Cory Collier

The company that got me started in much of my life, has officially closed its doors. It’s probably one of the saddest times I can recall. I’ve seen the decline for years now. I knew it was coming. Regardless of how much I could see it, I’m still just as shocked by it.

It’s funny how the finality of the situation hit me: the company websites wouldn’t respond. I guess that’s the tech in me. I only recognize failure in terms of server availability. I pinged their server, tried telnet on remote locations, and ran a plain ol’ web request. The lack of response fills me with more emotion than any of their websites ever did.

This company was the first company I ever worked for. I was 15, and spent the summer as a labor building an addition to my high-school. I worked for them again when I moved to North Carolina when I was 18. When I graduated college with a bachelors in Civil Engineering, I sent my resume to them. I got a good offer, and started right after graduation. I worked for them as a project manager for almost 3 years before leaving to go to NFi Studios.

The people at this company were (are) like family to me. I’ve known many of them for almost 20 years. To see everyone go their separate ways is awfully painful.
So, I’d like to thank everyone at O’Connor & Taylor for the years of learning, and the exceptional patience you had with me. I’m where I am in my life because of the opportunities that were provided to me be all of you. I hope everyone lands softly, and I hope to see all of you soon.