Longtime Information Systems leader Steve Lindquist retires

By Mark Stevens, Public Relations Coordinator

After more than 30 years with The Resource Center, Stephen Lindquist recently retired from the agency.

Steve started with the agency April 6, 1987, as Computer Programmer/Analyst in the Finance Department. He became Computer Operations Manager in 1989 before assuming the role of Director of Information Services when the department was formed in 1993. He remained in that position until he retired.

Steve said that after so many years heading up TRC’s Information Systems Department, he was ready to retire.

“Although I’m leaving after a long career and I will miss a lot of people, the decision for me was really easy,” he said. “The long hours and high stress of the position, which at one time was exciting for me, is not where I want to focus my life at this time.”

During his time with The Resource Center there were tremendous changes, namely technological advances and the number of employees TRC’s information systems are equipped to support.

“Originally, we had one Unix-based server that served approximately 20 administrative staff within the agency. It contained very old spreadsheet and word-processing software. Currently, we have over 30 servers which run a variety of applications. We currently support over 750 employees,” said Steve.

Steve Lindquist, center, poses with Executive Director Denise Jones and Mike Goldman, the President of TRC’s Board of Directors, during a ceremony at which Steve was honored for working at The Resource Center for 30 years.

In addition to keeping up with technological changes, Steve said his most financially significant accomplishment was the implementation of a fiber ring throughout the City of Jamestown, utilizing leased fiber from the City’s Board of Public Utilities. That project, completed in 2007, allowed The Resource Center to link all of its large sites using a high-speed network connection, enabling fast access at a relatively low monthly cost.

On the flip side, there were a few projects Steve said he “couldn’t quite get done.” One initiative had sought to identify or develop a single computer application that could link the disparate systems utilized in different sections of TRC.

“The ideal was to have one computer application that basically ran all facets of our organization. We spent many years researching many alternatives. Our organization was simply too complex for any one computer system to handle.”

As for what’s next, Steve said he plans to spend more time with his children and grandchildren. While he also intends to travel and do other things he enjoys, Steve said he will miss the people he worked with on a daily basis.

“I have an outstanding group of people who worked for and with me. They are dedicated, hard-working individuals who will lead the agency into the future. It has been an honor for me to serve this organization, and I wish everyone at TRC the best of luck in the future.”

For Steve’s retirement party, his staff had a cake made to resemble a RISC (reduced instruction set computer) program Steve had designed many years ago.