Jordy Simpson, I.T. Manager

Jordy Simpson started with Houston’s as the I.T. Manager in December 2017.

What exactly does Jordy do as the Information Technology Manager? “I am responsible for ensuring that my department makes all the technology play nicely” he explains. Although he has only been here a few months, when asked what he loves about working for Houston’s thus far he said “The people! You’ve all been great in welcoming me to the Houston’s family, and I’m enjoying working with everyone.”

Some of Jordy’s delicious cooking!

Outside of work Jordy loves to cook, “cooking is an active meditation for me, relaxing and enjoyable at the same time.” He focuses on anything plant based as Jordy is a vegan and loves trying new recipes. Board games and card games are a huge part of his life for just the fun of the game and because it allows for getting together with friends to play. He is currently a part of a large DND (Dungeons & Dragons) group as well as a “grab a random game from the shelf” group that meets on a regular basis.

“I love to read,” says Jordy, but admits that he can’t choose a favorite book, “since so many books have different great things about them it’s not fair to say I like one above all others. It’s like with fruit- sometimes you want a banana, sometimes you want a pineapple. They aren’t always interchangeable, but they’re both delicious!”

Jordy enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons and other role playing games.

As for music- he prefers live music, but when asked about a favorite, again – banana vs. pineapple – it depends on his mood and he loves it all. He also loves the beach and hot weather, and the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean is the perfect place to find both, “their beaches are made of pure white sand and crystal blue water with warm to hot temperatures.”
Next time you’re in the vicinity of the IT Department, be sure to stop by and say hello to Jordy.

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Gary is the Houston’s Information System Technician. To sum up what this entails, using Gary’s own words, “I
fix things.” Computers, network issues, phones, printers, etc… there is always something new to work on, trouble shoot, or upgrade and that is what Gary loves about his job, the ever changing needs of the company that keep his job from getting stale.

“Gary was chosen as the Employee of the Quarter because of his tireless dedication to the company both as a business and as people,” says Jordy Simpson, IT Manager, “He always does his best to please everyone and keep things up and running, going above and beyond when there is a need for it. I don’t know what we’d do without him!”

If you haven’t yet met Gary, you’re sure to have heard some of his random animal noises – he often imitates various birds – as he travels around the building. When not at work (which he does find himself working from home at times, too), he loves spending time with his wife, 3 grandkids, and 4 great grandkids. Gary’s youngest great grandson is really into Legos and Thomas the Train at the moment, and he and Gary spend plenty of time building things. Gary and his wife also have 3 fur babies- Buddy, Chion (Spanish for crybaby), and Kane who are a miniature Aussie, miniature Dachshund, and a Shih Tzu Chihuahua respectively. If Gary had a hobby it would be video games, as he is currently working on Fallout 4 but his all-time favorite game is Mario.

When asked to give one interesting bit of information that people may not know about him, he said that after 25+ years of smoking he will be smoke free for one year at the end of March and is very happy about this.

Thank you again for all you have done and continue to do, Gary! And congratulations on becoming Employee of the Quarter for the first quarter of 2018.

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Houston’s IT department is inextricably interwoven with everything that Houston’s does as a business. Where other foodservice operators generally outsource to contractors for programming services, Houston’s does just about everything in-house.

Houston’s IT provides a level of knowledge and service that supports both the company and many of our customers. Outside contractors don’t typically spend the time to learn the details of an individual job process. Our IT department works directly with employees, departments, operations, drivers, and merchandisers to hone in on their specific job functions and enable them to work more efficiently and accurately.

Houston’s was not always so tech savvy. In 1985, a Honeywell mainframe computer about the size of two refrigerators was purchased. The nightly backup took six of the large reel-to-reel tapes (think movie projector) and a person had to stay all night and change them when each one finished. An upgrade came along in 1992 to an IBM computer. This one only took one tape to do the nightly backup.

Gary Lass, Houston’s IT Manager, was then a contractor who provided IT support. When an issue arose, the common response was “Call Gary!” In 2000, Gary joined Houston’s permanently and within three years Houston’s was automating warehouse functions. Also, Receiving, Order Picking, and Inventory Management began using portable scanners, streamlining warehouse operations and reducing inventory and picking issues.

Now employees, customers, and vendors can access data using a number of methods. Sean Utt is our website and special systems programmer and database architect. Features on our website include the ability to:

• Browse product and inventory levels in both warehouse locations
• Place quick orders
• View invoices and credit memo’s
• Download price lists and MSDS sheets
• Print flyers and other product resource materials
• Obtain vendor sales data

Sean also designs data files that can communicate with our customer’s and vendor’s computers to stream live data. Our Sales teams also have the ability to source data on the road so conversations with customers contain real-time information.

Diverse technology requires diverse personnel. Gary notes, “There are literally hundreds of operating systems in use around the world. Many of those have dozens of subsets that differ in significant ways from one another. The operating systems control how the programmers interact with the system. Features and controls vary from system to system, from the big mainframe systems, down to your smartphone, and everything in between.  There are hundreds of jobs in IT and people in the IT arena tend to specialize in one or two disciplines over the course of their careers.”

Gary Pierce specializes in the hardware, including phone and computer systems, the portable scanner units, and other equipment used out in the field. The team recently completed a project to update HTrans truck tablets to a web-style interface. This allows our HTrans drivers and customers to make notes regarding deliveries or returns and convey them back to the office. Also joining the team is Manuel Magana, who will be assisting on various projects including a proposed update to our VOIP system.

Plans for the future are always geared toward automation where we can gain efficiency and reduce operating costs. We can be assured that we have an IT department that has the specializations needed to support Houston’s diverse technology needs.

Fun Fact #1: When the Wilsonville location opened in 1998 there were over 5 miles of computer and phone cables pulled throughout the building. Today, with advancements in technology we use less than half of the original cable.

Fun Fact #2: To date there are 10,900 programs and 1.13 million lines of code.

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Gary’s job as an Information Systems Technician is seldom boring. A self-proclaimed “Mr. Fix-It,” we go to him with all our electronic fix-it needs: computer malfunctions, the network, the main system…anything electronics-related. He likes that he can work on a great variety of things—from downed computers to malfunctioning telephones to warehouse guns—over the course of a single day, and that his work keeps him roaming from place to place within the building and warehouse. There have even been times when he has been flown to Kansas City to remedy phone problems or other such glitches. Gary especially looks forward to Fridays, the IT “dip day”, when every third week he gets to be food-creative (but let’s face it, bacon is a common ingredient in his concoctions) and bring in yummy dip for the staff to enjoy.

Naturally inquisitive, Gary likes to figure things out, and this, in a nutshell, is the reason he is so good at his work: if he doesn’t know something, he will do whatever it takes to find it out. He is a Google master, often using the search engine as a resource for helping him to solve problems. In Gary’s words, there is “always someone smarter out there who has already fixed your problem.”

After work, Gary likes to visit his great-grandson, play some X-Box 360, watch TV, and sleep. Sounds like some much deserved down time after a hard day at the office! Congratulations Gary and thank you for all your hard work!

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