Messages in FedEx ITD Retiree Breakfast Club group.

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Subject: One of FedEx's first patents (Bill Cummings, Mike Taube, Tom Bullion, Jack Poole, Robert Estes) for ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/3/2013

One of FedEx's first patents (Bill Cummings, Mike Taube, Tom Bullion, Jack Poole, Robert Estes) for organizing Containers for air/truck transport

Subject: http://www.memphismagazine.com/Memphis-Magazine/April-2013/FedEx-at-Forty-Fred-Smiths-Million-Dollar ...

Deby Abbott Jolley4/3/2013

http://www.memphismagazine.com/Memphis-Magazine/April-2013/FedEx-at-Forty-Fred-Smiths-Million-Dollar-Dream-Machine/

Subject: FedEx trivia: I knew that FedEx started out on Burroughs mainframes(now Unisys after they merged wit ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/3/2013

FedEx trivia: I knew that FedEx started out on Burroughs mainframes(now Unisys after they merged with Sperry Univac) and went to IBM after absorbing Cook Industries IT staff. Talking with Jimmy Sowell this week, FedEx also had an Amadahl mainframe and a Hitachi mainframe, both of which would run IBM software.

Carl Wayne Hardeman4/3/2013

Amdahl was water cooled and you could grill on the Hitachi, wait that was a hibachi.

Chris Apalodimas5/8/2013

Don't forget the knockoff hardware for the Comten (front end processors for the network) we used to run too.

Jimmy Glenn Burk5/8/2013

I remember the Comten. It was a 3725 IBM front end look a like. I was supposed to do some coding on the ncr comten to put polling in remote locations, after the DADS project, but by that time those in the company that were loyal to IBM had decided not to take a chance on something new in the system.

Subject: FedEx got an enormous lead over emery, purolator and later UPS in the priority package business with ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/3/2013

FedEx got an enormous lead over emery, purolator and later UPS in the priority package business with COSMOS, the radio network and DADS. Can't imagine the company without these systems. Today marks the 40th anniversary of the first cell phone call, which I think Motorola made to one of its competitors.

Deby Abbott Jolley4/3/2013

Wow!

Carl Wayne Hardeman4/3/2013

Some of us were talking with motorola around 1990 and they said before DADS they were thinking RF was dead.

Jim Gonka4/4/2013

I worked for Motorola in the late 70s. I was the depot level repair bench tech for the IMTS mobile telephone system. We were still experimenting with cell phones at that time.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/4/2013

From Richard Dunn: The cell phone 40 years ago is somewhat misleading - a phone with no network. The cellular networks didn't get started until the early eighties. To put the DADS radio network in perspective: First FedEx radio system in New York City - January 1977 First Alpha DADS system in Chicago - June 1980 Followed by Beta DADS system in New York City - December 15, 1981 (peak season?) The DADS program began in 1982 and was rolled out nationwide by 1986. This was about the timeframe the cellular networks became viable...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/4/2013

Randall Jackson: I remember when Richard asked me to think about how to put together a network of radio systems not too many years after I started at FedEx on 1981. I got a piece of octagon graph paper and started drawing cells with repeating frequencies separated as far apart from each other as possible. I personally feel that FedEx invented the cellular radio system in the greater New York area years before cellphones came into full use.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/4/2013

Richard Dunn: Hey Jim(Moore), That Motorola Guy must have been talking on a DynaTac VHF/UHF radiotelephone using a mobile radiotelephone system in New York. In the seventies, it was a mobile radio telephone system, the predecessor to the cellular world. The $3500 trunk mounted radio, roof mounted antenna,and a telephone console inside the vehicle. Monthly phone bill of $150. There were limited analog channels per market. I think Memphis had two VHF and six UHF channels - total of 8 simultaneous conversations at one time. Anybody with a good monitor could listen in... The DynaTac 8000x, Motorola's first handheld cell phone was FCC certified in 1983

Subject: From: Winn Stephenson

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/5/2013

From: Winn StephensonQuestion for the Legends Group....What is the first PC that you owned?Mine was a Radio Shack Color Computer (CoCo). It had 4k memory and used a cassette tape for storage. You had to save your data at least twice to have a good chance to read it back in. I used Turbo Pascal and actually could do a lot. You used a traditional TV for a monitor and needless to say was not very sharp. Graphics were very, very basic and most apps (we called them programs in those days) were text based.But being my first foray into computing, I loved it and wish I still had it as memorabilia, but I'm sure the cassettes would have deteriorated by now and be unreadable.What was the first computer you used at work?I started as a programmer trainee at the Memphis City Schools and we had a IBM 360 model 30, which was quite the berries at the time. It had 32k (core memory) and we developed in Cobol. The disk drives were 2311's and had 7 megs (I think). My cell phone has about 27x power and 4 million times the memory.I, like several posts I have seen, got hooked on computing with the ole 1620 at Memphis State, using Fortran and punch cards.Ah, those were the days.........Winn");

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/5/2013

My first ‘PC’ was an Intel computer running CP/M(Control Program for Microcomputers). At work my first ‘PC’ was some type of 386 based desktop. At home the first computer I played with was a TI-99(Texas Instruments) and later I bought a MAC Plus which I programmed in C, but bought primarily to develop technical courses for CBU.

Bob Higgins4/5/2013

I bought my first computer in 1978, from a small Denver company called "The Digital Group" (not related to DEC). It came as a kit that I had to assemble. Bare circuit boards, plus bags of components. The CPU board had 4k of Ram on board, plus three 8K memory boards. Each memory board had sixty-four 1024 bit chips. I still remember hand soldering well over 1000 points on each of these boards. My monitor was a 21 inch surplus flight display monitor from the Denver Airport. I mostly programmed in Z-80 assembler, but also had a primitive Basic compiler. Mass storage was cassette tapes. I wrote a fairly nice full screen editor that I could use in place of the included simple line editor. My first computer at school, was an IBM 1620. In the summer of my junior year, I started writing payroll and simple accounting programs in Fortran on an IBM 1130, for a local CPA firm.

Jim Gonka4/5/2013

Commodore 64

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/5/2013

Bob, did you also look at the Altair....I almost bought one, but got really busy at work and no time to play.

Bob Higgins4/5/2013

I did look, but when I was ready to buy, the DG system seemed to be more functional for the price.

Carl Wayne Hardeman4/5/2013

First I wired accounting machine panels IBM 407, then programmed 1401 and 1440 and 7090. First PC commodore.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/5/2013

What caused Jimmy to buy his first PC: Around 1983 or 84 FWS would have Sunday meetings at Corporate Headquarters on Airways. The Satellite execs (McArtor, Mook) had purchased 300 small satellites to connect future small Tandem computers into the Zapmail network. Gil Mook made a presentation on the delivery of this system,,,and was asked.... but what are you going to connect those 600 ports to?(there were two 56kbps ports per satellite link). Gil didn't know, and there weren't any spare ports on the current network. Gil returned to the meeting and said...Please figure this out.....we need a solution for it...and by the way..you have to give a presentation on Sunday to Mr. Smith about what we are going to do.... I came up with a configuration that put in a tandem system which would handle 70% of the traffic on that system, and the other traffic could be routed to the current network with a fiber optic link,,,,requiring only one port. I didn't have a PC or MAC at that time, and hand drew the slides and made overheads. I presented this to FWS, who had been told there was no solution...and he seemed satisfied with the answer. He then paused and said, "Jimmy, why in the world don't you have a MacIntosh or something to make those slides'....I paused and said,,,"they won't give me money for a MACIntosh....so these are done using the BurkIntosh method"...he laughed and I survived that meeting...but I went back and ordered a PC One group under Jim Whitworth, who I worked for, had already bought two of the infamous Apple LISA systems...at $10,000 each.

Dan Elliot4/5/2013

Mine was a stick and some rocks!

Deby Abbott Jolley4/5/2013

Mine was one of the earliest IBM PCs around 1982/3 - It has two 5-1/4" floppy drives - no hard drive.

Subject: 10 Long Lost Operating Systems http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9129459/Gone_but_not_forgotten ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/5/2013

10 Long Lost Operating Systems http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9129459/Gone_but_not_forgotten_10_operating_systems_the_world_left_behind CP/M DOS Mac OS Amiga OS GEOS OS/2 NextStep BEOS Windows 95 X Windows

10 Long Lost Operating Systems
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9129459/Gone_but_not_forgotten_10_operating_systems_the_world_left_behind
CP/M
DOS
Mac OS
Amiga OS
GEOS
OS/2
NextStep
BEOS
Windows 95
X Windows

Subject: Randall Jackson : My first PC was a cassette load TRS-80 with 1 Kb memory. I used basic to do my lab ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/5/2013

Randall Jackson : My first PC was a cassette load TRS-80 with 1 Kb memory. I used basic to do my lab reports.

Subject: Some of the early computers before the IBM PC was introduced in August 1981; Pricing for the IBM PC ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/5/2013

Some of the early computers before the IBM PC was introduced in August 1981; Pricing for the IBM PC started at $1,565 for a bare-bones configuration without disk drives.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/5/2013

FedEx did use the Apple II in one of the first Customer Automation Devices. They were used to prepare airbills and to trace packages. At least 30 were deployed before beginning deployment of a cheaper EPSON 'Meter' which used micro cassette tapes to record billing information. The micro cassettes were fedex'd to fedex to be read into the billing system.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/5/2013

For you history buffs: The history of computers before the PC: http://www.pc-history.org/

Some of the early computers before the IBM PC was introduced in August 1981; Pricing for the IBM PC started at $1,565 for a bare-bones configuration without disk drives.

Deby Abbott Jolley4/5/2013

What was the Automation device that used the 8" floppies?

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/5/2013

That was the NEC(Nippon Electric Co) APC. Before ZapMail was shut down, the SVP committed to ordering thousands more zap machines(without approval possibly); When these machines weren't needed, NEC told FedEx that they could order anything they made instead of the zap machines. Dennis Jones was over the Automation project at the time, and he took the PCs with the 8" floppies..since they were essentially free to his budget. I think he may have deployed 25,000.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/5/2013

http://oldcomputers.net/nec-apc.html

Some of the early computers before the IBM PC was introduced in August 1981; Pricing for the IBM PC started at $1,565 for a bare-bones configuration without disk drives.

Subject: There were responses to Winn's question on what was your first PC , on both the FedExLegends Yahoo G ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/6/2013

There were responses to Winn's question on what was your first PC , on both the FedExLegends Yahoo Group & the ITD Retiree group Facebook page.I consolidated the responses HERE http://fedexlegends.info/firstpc.htmlIf I left you out, or you want to add your first pc to the list, just post here or send me an email.thanks, Jimmy

Carl Wayne Hardeman4/6/2013

Mine was the Lhasa Yak Ii came in kit of strings and beads and i was up all night tying strings building that abacus.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/7/2013

Carl....for some reason....I believe you could have tried to build an abacus..... I fortunately was more advanced and got me a slide rule.

Carl Wayne Hardeman4/7/2013

LOL

Subject: Short bio-Fred Smith http://www.islandconnections.com/edit/smith.htm

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/8/2013

Short bio-Fred Smith http://www.islandconnections.com/edit/smith.htm

Subject: Chuck Sertich wife Katie: From Linda Carpenter

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/8/2013

Chuck Sertich wife Katie: From Linda CarpenterTo all of you who loved Chuck Sertich so much, I thought you should know that his beloved wife, Katie, died unexpectedly at home on Saturday, April 6. Katie had not been ill. They suspect a heart attack or stroke; to be determined by an autopsy.Since August of last year, Katie, Nick and Jake have endured their own individual grief, going through the holidays and birthdays without Chuck. It wasn’t easy, but they were making it, and holding each other up through these stressful times. Today someone reminded me that it’s Chuck and Katie’s wedding anniversary (April 8th). Perhaps Chuck and Katie are once again together for their anniversary.Please keep Nick and Jake in your thoughts and prayers. They are not children, but we all know that at the tender age of 23 and 20, to suddenly lose your Mother so close to losing your Father must be devastating.I will let you know as soon as funeral arrangements have been made.Thanks,

Subject: Katie Sertich: from Linda Carpenter Katie’s brother, Kurt, sent me a copy of the obituary that will ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/10/2013

Katie Sertich: from Linda Carpenter Katie’s brother, Kurt, sent me a copy of the obituary that will run in the Commercial appeal (see below). Nick and Jake, quite understandably, cannot handle another funeral service, so an informal farewell gathering will be held at the Botanic Gardens, Goldsmith Room & adjacent garden on Saturday, April 13th, starting at 2:00pm. Kurt emphasized to me that this will be an informal gathering (minus the suits and ties), and wanted me to tell everyone that while the service is starting at 2 o’clock, the family will be there until 6. If your schedule prevents you from arriving at 2, please stop by anytime between 2 and 6. Your presence will mean a lot to the boys.Flowers & Gifts: In lieu of gifts/flowers, the family is asking you to consider making a donation to the American Cancer Society or a charity of your choice. Cards are also welcomed. Nick and Jake’s address is:8658 Dogwood Oaks Cove Germantown, TN 38139Care for the family: We would like to provide the family with food during this time of bereavement. If you would like to donate a meal, please sign up on the meal schedule at www.takethemameal.com (recipient last name: Sertich; password: boys)Or, if you would like to donate funds to go towards the purchase of food, please get with me.The meal for tonight is taken care of. The rest of this week and next week is available, if you’re interested.Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.Linda

Katie Sertich: from Linda Carpenter
Katie’s brother, Kurt, sent me a copy of the obituary that will run in the Commercial appeal (see below). Nick and Jake, quite understandably, cannot handle another funeral service, so an informal farewell gathering will be held at the Botanic Gardens, Goldsmith Room & adjacent garden on Saturday, April 13th, starting at 2:00pm. Kurt emphasized to me that this will be an informal gathering (minus the suits and ties), and wanted me to tell everyone that while the service is starting at 2 o’clock, the family will be there until 6. If your schedule prevents you from arriving at 2, please stop by anytime between 2 and 6. Your presence will mean a lot to the boys.

Subject: 24 Hour Flight Map Video of FedEx launch

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/10/2013

24 Hour Flight Map Video of FedEx launch

24 Hour Flight Map Video of FedEx launch

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/11/2013

Some used to call this video..the Ant Farm

Subject: FedEx Trivia Quiz: What was the first Unix application at FedEx?

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/12/2013

FedEx Trivia Quiz: What was the first Unix application at FedEx?

Jim Bentley4/12/2013

I think it was Dads?

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/12/2013

I believe the first unix application to be put into production was the GOCC or Global Operations Command & Control and sometimes called C3I GOCC was contracted, I think for $25M and was based on Sun workstations. There were over 200 of them. Parallel to the GOCC was the Station Processor project and also DADS was converted to linux on PC's and then Winn worked a 1/2 price deal on HP servers that replaced all the DADS DEC machines (which had a long & successful life). Hard to believe that HP and SUN didn't exist when DADS began,,and DEC no longer really exists.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/15/2013

Jim Bentley may have been correct, DADS could have been the first system to convert to Unix. It was converted to sco unix on a PC, I believe in the late 90's, and GOCC was around 1990-91; the conversion to HP/UX was done after GOCC was deployed.

Subject: A tour of the Memphis Hub

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/15/2013

A tour of the Memphis Hub

Subject: Rumor tidbits: from what I am hearing, the directors are going to or have met to go thru all the lis ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/15/2013

Rumor tidbits: from what I am hearing, the directors are going to or have met to go thru all the lists of people taking the volunteer buyouts and determining who can go in the first and largest wave. So, lots of changes to the company coming soon as lots of expertise leaves. For Y2k, there were over 25,000 applications in the company and over 1550 subsystems to manage, and there have been many added since 2000, so it will be a new era to maintain, or even outsource some of the older systems.

Dan Elliot4/15/2013

Yeah they met last week... It will be interesting!

Subject: A more expanded bio on Jim Barksdale:

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/16/2013

A more expanded bio on Jim Barksdale:

Subject: First time I met Jim Barksdale

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/17/2013

First time I met Jim BarksdaleIn 1980, I was hired into FedEx initially, to write software that would allow the DADs DEC PDP11 computer to communicate with COSMOS over an SDLC link. DEC had no interface available that would work.I had been at FedEx for a few weeks and made contact with DEC and discussed what I needed. I was working in the computer room and Jim Barksdale comes over and introduces himself and starts asking me questions about the interface. He wanted to know what I needed to make this happen, and relayed that it was a priority to get this done.I told him that I knew there was a travel freeze, but if I could get 1 week in DEC assembly class, it would speed up the progress and I could have the software ready, when the board came in.He said, 'well I've talked to management at DEC, and they said that you know what you are doing, and if anyone can develop this interface you can. I will send you to two weeks of classes....and I want you and your wife to go to Justine's (fancy restaurant) on me, and enjoy yourself'.So, I went to Justine's with Stephanie, we enjoyed ourselves, and then went to 2 weeks of classes with Jim Bentley in Los Angeles. The class allowed me to finish the sdlc comm driver, way before the DUP-11 board arrived.I was impressed 1) that he even talked to me and 2) he listened and 3) he was generous.

Subject: Article: Why Federal Express became FedEx http://www.cdf.org/issue_journal/why_federal_express_becam ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/17/2013

Article: Why Federal Express became FedEx http://www.cdf.org/issue_journal/why_federal_express_became_fedex.html

Subject: Legend sighting: went to Howards Donuts on hwy 64 Sunday before church around 630am and there was Ly ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/17/2013

Legend sighting: went to Howards Donuts on hwy 64 Sunday before church around 630am and there was Lydle Simpson. Lydle retired from Fedex, then worked as a contractor for 11 months and is still working. Lydle and Mark Ramsey developed the first automation device on an apple II with tv & TI810 printer in the early 80's

Subject: FedEx Retiree Club: UPCOMING LUNCHEON May 9, 2013 - Our Memphis area May 2013 luncheon will host gue ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/17/2013

FedEx Retiree Club: UPCOMING LUNCHEON May 9, 2013 - Our Memphis area May 2013 luncheon will host guest speaker, Josh Pastner, head coach of the University of Memphis Men's basketball team. Coach Pastner is finishing his 4th year as head coach. Season 2010-2011 included a Conference USA tournament championship and appearance in the 2011 NCAA tournament. March 21, 2013, the Tigers defeated the St. Mary's Gaels 54-52, for Pastner's first NCAA tournament victory as a head coach. The Memphis Tigers are in Division I of the NCAA and moved from Conference USA into the American Athletic Conference in 2013.

Marcie Littles Moss4/17/2013

Hey Jimmy - I won't be "officially" retired until June 1....can I still attend?

Marcie Littles Moss4/17/2013

And where is the luncheon?

Gary Phillips4/17/2013

Are future retirees allowed to attend?

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/17/2013

Here is the link, and it is at the Ridgeway Country Club; I'm thinking they would love future retirees to come. http://ferc1.org/luncheon.html?reloaded=true

Subject: Photo of Lydle Simpson(far right) from 2011; Lydle volunteered many years at the FedEx St Jude Golf ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/17/2013

Photo of Lydle Simpson(far right) from 2011; Lydle volunteered many years at the FedEx St Jude Golf Tournament also

Chris Apalodimas5/6/2013

It's good to to see Lydle! I worked with him at Clark Tower in the good old mainframe days. . Anyone remember FMR and it's replacement FAMIS?

Buddy Johnson5/7/2013

FAMIS?? Remember it well. I hired many who now support the app. Wonder how many on that team are taking the BO?

Buddy Johnson5/7/2013

And, I agree with Chris - Lydle does look good.....Golf is good for longevity!!!

Subject: Legend Sighting: Had lunch with Jim Bentley. Jim is probably the 5th person I met at FedEx and we wo ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/17/2013

Legend Sighting: Had lunch with Jim Bentley. Jim is probably the 5th person I met at FedEx and we worked together for about the first 6 months.Jim is enjoying retirement, riding his motorcycle, taking photos and playing with his grandchildren and small zoo of many animals.

Subject: Interesting article on dynamics of taking a buyout: http://www.seniorsite.com/finance/many-workers-s ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/17/2013

Interesting article on dynamics of taking a buyout: http://www.seniorsite.com/finance/many-workers-sitting-pretty-after-buyouts.asp

Subject: Interesting article on Milo High who was a pilot on one of the FedEx Corporate jets. Prior to this h ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/17/2013

Interesting article on Milo High who was a pilot on one of the FedEx Corporate jets. Prior to this he was Elvis Presley's pilot. He passed away in 2007. http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/index.php?showtopic=8181I flew with him many times and remember that he always wore a TCB (Taking Care of Business) necklace that Elvis gave to his friends.

Gary Phillips4/17/2013

I flew (rode) with Milo to and from COS many times. I remember one time sitting on the couch near the cockpit and as we were approching the COS airport, Milo looked back at me and asked me to tell the passengers that it was too foggy to land and that we had to circle for a while. After about 15 minutes, he asked the guy in the right seat what he thought. He told Milo it looked about the same. Milo then said, 'what the heck, let's try it'. We made it.

Jack Brown4/18/2013

I flew on the corporate jet during Milo's tenure. The one thing I remember is I never really knew when we touched down. He was an excellent pilot. May he rest in peace.

Carl Wayne Hardeman4/18/2013

I was in the jumpseat on corporate jet Milo was co-pilot. Landing in San Jose CA. Going over the last ridge down into the fog shrouded bay, he said: I hope there aint any cumulo granite in that.

Carl Wayne Hardeman4/18/2013

His wife Paola worked here too.

Subject: From Winn Stephenson: I remember Milo clearly as I also flew a few trips with him. Cool article. If ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/17/2013

From Winn Stephenson: I remember Milo clearly as I also flew a few trips with him. Cool article. If I remember correctly, his co-pilot was Pat Cloud. What a pair - Milo High and Pat Cloud. Winn

Subject: From Buddy Johnson: I too recall visiting with him many times on the corp jet. He was always ready t ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/17/2013

From Buddy Johnson: I too recall visiting with him many times on the corp jet. He was always ready to share an Elvis or a flying story.

Subject: Had lunch with Jim Moore and Winn Stephenson today. Jim was the force driving development of FedEx's ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/19/2013

Had lunch with Jim Moore and Winn Stephenson today. Jim was the force driving development of FedEx's Private Radio Network & DADS. Jim sold his company in San Diego but still works there as a principal of the company. Left-Right: Jimmy, Jim Moore, Winn Stephenson

Carl Wayne Hardeman4/19/2013

Jim Moore and I enjoyed many racquetball games together. He's an athlete for sure!

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/19/2013

From Jim Moore: Hi Carl, yes, I do remember, also Dennis Jones, rest him,,, and hello again to you Mary Alice. Remember the “purple blood” that we all got.. it still works. No matter where you go as you fly into an airport you find yourself looking for the purple tails… And all those great memories come flooding back… One of the enjoyable times for me was at the very beginning very early 77 jump seating on the Falcon’s to the major cities getting to know the management, their issues, and helping them with communications. Just FYI, the racketball was a necessary regime for me to control anxiety attacks,, gee wonder why…and it worked. All part of maturing into a unending set of challenges and opportunities and learning how to pace yourself. Still a challenge.. Best to All....Jim

Angela Maynard4/20/2013

Looking Good!!!!!

Subject: Around or before 1990; Winn Stephenson's all management training meeting at the Millington Naval Bas ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/22/2013

Around or before 1990; Winn Stephenson's all management training meeting at the Millington Naval Base

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/22/2013

Slightly larger photo: http://fedexlegends.info/photos/pmain.html#bootcamp

Around or before 1990; Winn Stephenson's all management training meeting at the Millington Naval Base

Subject: If I am not mistaken, this is the same mgmt camp with Angie and Jimmy successfully completing some t ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/22/2013

If I am not mistaken, this is the same mgmt camp with Angie and Jimmy successfully completing some type of assigned task....in the tree to the right is Denise Wood...either completing a task or hiding in a tree

Ezra Fried4/22/2013

I think we had to build a raft and ferry our teammates across the lake. I think I have some photos of that event.

Subject: Where in the World is Beth Lee?

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/22/2013

Where in the World is Beth Lee?Beth who was VP of IT in COS is now owner of her own business:www.homeservicescare.com http://www.homeservicescare.com/staff.html

Where in the World is Beth Lee?

Subject: Quarterly Department Meetings

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/24/2013

Quarterly Department MeetingsMy first director job was over Network Engr, and it was a special group of people. I had about 160 in the group and also about 40 overseas in Hi Wycome, Brussels and Hong Kong.Once a quarter we would have a department day. Half the day was group updates from the managers and myself. After lunch, everyone was allowed to bond and do whatever they wanted as long as they did it in small groups..and it was legal.This photo was on a Memphis Riverboat where about 30 of us enjoyed a river cruise. Some did golf, a movie together, shopping, tennis softball, volleyball and other activities. It was a great way to bond with your FedEx family.

Gary Phillips4/24/2013

The good old days.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/24/2013

A funny story(whom is your neighbor) One quarterly meeting was held at a pavilion at the zoo. We took a break and I asked everyone to go meet someone else in the group, they had never met, learn what they did, and I was going to call on 3-4 people to introduce whomever they met. I called on Roger Donaphon. He introduced John Baugh who worked on airline message switching, weather and other ops things. I paused...shook my head and said 'Roger, that couldn't be someone you just met, you are in an office, and the person that has been in the office next to you for over a year...is John Baugh... " Roger paused and said John was in the office next to him, but they had never met each other.....

Subject: Has anyone (retired) used FedEx Perks?

Charlotte Benton Hieronymus4/24/2013

Has anyone (retired) used FedEx Perks?

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/24/2013

Do you mean Corporate Perks? the discount website?

Charlotte Benton Hieronymus4/24/2013

Yes...the emails I get are from FedEx Perks but I think it's the same.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/24/2013

I just looked it up; FedEx Perks is the company's point system where you ship packages, get points and awards. Corporate Perks is a website employees/retirees can access to get discounts from other stores: http://fedexlegends.info/retiretips.html#discounts

Charlotte Benton Hieronymus4/24/2013

Interesting...the email comes from FedEx Perks and in the body of the email is has a "Corporate Perks Employee Pricing" logo. when I click on the logo I'm taken to the Corporate Perks web site. I would like to know if any "retiree" has been able to take advantage of any of these perks. Recently, I received a message re: a software discount. The offer was for active employees and had to be shipped to a FedEx location.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/24/2013

I have bought a couple things thru the Corporate Perks account a few years ago. Now, I can usually price shop on the internet and get the same type deal.

Subject: forwarded from Ric Honey http://fedexlegends.info/superhub/hubhistory.html#org1980 ----- From Ric Ho ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/26/2013

forwarded from Ric Honey http://fedexlegends.info/superhub/hubhistory.html#org1980 ----- From Ric Honey: I started as a consultant to FedEx in 1982.I designed the installation of AS 21 – 44 with “Howard Miller” sort controllers.This chart was given to me one morning after we’d been up all night with 10 of the 32 Primary AS belts not running and I was doing the troubleshooting.Some guy name Burkholz kept interrupting me asking when the belts would be back up.My response… “about 10 minutes after I figure out what the hell is wrong!”…He never flinched.And I’m still here.Thought you’d enjoy the trip down memory lane.

forwarded from Ric Honey
http://fedexlegends.info/superhub/hubhistory.html#org1980
-----
From Ric Honey:
I started as a consultant to FedEx in 1982.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/26/2013

Note from Ted Merida: ....It was a fun time in my career. Being around Birkholz all the time kept you on your toes...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/26/2013

Ted & Becky Merida retired to The Woodlands around Houston Texas.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/26/2013

Another Howard Miller Story: After I worked on getting the rapistan issues worked out for the superhub launch...the hub got tired of working with Rapistan and had installed a few howard miller controllers. they worked and they were thinking of expanding them. Ken Willoughby asked me to fly with him to see Howard Miller somewhere in the East. A few others also went. when we got there it was an older building...kind of like a garage with one office. there were a couple of chassis being built and a couple college students putting them together. Howard was an older but likeable fellow, but it was really a garage operation. After a review by Howard,,,,it was certain that this was a small shop, but he had a workable solution. Ken looked at him and said 'can you at least show us a letterhead for your business'...ie saying could you show us something that makes you look like a big business Howard said 'oh, sure...I have something here somewhere...' he started going thru his file cabinets and after several minutes finally found a letterhead it was a blank piece of paper where he had used a letter stencil and traced his company name at the top...so it was handmade we thanked him and left on the jet back, I told Ken I thought it would work...and one of us said....this guy is likable and you can tell he isn't putting us on....someone trying to fool us would have put a lot more work into fooling us it was decided to proceed with them...primarily because they were tired of Rapistan

Subject: Where in the World is Brett Bonner? Congratulations to Brett Bonner and his OR team at Kroger.

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/26/2013

Where in the World is Brett Bonner? Congratulations to Brett Bonner and his OR team at Kroger.He is an Edelman Laureate for 2013https://www.informs.org/Recognize-Excellence/Franz-Edelman-Award/Franz-Edelman-Laureates2/Franz-Edelman-Laureates-Class-of-2013He and his team have now been awarded 19 Patents. What is the Edelman Award?https://www.informs.org/Recognize-Excellence/Franz-Edelman-Award

Subject: Where in the World is Patty Regenold? My brother Ray Burk saw Patty this week, and she asked him to ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/28/2013

Where in the World is Patty Regenold? My brother Ray Burk saw Patty this week, and she asked him to tell me that she is taking the Buyout & opening one of these Pastry shops. Much success to Patty on her new venture.

Subject: Jimmy Glenn Burk > FedEx ITD Retiree Breakfast Club

Jimmy Glenn Burk4/30/2013



Subject: Article on Airline Pilots Forum: FedEx to outsource some shipments to other carriers in Asia.

Jimmy Glenn Burk5/1/2013

Article on Airline Pilots Forum: FedEx to outsource some shipments to other carriers in Asia.

Article on Airline Pilots Forum: FedEx to outsource some shipments to other carriers in Asia.

Deby Abbott Jolley5/1/2013

Carl - I think you may be right.

Subject: The New FedEx Heard from random rumors that number of people taking buyout will be close to 20%, and ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk5/2/2013

The New FedEx Heard from random rumors that number of people taking buyout will be close to 20%, and for managers maybe even 40% under some vp's. None of the numbers are official, but it seems more have decided to take the buyout than originally predicted.Lot's of expertise leaving, but of course there are lots of people close to retiring in some departments and they would be leaving in the next 5 years anyway. I remember that there were studies each year on how many could take retirement, and usually the number was 25% of the IT population would be eligible...and those studies were from the early 2000's so that number is even higher now.Heard story of a 40 year old leaving because he was locked into a Cobol job w/oncall all the time, and couldn't be retrained due to his schedule.Managers who are still young, but can start a new career rather than face the culture change that is expected.And several stories that they are just close to retiring, would like to stay, but it seems like a good opportunity to leave now versus later.I wish them all well.

Roger Yannett Sr5/2/2013

I've been hearing the same thing. What is so sad and disappointing in Management for the lack of planning for this exodus. This lack of planning will bite them in the behind. Instead they are planning to outsource these jobs to India and beyond. I'm glad I sold my FEDEX stock when I retired.

Jimmy Glenn Burk5/2/2013

I've been hearing they are initially focusing on outsourcing 1st and 2nd level support for some apps, all of some fixed apps like financial systems, and systems which aren't going to have too much future development or aren't too critical. They've been outsourcing much of the testing for probably 7+ years. It will take some time to work it all out and transition skill sets to those that are left I'm sure.

Subject: Short bio Bill Magaritas: http://www.holmesreport.com/news-info/12819/Bill-Margaritis-Stepping-Down- ...

Jimmy Glenn Burk5/2/2013

Short bio Bill Magaritas: http://www.holmesreport.com/news-info/12819/Bill-Margaritis-Stepping-Down-From-CCO-Role-At-FedEx.aspx

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