries. TD also is an Executive Coach, with 31 years of Naval Leadership experience, and an additional 10+ years as a CEO for multiple nonprofit organizations.

We reviewed a wide variety of subjects including the Navy, Naval Power Projection, how 9/11 changed the military, the USSR and lifting the Iron Curtain, how creating opposing superpowers is good for growth, that increased manufacturing in America could provide for fulfilling jobs and build a stronger economy, free speech and America’s unique perspective on it, the difference between Leadership and management, how TD runs his Leadership courses and how to learn from your mistakes.

You can listen to TD’s podcast here:

https://aboldleader.com/no-cliches-podcast

Read his blog here:

https://aboldleader.com/

And find out to have TD help your Leadership team grow here:

https://simpleleadershipstrategies.com/contact/

Today we speak with Hill Country Tech Guys newest employee, Natalie Murphy. Natalie is our Content Author who's background includes photography, journalism, and IT. We discuss a wide variety of subjects involving: Photography, newspapers, kids, dogs, cats, nursing, teaching, the sheer amount of teaching jobs available compared to 2008, why we have a teaching shortage, and more.

Today we spoke with Josh Kibbe, a Tier II on our Support Team. We discussed a few subjects including what it's like to be an escalated tech, guns, and holy moly did we go deep on Golden Tee. I know I shouldn't be surprised, but folks, there's an entire subset of American society that is deeply passionate about Golden Tee. Some people like sports, some people like knitting, others choose the Golden Tee life. We enjoyed getting to learn more about Josh and appreciate him sitting down with us. Thanks Josh!

Today we talked with Hunter White, a Tier I tech at Hill Country Tech Guys. We discuss his time in the military as an IT tech in the Marines, the war in Ukraine, World War I, World War II, and it turns out Hunter is a bit of a nerd, and not just a little bit. Hunter is an avid LOTR fan, eh…maybe LOTR historian is a better description of the knowledge that he displays on the podcast. We had to keep this one short and to the point due to time constraints, but promise that we’ll have a in-depth Lord of the Rings podcast at a date to be determined. This was a lot of fun and look forward to our next podcast with Hunter!

Today we spoke with Mitch Smith, who's got some opinions. In one of our best discussions to date we talked about what it takes to be on the infrastructure team, transitioning into IT, diesel engines(apparently Ford's 6.0 is trash), being an member of the elite Navy Search & Rescue team, PTSD from being involved in intense situations as a S&R team member, jumping out of helicopters and breaking bones.