Dave Ensures Paladin’s Network is in Tip Top Shape

Dave Winkler is exactly where he wants to be. Our network administrator since 2016, Dave readily admits he has his dream job.

“I’ve said it before. You ask me 10 years ago where I’d want to be and I would want to be a network administrator for a medium-sized business,” he says with a grin. “That’s right where I am.”

The gregarious 59-year-old native of the Midwest takes care of our business network, which in a software company leads him all over its corporate campus. He looks after the network of servers, computers and their connections for fellow employees in Bend, Oregon and Cave Creek, Arizona, monitors the company’s cloud server, networking, firewall and security.

And, oh, by the way, he’s also in charge of the phone network, lighting, along with heating and cooling in Bend where the winters can hit single digits and the summers approach the century mark. It’s a big job that can require an immediate response, so he spends more time at the office than just about anybody.

Dave came to Oregon in 2002 and worked as a network administrator at Bright Wood Corporation, a milling company based in Madras.

If his job wasn’t hectic enough, the current coronavirus pandemic and ensuing restrictions placed on businesses have added another layer of work. Approximately half of Paladin’s staff is now working remotely which required network modification. Those still working in the offices have been moved safe social distances apart which required relocating some workstations.

Dave was also charged with setting up networking for the company’s Arizona office. He shrugs off the added work as business as usual.

“Things have changed to some degree,” he says. “With so many people working from home, I pay a little more attention to our network.”

Dave is responsible for occasional phishy emails designed to keep his coworkers on their toes when it comes to opening questionable emails. He takes his responsibility for keeping our network safe when the world of cybercrime is becoming more frightening by the day. It’s just part of a job he loves and one he pictures doing for many more years.

“I enjoy coming to work every day. I enjoy interacting with my coworkers,” he says, quickly deflecting any question of eventually hanging it up. “Retirement? That’s what’s scary to me.”