Wright Systems

Jethro

Born in Raleigh, NC in 1968, Stephen Jeffress Wright, I now go by Jeff.  A southern tradition to go by your middle name has lead to an identity crisis all my life.  Every time I am asked to fill in my name I wonder if it is one of "those" documents where I should put my full name or my short name.  I go by Jeff, but my teachers and Doctors and other professionals always call me Stephen.  That's my Dad's name too... but guess what, not his first name!  I have been affectionately nick-named Jethro by friends and family. I'll answer to just about anything, I know I've been called every name in the book.  At the school bus stop some of the kids favorites were Jeff Left, Jeff can't Write, Step-Hen, Monkey Feet, and of course, Jeff Wrong.

I grew up in a small town in Eastern North Carolina called Rocky Mount.  Every time I go home, it amazes me how very little it has grown. I am so glad that I escaped, however I sometimes miss the slower pace of things, the big pine trees, seeing familiar faces, and of course Mama's home cooking.  Mama and Daddy (Steve & Mary Wright) still live in Rocky Mount and enjoy a wonderful home near the country club.

During my high school years I ventured to Ocracoke Island where my father had some business interests and I made quite a few friends.  It was in Ocracoke where I really feel that I grew up.  It's a special place, anyone who has ever been will appreciate it's charm.  It has been said, that when you arrive in Ocracoke you are walking back in time.  I still yearn for the solitude that can only be experienced on a crisp fall morning driving on the desolate beaches, preferably with a dog or a loved one... or both!

After a tumultuous effort at college, I spent a couple years working on our family farm in Virginia raising show Simmental cattle, only to realize that I was not cut out for the rough isolation of farm life either. (I miss it now)  I went back to Wilmington, NC where I had spent a couple years at UNCW to see if I could make it as a real estate salesman.  That was a bust too.   There are just too many vicious housewives to compete with in that industry!

It was back to Rocky Mount to work with my father's company.   I started out low on the totem pole... a truck driver, but ended up running another branch in Raleigh, NC. Eventually; however, we sold the company to a bigger fish and I left to pursue my interests in Networking and Information Technology.

In 1993 I moved to Raleigh, NC for gainful employment with IBM, Nortel Networks and various others.  In 2001 the dot-com bust left me looking for employment for months!  Eventually I stumbled upon Hughes Supply. (the big fish)  They were taking all their branches to a new computer system that I happened to be an expert in.  Since then Hughes has also been bought and sold a few times and I have managed to stick with the original team of installers and consultants that the company used, Zerion Group.

By September, 2007 I had grown tired of Raleigh and needed a change.  As much as I loved my home, I realized that I really had nothing holding me to Raleigh.  It didn't matter where I moved, I just needed to make the change.  I put my house up for sell in early September and two weeks later I was packing my bags, much to the chagrin of my roommates.  So I sold or gave away most of my furniture, stored the rest and packed up my new little Audi A3 and headed west!

My new life is now in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  I found a wonderful place to live, with nice people and a peaceful environment.  A simpler, scaled down life allows me time and means to explore the country for other possibilities.  I chose Albuquerque mostly because of the atmosphere and people.  I am not sure how long I will be here but I see it as starting point on a quest for the perfect place to live. So far though, New Mexico has me enchanted. Have a look at my new License plate and read about ancient pueblo symbol ZIA.

 

 

 

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