Title
Commending Gary Karsten for his contributions to the City of Madison on the occasion of his retirement.
Body
WHEREAS, Gary Karsten is retiring from the City of Madison on October 14, 2009, after nearly 31 years of service; and
WHEREAS, Gary began his career on November 6, 1978, when he accepted the position of Computer Operator III, where one of his primary duties was to operate a mainframe that supported the City of Madison Police Department's Computer Aided Dispatch system; and
WHEREAS, In 1995 Gary became a member of the City's Help Desk staff when our mainframe computers were retired; and
WHEREAS, In 1998 Gary assumed responsibility for the support of the City's 32 disparate analog telephone systems; and
WHEREAS, In 2004 Gary became the City's primary support technician for the new IP telephone system and is directly responsible for the deployment of over 1500 IP telephones; and
WHEREAS, In addition to his public service with the City of Madison, Gary also served in the United States Air Force for 4 years and the Wisconsin National Guard for 20 years retiring as Master Sergeant in 1995 for a total of 24 years of service; and
WHEREAS, Gary's willingness to do any job that we assigned him, whether it was electrical work in the data center , stringing telephone wire in a filthy ceiling, or IP telephone training, made him a valuable part of our organization and he will be greatly missed by his customers and colleagues;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Madison thank Gary Karsten for his many years of dedicated service to the City of Madison, its citizens, and partners, and wish him continued success with all his future endeavors.