Results tagged “People behind the Product” from Logos Bible Software Blog

Most Americans celebrated the 4th of July by watching fireworks, but five Logos employees celebrated by spending more than 80 hours working outside—in temperatures approaching 100 degrees in the afternoon—putting on a massive fireworks display for others to enjoy. Customer Service representatives Justin Kooy, Debbie Mickens, Kat Hutchison, and Christy Powell and software developer James Van Noord joined three others to put on a fireworks display at Fort Spokane over the July 4th weekend.

All but one of the Logos pyrotechnicians have done professional displays in the past, and Justin will be getting his official pyrotechnics license later this summer. We thought you’d enjoy seeing how some of the people behind the product spent their 4th of July.

Here’s a slideshow of some of the pictures—courtesy of James Van Noord.

A congratulations is definitely in order to Justin Kooy, who proposed to his now-fiancée Katie during the fireworks show (see the second to last picture). Congratulations, Justin and Katie!

Rick Brannan is no stranger to longtime users and readers of the Logos blog. He’s been with Logos since 1993 and is approaching his 16th anniversary of employment with the company. Rick is an information architect in our design and editorial department and blogs at Ricoblog and PastoralEpistles.com.

Though he’s a regular contributor to the Logos blog and has done dozens of videos, most of his posts and videos are about Greek and not about Rick. In this People behind the Product video, you’ll get to find out a little bit about one of Logos’ earliest employees.

Other Posts about Rick:

• Video Interview with Rick: What's So Cool about the LGNTI?
• Fourteen Years and Counting
• Time for an Introduction

So far we’ve introduced you to Deborah Mickens, Jim Straatman, and Jana Gering. In today’s People behind the Product video, you’ll meet Jim-Ray Higginson, one of our end-user sales representatives.

It’s been a while since the last post in our People behind the Product series, but you should start seeing more in the months to come. In this brief interview, you’ll meet Jana Gering, the project manager for our Electronic Text Development department, a past guest blogger here, and the winner of this year’s chili cook-off.

YouTube is currently being a little finicky. If you get the message, "An error occurred, please try again later," try clicking the little HQ button, which should launch the video in high quality.

Today we continue our People behind the Product series. In this interview we meet Jim Straatman, Logos' IT Manager. As you'll see, Jim is an avid biker. However, what didn't make the cut in today's video are Jim's mad scooter skills. A lesser known fact about the IT department is that there is a large space in the work area that is perfect for scooter races. It's no Indy 500, but winning a few laps around the desks can earn you some serious respect. Next time you drop by our office, be sure to challenge Jim to a race.

I'm a people person. Maybe it comes from my years as a college pastor, but I really love to just sit down and hear people's stories. Finding out the little (and big) things in people's lives makes me appreciate them at a level that is deeper than the passing, "Hey, how ya doing? Nice weather today, huh?"

So, as a new employee at Logos, I've enjoyed getting the chance to meet lots of new people. It got me thinking that maybe some of you would like to meet them as well. I mean, sure, knowing that the VP of marketing is a die hard Flyers fan and top-notch ping pong player or that most of the customer service department has a Nerf gun at their desk won't help you with your Anderson-Forbes syntax resources or getting more out of your Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary but it might help you get to know some of the people who help make Logos more than just a software company.

With that in mind, we're going to start a regular feature on the Logos blog that will introduce you to some of the people behind Logos Bible Software. From kite surfers to PhDs, you'll get a chance to see Logos from a whole new angle. We hope you enjoy it.

For our first video I want to introduce you to Deborah. Deborah is a member of our customer service department and has been with Logos for a little over a year. Here is some footage from when I stopped by her desk the other day.

From time to time we like to give you the opportunity to get to know the people here at Logos. Today we want to introduce you to Dave Kaplan. Dave has been with Logos since December of 1993, just four months short of veteran Rick Brannan, who recently celebrated 14 years at Logos. The way Logos takes care of its employees and the great people and work environment are two things that make Dave love working at Logos.

Dave spends most of his time on the phone talking with our wonderful customers. Interacting with so many different people makes his job a joy, but he finds it especially rewarding knowing that he is helping to provide thousands of people with a phenomenal tool that can assist them in their walk with God.

In his spare time, Dave enjoys playing chess, which he describes as "the most personal game ever invented," and building Popsicle stick houses and burning them down with his son, Gregory (so he can learn how quickly a fire can consume a house). He also loves peppers and usually has a couple in his pocket.

"Kaplanisms"

Dave is perhaps best known by those in the sales department for his unique sayings, affectionately called "Kaplanisms." Dave has a gift—a lot like Yogi Berra did—of unintentionally modifying well-known expressions, combining them together, or just making up his own!

Here's an example. One morning Dave came into the office apparently wearing too much cologne, and the other guys were giving him a hard time. Dave responded, "I only put a dab on both of my necks."

The guys in the sales department have been compiling a list of sayings over the last year or so. We were originally going to share them anonymously, but the guys were able to convince Dave that he might get some good publicity and increase his sales!

So without further ado, here are Dave's "Kaplanisms":

• Talking with a customer whom he couldn't understand at all: "I’m as deaf as a bat!"
• "I cannot count the countless evenings I spent talking . . . ."
• Trying to convince a customer: "Sir, I can assure you that I seriously doubt I can’t make you happy."
• "That’s like shootin' an arrow through a bale of hay and not hittin' any straw!"
• Explaining to customers to wait until they get the software before worrying about how to install it: "You’re trying to land an airplane, and we haven’t even gotten into the cockpit yet."
• Explaining to customers to close down the software before installing an update: "It’s like changing the spark plugs while the motor is runnin'."
• " . . . as happy as a tornado in a cornfield."
• "I walked outside this morning and my woods smelled so woodsy!"
• "If someone buys you a car, you don’t really own it."
• "For once I’m finishing my day with my i’s crossed and my t’s . . . how does that saying go again?"
• "Let's get down to logic here."
• "I can guarantee you we don’t print like the other guy’s software!"
• "That’s on Pre-Publication—that’s short for Pre-Pub."
• "Yeah, it’s all over. Now I can stop being less paranoid."
• "I heard very clearly, in my peripheral vision, someone say . . . ."
• "Are you ready for this? Let me put it this way . . . . I will say this . . . ."
• "That's as messed up as a soup sandwich."
• Telling people about his flight to Belgium: "It was a 9 hour drive flying!"

During my interview with Dave, I had the privilege of experiencing a new "Kaplanism" firsthand. Dave explained why he never oversells or undersells, but always directs people to the product that is best suited for them: "I have to sleep with myself at night" (an obvious conflation of "I have to live with myself" and "I have to sleep at night").

If you know Dave or have dealt with him on the phone, leave him a message in the comments!

If you'd like to work with one of Logos' best sales employees, you can reach Dave directly at (360) 685-2304.