I grew up in a big Navy family. I moved eight times before settling in Chesapeake, Virginia as an adult, and I have probably had every type of job you can think of – from back-breaking farm work, making Whoppers in a small-town Burger King, to owning my own pet store – I have seen it all. I have been in every position possible, made nothing to gain experience, learned every trade I could and truly worked from the moment I was allowed. The number one thing that I have learned during all those moves, working in all those jobs, was that being part of a community is more important than making money.

I started Genesis Fiber Optic Splicing 20 years ago with my Dad. We had a dream, determination and a supportive group of friends and family that understood our mission. We wanted to make sure that our community always stayed connected. I learned the fine skills necessary for fiber optic splicing and loved the emerging technology that was making Hampton Roads more modern, more competitive and of course, more together. I took my customer service background and made some pretty incredible relationships with the industry experts that still work with me today. I learned to give back more than I received, and even on the hardest days, I still believed in what we were doing. Our company culture revolves around the bigger picture.

Fast forward the 20 years and I find myself looking at the next generation of technicians coming through the company and wonder if they too understand the importance of what they do. We share our mission, we share the priority of quality over quantity and we always encourage an attitude of leaving something better than you found it. Many people don’t know what we do and that many of their modern conveniences in telecommunications would be stunted without this technology – but that isn’t the point. The general population shouldn’t worry about how this works, because we do. Genesis Fiber Optic Splicing, my family’s company, will always work hard to make sure that our community can always stay connected because that is how a community thrives.