The Hidden Talents of Marco Tech Experts, Part 2

By: Marco
July 2, 2015

In our previous blog, The Hidden Talents of Marco Tech Experts, Part 1, we introduced you to some of the unknown talents and passions of a few of our very own team members - beyond the work they do for their customers at Marco. Below we’ll share a few additional stories from three more tech experts about how they like to spend some of their free time, and why…

Jesse Lenarz: All About That Bass

Jesse, Marco Technical Specialist, has been playing the guitar since high school. His buddies were starting a band and had no one to play bass, so he switched from traditional guitar to the bass. The hardest part of his transition was learning to play with his fingers and not a pick.

Jesse is currently a member of Green Light Night, a local band – many of it’s members are fellow Marco employees and even some fellow tech experts. Aside from playing with the band, Jesse plays acoustic here and there, and enjoys learning new songs.

Green Light Night started after Jesse found out that Jonathan (Marco’s Chief Operating Officer and band member) played the drums. Sometime later, he shared a golf cart with Greg (you’ll meet him later) and heard that he plays guitar. Soon after the golf outing, Jesse got the three of them together; the next year, their band played at Marco’s employee golf outing. As Jesse puts it,

We had the fun things every band has - debates about the band name, crazy shows and growth as brothers and friends. Being we have a different career path (outside of being Rock Stars), we all agreed that we will only play a couple times each year outside the golf outing. It was a match made in heaven. We all wanted the same thing, to pick songs we want to play and play them. It's always a good time.” 

Greg Rolling: The Music Man

In addition to being a System Administrator, Greg is also a guitarist and singer. It all started when he and a friend played “Twist and Shout” at St. Jude of the Lake School’s talent show as fifth graders. At the time, he only sang. After that, he begged his parents for an electric guitar, but they didn’t think he’d stick with it because he had recently given up on the clarinet. So, he saved up and bought his first guitar when he was about 11. It cost $25 and he bought a Sears amp for another $5.  

After high school, he graduated from what is now McNally-Smith College of Music in 1988 and toured the country in various rock and blues-rock bands. Greg explains, “I find that being a systems engineer makes it much easier for me to live indoors and eat, though, otherwise I’d probably still be doing it…” 

For Greg, playing music is “a therapeutic and very spiritual experience.” This tech expert says that “Nothing is more worshipful than joining with other musicians. And after 8-10 hours of work - I’m about ready for some stress relief as well.” In GLN (Green Light Night) we call it “volume therapy."

Aside from being part of the GLN band, Greg also plays regularly with the worship band at Harvest Fellowship Church in Sauk Rapids, MN. Most recently, he’s been playing music with four of his five children, writing songs and starting a bit of a family band.

Dale Evans: Start Your Engines

Evens_DaleDale Evans, Director of Copier Service, has a real passion for racing cars. In 1980 when his brothers dragged home “the pathetic remains of a 1970 dodge demon,” every panel on the car was a different color, and the interior was an ugly green. Best of all? There wasn’t even an engine in the car. A year later the car was painted, had a 440 under the hood, and was ready for the Brainerd raceway. In ’83, Dale bought a 1968 Camaro to race – and he still has it today. In 2001, he decided to race against the pros. And today he races a 1962 Corvette roadster which weighs 2400lbs and is powered by a 598 CI engine that makes 997 HP and 788 FT of torque. This allows the car to go 0-60 in 2.01 seconds and ¼ mile in 8.11 seconds at 164 MPH.

There are a lot of different things that Dale enjoys about cars. There’s the thrill of the competition, the fixing and fabricating parts, and the way his head clears when he’s belted into his car. He also enjoys the family and friends that are present during his racing. It’s a very family friendly activity for them; his wife is the pit boss (same as at home, Dale says), and there are several generations of racers competing.

Well there you have it! Our tech experts are more than what they seem; there’s a lot of life to be lived outside the 8-5, and this is how just a few of our people spend their time.

Our tech experts apply the same hard work and dedication to their work at Marco as they do when working to perfect a song or shave a few seconds off the clock. And the passion our people have for serving customers follows them home as they go to work on their hobbies.

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Topics: Business IT Services