Good Luck in Retirement, Lee!

Congratulations to IBM Developer Lee Jayne on her retirement from Briteskies! After 11 years as an integral member of the IBM i team here at Briteskies, Lee is trading in her keyboard for crafting supplies and time with her family.

Lee began her career in 1979 when she took her first programming job. She was drawn to the tech field because of the interesting work, good working conditions, and fair compensation, among other things.

“I’ve always liked the challenge of solving puzzles,” Lee said. “The use of technology to meet business needs appeared to be a chance for me to have a lot of puzzles to solve, which sounded like an enjoyable way to spend time. Also, at a time when good opportunities in the workforce were very limited for women, a critical need for skilled technical people offered gender-blind opportunities for everyone; a fact that greatly improved my chances of finding employment in my chosen field.”

Lee started her career as a programmer and backup operator for an advertising company that spent a lot of time working with mailing lists. She created and maintained programs written in RPG II that ran on a Cincinnati Milacron, a computer that processed job streams from punched cards and stored data on large, round, removable storage packs.

She eventually progressed from a programmer to a programmer analyst and, eventually, to the Senior Programmer/Analyst position. She dabbled in team leadership and management roles, but always returned to her passion: development. After spending the first 15 to 20 years of her career as an employee for small companies and large corporations, Lee made the move to consulting in order to work on larger development projects. She eventually found her way to Briteskies as an IBM developer. 

Over her years here at Briteskies, Lee has worked on a number of projects, often involving working on-site alongside the client. Here’s what a few of her recent clients had to say about working with her:

Donna Pruneski, Avery:

“I didn’t work directly with Lee but our department was small enough that we knew everyone, and Lee was a pleasure to know. We went to girl lunches together and just got to know each other in the time she was here. Everyone that did work with her thought of her work to be excellent, and her personality made it easy to work with her.”

Rob Nettgen, Hyatt Legal:

“(Lee) worked long hours on her own initiative. My coworkers in Accounting would often comment on how they enjoyed working with her, and how she grasped arcane business details very quickly. One of my coworkers was very comfortable working with her, and appreciated her help when she took care of issues when he was on vacation.”

Likewise, some of Lee’s longtime coworkers here at Briteskies shared their thoughts about working with Lee over the years:

Mike Iaconis, Senior JD Edwards Consultant:

“I always enjoyed working with Lee. She is a hard worker and likes to keep up on the latest enhancements to the IBM i. She does not mind taking the time to share what she has learned with others and is willing to learn from the experience of her co-workers as well. She is a joy to be around and she will definitely be missed.”

Bill Onion, Managing Director:

“I’m sad to see Lee go, she’s a bit of a fixture here. But, I’m excited for her and (her husband) to enjoy the next chapter. Lee’s been a big part of our success – she takes great care of our clients and our clients love working with her.

Lee’s been great to work with. She’s always willing to step in to help out on a problem, no matter how big or small. She’s also willing to learn new things and figure out how something works. We’ll miss her!”

Now that she has retired, she is free to spend her time on her hobbies of reading, sewing, and crafting. And, while we’ll miss her support on projects and seeing her around the office, we’re sure her husband and the rest of her family will be thrilled to be able to spend more time with her. 

Good luck in retirement, Lee!