Even maintenance men get their due: Our 2005 Employee of the Year winner!

There was plenty of clapping and appreciation for a job well done last week as Senior Systems Administrator Scott (Chuck) Whitaker was recognized as IdeaStar's 2005 Employee of the Year. Chuck has been with IdeaStar since the acquisition of NetForce, almost two years ago, and worked with NetForce for three years prior to that.

Chuck (left) with IdeaStar's Jim Fisher, shows off his award. Thanks for all your hard work Chuck!

Chuck played a major role in organizing our office move in the summer of 2005, and continually works to keep technology safe and secure for our clients. When he is not working he likes to ride fast on his motorcycle, play online interactive games, and of course, spend time with his wife Kari and daughter Jocelyn.

"I like to think of IdeaStar as a home and myself as the maintenance man," says Chuck. "I'm the guy who keeps everything in working order."

Copyright © IdeaStar 2006

And The Winners Are...

Hollywood awards season is officially upon us with the recent Golden Globe Awards and Grammy Awards. All the glitter and glitz will be out again on March 5th, when the 78th Annual Academy Awards take center stage and pick the best films of 2005.

After the nominations were announced last week, Oscar talk has been everywhere. Some of our employees have favorites...others are still waiting for these films on DVD.

Paul Breitzmann, Project Manager - "There is strong evidence that my wife and I should get out more. I haven't seen any of the nominated films except for Corpse Bride."

Steve Harrison, Developer - Really wants The Constant Gardener, but since it's not up for best pitcure, "I hope Munich wins," he says.

Susanne Svette, General Manager - "The last movie I saw was a 1994 LifeTime channel special."

Mary Fisher, Marketing Manager - "Wallace and Gromit, Curse of the Were-Rabbit is the only good movie I've seen in a long time. It made me laugh!"

Laurel Baldwin, Business Development - Predicts that the Academy will choose BrokeBack Mountain as best picture, Phillip Seymour Hoffman as best actor (Capote), and Reese Witherspoon as best actress (Walk the Line). She takes her movies very seriously!

Chris Arpajian, Intern - "I didn't see most of those movies but I would like to vote for Terrence Howard in 'Hustle and Flow'. He was great!"