My first job on the books was at age 14. As a stock boy at a local grocery store. I worked hard and was rewarded with the added responsibility of cleaning the deli/meat room. The butcher slipped me $2 bucks above my minimum wage for the effort. Then and there I realized the importance of mastering the trenches to earn respect and gain value as a colleague.H.S.: I worked for the Onondaga County Grounds & Road Crew. I operated heavy machinery, patched a bunch of potholes, and made friends with guys named Boots, Shifty, and Yo.College: I did a stint as an Applebee’s server for some seriously needed extra cash. I had 23 pieces of flair. When I look back on waiting tables, it taught me so much about account management. You have to balance the needs of the customer, the kitchen, management, and the corporation. If you can keep the customer happy everyone makes some cash. That is good. Internship: Full-time gopher for CollegeBound Magazine. Eventually, I began writing college campus tours that were published in the magazine. It was nice to learn that if you work hard and earn respect, you just might find yourself in print. Graduation: I found employment as an account executive for McCann Erickson. Working on the General Motors account I helped developed customer loyalty campaigns. Long account management hours and low pay lead me to investigate commission-based sales. And did I just land in sales central, a little place called Venture Direct. This is where I learned how to sell veal to vegetarians. After icing my veins, I moved to a financial marketing firm called BannerDirect as a Regional Sales Director. We worked on mammoth accounts such as Bank of America, Chase, and Wachovia. BannerDirect was a great group and taught me to put integrity first into everything I did.Current: Doing great work with great people. We're leading the charge on what's new and next!