As part of our 50th Anniversary year, we will be sharing stories of the people we serve, staff and volunteers that have made Systems the amazing agency it is. This week we talked to Systems staff, Doug Thompson.
Doug works in the data entry area of Employment Systems (ES) entering time sheets for people served and staff. He has worked in this position for thirty-one years. He also has been a member of the Systems Safety and Rights Committees.
I worked with Doug back in 1999-2000. The main thing I remembered about him is how hard he worked and would not stop until his job was completed. That has not changed. Doug could not wait to get back to ES to work after COVID-19 closed ES in person programming. Last week, he was asked to come back to start working one day a week. He eagerly agreed.
On his second day back to work, he took some time to reminisce about Systems throughout all the years he has worked here. When Doug began to work at Systems, it was on Williams Blvd. and called the Nelson Center. The Nelson Center eventually became Employment Systems. He was with Systems when it moved to 1st Ave. and then eventually into the current service center on Scott Blvd.
When asked about what keeps him at SUI, he stated that it was getting to know different people. His favorite memory was going to BBQs at Mercer parks. He stated that it was a lot of fun. He has seen a lot of changes through the years when it comes to his job. The time sheets have become a lot easier to read and the computer programs are a lot easier to type into.
On a personal level, Doug lives with his parents Gary and Virginia Thompson. He likes to go out to eat at Carlo’s O’Kelly’s, watch movies and loves Mountain Dew. He even has some Mountain Dew signs and different memorabilia around his home.
When asked one thing that people might not know about him, he stated that he goes to Disney in Florida every year. That sounds like an incredibly fun tradition! We appreciate Doug and all the years of service he has given to our agency.
