Darrin DeFouw is HawkSoft’s most tenured current employee (outside of our co-founders). Today is his last day at HawkSoft before he pursues a new path outside the company. HawkSoft is pleased to share a parting message from Darrin:
On May 17th, 2004, I arrived for my first day of work with a tiny software company called HawkSoft. I had no experience in the software industry and really had no idea what my role would be. My family was taking a huge leap of faith by moving from Eugene to this tiny town of Canby that I had never heard of.
My first task on that day: unboxing and assembling my desk chair and then hooking up the monitors, keyboard, etc. of my workstation PC. Little did I know, I would still be a part of this tiny company fifteen years and six role changes later. The company is not so tiny anymore; I was employee #8 and there are over 100 now. We’ve gone from 250 regional customers to tens of thousands of users across all fifty states. But, one thing has never changed: the unwavering dedication of Paul Hawkins, Sean Hawkins, and Jason Hansen to provide a comfortable, safe, and fun environment in which to create solutions and support the unique industry of the independent insurance agent.
My time here has been an amazing journey of personal and occupational growth; I’ve built relationships that I will never forget and cherish until the end of my days. But most of all, I will always look back fondly and with pride at the things we accomplished as a team.
We all worked together to transform the product and continuously get better at all that we do. From releasing version updates, to converting data, to being a friendly helping hand on a call, we always strived to be a little better, stand out, and shine a little brighter. To be the best we can be.
I wish the absolute best for all of those that will come to work here on Thursday morning, March 14th. For this will be the first day in a very long time that I will no longer be an active part of this team, and I am more than a little bit saddened by this fact.
I want to extend my eternal gratitude to the Hawkins family for believing in me and always allowing and encouraging me to grow. I would not be the person I am today without the experiences I have had with this company, and I will be forever thankful.
As I now close this chapter and begin a new one, I will never forget the days, months, and years spent with HawkSoft and all of the amazing people that I had the honor and pleasure to meet and work with during my time here. At the end of the day, it is always about the people: Our co-workers, our customers, our families.
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Darrin DeFouw has worked at HawkSoft for fifteen years and served a role or function related to every department at the company except for Marketing. As a capstone for his dedicated years of service, the Marketing Department commissioned Darrin to write the piece above. It is with great pleasure that we can count him as an honorary member of our department and assist Darrin in earning the distinction of having worked in every department at HawkSoft.
HawkSoft is grateful for Darrin’s years of service. If you have ever had the pleasure to interact with Darrin, whether as a colleague or as a customer, we invite you to share stories or well wishes in the comments below.