Point of Sale Security Guard – CJ June

Simply put, Paladin’s Managed Services Director, CJ June, is your point of sale security guard who entertains and educates with his Will Rogers-like stories. And, he’s always happy to share with you his experiences and vast background.

CJ, who joined Paladin in 2010, earned degrees in psychology and broadcasting from Blue Mountain Community College. He put his vocal talents to work many years ago as a DJ and voice talent in Boise-area radio stations. He traveled the rodeo circuit with cowboy friends from college serving as the designated driver and comic relief. He also owned and operated cutlery businesses, Renaissance Revival, in Bend and Prineville for close to 13 years. It was the Great Recession of 2008 that pushed CJ in a different direction and landed him in Central Oregon at Paladin Data Corporation.

“2008 came along and I saw the writing on the wall,” he says of his rather rude lesson on the future of retail. “If you we’re in a business that wasn’t considered essential, your days were numbered.”

With e-commerce eating into his sales, he sold the business and took the recommendation of his roommate – Paladin alum Jeremiah Cooper – and applied for a job here. He didn’t get it and instead spent the next few months at a local call center learning a new job skill – how to “sit on my butt and talk to people on the phone.” It was a lesson well learned and he landed at Paladin on a second try.

“I interviewed with (CEO) Mike (Williamson) again and he said, ‘You’ve been here before.’ I said yes, I had, and told him what I’d been doing since that interview. He said ‘You spent the last six months learning new job skills? You’re hired.’”

Not long after starting at Paladin, CJ began working with clients and fortifying their business computers and Paladin terminals with antivirus protection. Paladin’s Managed Services department was born. The department now manages security, updates and backups for thousands of terminals. It is also one of Trend Micro’s top 30 producers in North America.

As the director of our Managed Services, which include DataWise™, SystemWise™, ManagedSecurity™ and more, CJ views his position as assisting Paladin clients to build strong, brick-like computer and network defenses. He likens his work to the story of the “Three Little Pigs.”

“2020 has been the classic example of the wolf blowing on the door. We need our clients to be the third little pig,” he says with a smile.

CJ and Andrea June

“I like talking to people and helping them with their problems,” the jovial 55-year-old says, adding he envisions working at Paladin until he retires. “I guess I made the right decision. I like working here and I like what I do.”