Reflections: Gail Wekenborg, Missouri

"Reflections" is an occasional series featuring brief interviews with a NASTD member nearing retirement. Gail Wekenborg, former NASTD president, contributed the following thoughts.

First...

I began my technology career in 1966. My first job was with McAuto, the data subsidiary of McDonnell Aircraft in St.   Louis. I wrote Autocoder for a 1410 tape system computer and did some wiring for the 407 Accounting Machine. I could run a card sorter and collator. The 1410 had about 1000 positions of memory. I had a memory chart that I used to set the word marks needed to identify fields and instructions. That was state of the art punch card accounting. IBM had just begun manufacturing the S/360. MAC had a model 65 on the engineering campus. “256K and 512K” were buzz words and big time computers.

I was fortunate to enter data processing. It was a new field, unplowed turf. Equal pay for men and women was a reality at MAC and in my jobs to follow. Women did not get squashed the way they did in some fields because it was an evolving occupation. To say you were a computer programmer caused you to get looks like the gawker thought you were a genius.

I have seen so many changes that I feel my career has spanned the Westward Movement via the covered wagon to the exploration of outer space. I am in awe of the computing capacity and power at our finger tips today and the places that the network can take you is really like science fiction when I started.

I know I was supposed to stick to the questions, but those who know me well, know I must do it my way.

Gail Wekenborg
State of Missouri
Life Member NASTD

What was your first job in state government? My first job in state government was with the Missouri State Highway Department. I was hired as a Programming Engineer in the Division of Surveys and Plans. I was hired because I had an Assembler background for the S/360 mainframe.

There are two things interesting about this job. The first is that I had Engineer in my title (it seems every “professional” position had to have the engineer title). The second was that I was to write COBOL applications. Hmmm. Assembler-COBOL??????

What was your most memorable job in state government? During the period 2001 through 2005 I served as the Deputy Director for the Division of Information Services within the Office of Administration. In that capacity, I had the opportunity to bring together under one management, telecommunications (all aspects) and the data center. I had the opportunity to attend legislative sessions and work directly with members to obtain funding for providing these services to all state agencies. The challenge was exciting. The operational issues faced by staff each day boggled my mind. Issues ran the gambit of point to point networks to Ethernet, remote connectivity, security, servers, batch processing, Java, portals, etc. For a person who began in the tab environment, this was almost beyond belief. The adrenaline rush from getting your budget and solving a network problem were highs. At times I felt like a child in a candy shop.

How did being a member of NASTD help you accomplish projects within your state agency? I became the Telecommunications Director in fall 1992. My background was applications development for 25 years. To say that I was a fish out of water is an understatement. My first NASTD contact was from Ray Penrod (Oklahoma). He welcomed me to my job and offered to help wherever he could. He briefly told me about the Bulletin Board and how to use it. (Now this is a surprise because most of us know Mr. Penrod did not use email or the listserv in later years.)

Another early contact was from Jody McCann (Wisconsin), who encouraged me to get involved and attend the Midwest regional meeting. I stalled and hemmed and hawed. If I were to go, I would have to admit that I could not spell PBX and I certainly did not know what one was.

But Jody was so persistent that I mustered the courage to go to Topeka, Kansas. That was the smartest thing I did. There I met the people who were struggling with the very issues I was facing. They had years of telecommunications experience and willingly gave their advice. All they asked in return was my help when they were in need. Where can you possibly get so much for so little an investment?

What NASTD member(s) had the biggest impact on your professional career and why? I have already acknowledged that debt of gratitude I owe Jody McCann and Ray Penrod. Were it not for them I would have struggled for years trying to get the background to do my job in Missouri telecommunications. But others also shared sage advice and became trusted advisers. These included Matt Brown, Dave Ballard, Jack Ries, Brenda Decker, Hale Irwin, Carl Hotvedt, Sam Rule (I knew him only as a Corporate Affiliate, not as a state member) and Karen Britton.

The most notable, however, is our current Midwest President, Nancy Bochat. She had the patience to teach me my job and then learned to trust me as I began to get the hang of it.

How has communications technology changed state government during your career? When I began in 1992 we were still focusing on extending centrex voice services to more parts of Missouri. While still a concern, today we are wondering if the LAN is robust enough for voice; what do we do for voice if the network is down; how do we provide secure networks and share facilities; is there MODOT fiber in our future? And we no longer see a separation in voice and data. We talk about converged networks and hope the data folks really get the voice part.

What has been your most rewarding accomplishment in state government? When I became the Deputy Director of the Division of Information Services, I was finally able to combine the data center network folks with the telecommunications network folks. They had different roles and functions and it was desirable to put them together. I can’t say that I was able to do that to the extent needed but it was a recognition that “convergence” was on the horizon.

However, the most rewarding part of my life was being deemed worthy to serve on the Executive Board of NASTD. This was a recognition of which I felt unworthy. I was so green in the industry and was honored that some of our members (specifically a gentleman from Wisconsin) could see my abilities despite my inabilities. Going through the chairs of office taught me so much about the association, its members and management. I was fortunate to serve with some great leaders.

Would you encourage a new college graduate to consider a civil service career? Yes, I would. I have found state government to be challenging. The constant change in leadership in both the Executive and Legislative branches is a challenge. You must know your business and be a good communicator to sell your points. But the results are rewarding. One day in a store you hear a constituent comment positively about something you helped implement. You just smile. It is part of your job. You won’t get rich in government but you will be challenged every minute on the job and you will be held accountable to every citizen in the state.

“Retirement is for the birds” Agree? Disagree? Why? - Seems like this is a question to be answered several years after retiring. However, I see it as a new phase in my life. I have already volunteered to work in the “Kids Café” during July and August. It is a lunch program run by 3 local churches for the kids on free lunch. Have you ever thought about how they eat when school is not in session? And I am geared up to spend a couple days each week with my 4 year old grandson. If you know me, you know that Tom and I live on Cedar Creek in Callaway County Missouri. There is no end of things to do on the farm. If you want to catch up with me, check the local MFA Exchange. I will be there early in the morning to get something for the farm.

Comments

[laboratory freezers]

It is the smartest thing to do. Every way is in legal process.