Cleared for Takeoff: Celebrating Michael Smallwood’s Retirement
After more than ten years with Eclipse Networks, Michael Smallwood has officially retired. We couldn’t let him leave without a proper send-off, so the team gave him a gift built for how he spends his weekends: a remote control model airplane.
We never expected what happened next!
A Gift Built for the Weekend
Anyone who has worked with Michael knows where he goes when he’s off the clock. Michael is an RC pilot, one of the hobbyists who build, fly and maintain radio-controlled aircraft. The hobby takes patience, a steady hand and a willingness to troubleshoot when something doesn’t go to plan. Sound familiar? It’s a pretty good description of a career in IT, too.
“We wanted to give Michael something he’d actually use, and that meant paying attention to what he lights up about when he’s not at his desk,” said Kathy Ryerse, CFO of Eclipse. “After ten years, we knew the answer.”
Michael Came Back With a Surprise
A few weeks after his last day, Michael stopped by the office with the finished plane. On the side, he’d added the Eclipse logo. Then he asked Steve and Kathy to sign it!
Did you know? In the flying community, signing an aircraft is a tradition. A signature marks the people who were part of that plane’s story. Michael wanted his first plane of retirement to carry the names of the two people who’d been part of his story for more than a decade.
“I’ve signed a lot of things in this job: contracts, checks. None of them meant as much as signing the wing of Michael’s plane,” said Steve Ryerse, President of Eclipse. “He took a piece of Eclipse with him, and he made sure we knew it.”
When you work alongside someone for over ten years, you learn more than how they handle a server migration. You learn their family’s names, how they take their coffee and what they’re building in the garage. That kind of familiarity doesn’t come from an org chart. It comes from time.
Long tenure matters to our clients, too. When the same technician picks up the phone year after year, they already know the network, the history and the people behind it. Problems get solved faster because nobody has to start from scratch.
“Clients notice when the person on the other end of the line has been there for years,” said Kathy. “Michael knew our clients’ environments inside and out, and you can’t hire that kind of continuity. You keep it by taking care of the people who build it.”
Your Next Career in Technology Starts Here
At Eclipse, we believe great work comes from people who have full lives outside the office. That means knowing what our team cares about, celebrating the milestones that have nothing to do with tickets, and showing up for each other when it counts, including on the way out the door.
Michael’s plane now flies with the Eclipse logo on its side and Steve and Kathy’s signatures on its wing. We’re proud to be along for his next chapter, and we’re looking for the people who’ll write the next one here.
“When people have room to chase what they love, they bring that energy back to work,” said Steve. “That’s how you build a team that lasts.”
If you’re looking for your next career in technology, join the team that supports your passions in and out of the office!
