In addition to celebrating Orchard’s 30th company anniversary this year, we are also recognizing and honoring our employees who have been with us for 20 years or more. These employees have played a crucial role in shaping Orchard into the industry leader that it is today. Orchard team members celebrating anniversaries of 20 or more years in 2023 include:
- Keith McKinney (1998)
- Bruce Heitman (1998)
- Matt Landolf (1999)
- Wendy Forgey (1999)
- John Miller (1999)
- Audrey Lorraine (2000)
- Steve Brady (2000)
- Heather Ashburn (2003)
- Kelly James (2003)
- Matthew Pollock (2003)
We sat down with these valued employees and asked each of them to reflect on their many years at Orchard Software and to share a bit more about themselves with our readers. Thank you all for over two decades of incredible service and leadership!
Keith McKinney, Vice President of Sales (November 1998)
Keith’s family
- My wife Becky and I just celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary in June.
- We have two children, Megan and Jared, and one grandchild, Charlie.
Keith’s interests
- I grew up in St. Louis and am a Cardinals and Blues hockey fan.
- I have many interests, including travel, fishing, bike riding, and outdoor cooking. I would have to say that my number one interest at this time is spoiling my grandson, Charlie.
Favorite memory at Orchard
- Being at Orchard Software for 24.5 years, I have a lot of memories, too many to single out just one. I will say that throughout my career with Orchard I have had the opportunity to work with many wonderful people, many of them being recognized for 20+ years like myself.
Favorite accomplishment at Orchard
- My favorite accomplishment is being part of what has made Orchard Software what it is today. I joined Orchard as the 12th employee. My goal all along has been to remain at Orchard Software until the time where we could compete at all levels of laboratory needs. We are almost there, folks!
Bruce Heitman, Senior Reginal Sales Manager (November 1998)
Bruce’s family
- I live in Ramsey, New Jersey, and have been married for 37 years.
- I have two grown children, a daughter (32 years old) and a son (34 years old), both married. I also have one brand new grandson (1 year old).
Bruce’s interests
- High school wrestling. I’ve been a coach and assistant coach for 15 years.
- I’m also a car nut—all kinds of antique and custom cars.
Favorite memory at Orchard
- Onboard training at Orchard in 1998 consisted of, “Here is a laptop and a copy of Costello. Let us know how it goes!”
- Nancy Stoker and I once drove 20 minutes out of our way to a hotel because neither one of us was brave enough to call Maureen Sullivan, our travel agent. She would have yelled at us because we wanted to change hotels!
Favorite accomplishment at Orchard
- All of the special clients that remain supportive Orchard customers today.
Matt Landolf, Solutions Architect (June 1999)
Matt’s family
- I have three children, Collin (25), Thomas (22), and Sophia (5).
Matt’s interests
- I enjoy spending time with my kids, live music, working outside, and binge-watching TV shows.
Favorite memory and accomplishment at Orchard
- My favorite memories/accomplishments are the hundreds of successful Harvest, Copia, Enterprise, and Aqueduct go-lives on which I have been privileged to be a team member. Each had their own unique challenges and successes that gave the client and team the opportunity to grow and learn.
Wendy Forgey, Director of Integration (October 1999)
Wendy’s family
- I have a large extended family that is all in my area. We spend a lot of time working and playing together—farming, rodeo, 4-H, sports, and family get-togethers.
Wendy’s interests
- Family, cattle, and following my niece’s and nephew’s families in whatever activity they are involved in.
Favorite memory at Orchard
- The people: I have some great memories with all the folks I have worked with over the years.
Favorite accomplishment at Orchard
- I can’t say there is just one, but if I had to choose, it is the success of the Integration Team over the years. They are a solid group of folks, and it has been an honor to work with them!
John Miller, Director of Development (December 1999)
John’s family
- I’m married to Angie. January 1st will be our 25th anniversary. I have one daughter, Ava, who will be a high school senior this year. I also have a four-legged five-year-old named Ernie (our dog).
John’s interests
- My interests include camping, traveling, and video games.
Favorite memory at Orchard
- This is really difficult as there are a lot of memories. Holiday parties, making a movie, and crazy office pranks are those that come immediately to mind.
Favorite accomplishment at Orchard
- Getting the Coulter scatter plots and histograms working in Harvest, debugging and writing a fix for an interface at the client site, and writing the initial Copia (Outreach) database layer. And of course, being at Orchard for 23 years and seeing how much it has grown.
Audrey Lorraine, Director of Educational Services (January 2000)
Audrey’s family
- Married for almost 10 years to my husband, Dean.
Audrey’s interests
- Spending time with my husband ballroom dancing, travelling (especially car trips with stops at offbeat roadside attractions), and attending concerts and plays.
- I also enjoy putting together puzzles, painting, and hosting themed parties for my friends.
Favorite memory at Orchard
- Really enjoyed leading the committees for our milestone anniversary celebrations (10th, 20th, 25th, and 30th)! It’s been fun to put together activities and events to bring everyone together and celebrate all we have accomplished.
Favorite accomplishment at Orchard
- Growing from a team of one (me) dedicated solely to technical writing to a team of 10 that works on developing and publishing documentation and educational materials, executing blended training programs for clients and Orchard employees, and supporting the systems that host these materials and programs.
Steve Brady, Vice President of Development (September 2000)
Steve’s family
- 8-year-old daughter
- My wife and I are celebrating our 25th anniversary this year.
- Two dogs, two cats
Steve’s interests
- Family time, music, and science fiction
Favorite memory at Orchard
- Fun times with coworkers: Chili cookoffs, Halloween costumes, department Olympics, picnics, “meat can Fridays”…
Favorite accomplishment at Orchard
- Being put in charge of “Copia” (now Enterprise) development.
Heather Ashburn, Associate Director of Testing (April 2003)
Heather’s family
- Scott and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this year, and we have 3 kids.
Heather’s interests
- Some of my interests are reading, traveling, and attending my sister’s opera performances.
Favorite memory at Orchard
- Some of my favorite memories of Orchard are the various Halloween costumes seen over the years.
Favorite accomplishment at Orchard
- Working at Orchard for 20 years!
Kelly James, Director of Executive Administration (April 2003)
Kelly’s family
- The James family: John, Kelly, Mason (16), Megan (12), Maggie (3), and Maverick (4 months)
- I love watching my kids having fun performing. Mason is a member of his high school’s competition show choir. And, both kids have performed in dozens of musicals with their youth theater group.
Kelly’s interests
- I also love traveling to Disney World, Universal Studios, and on Caribbean cruises as well as helping others plan for their trips!
Favorite memory at Orchard
- All the wonderful people: Coworkers, vendors, and clients. I’m so lucky to have had all of them in my life.
Favorite accomplishment at Orchard
- I’m so thankful for the opportunities for personal and professional growth that have come from getting to wear many hats throughout my years with Orchard. After 20 years, it’s awesome that there is still something new to learn every day!
Matthew Pollock, Integration Analyst (October 2003)
Matt’s family
- I live in Pendleton, Indiana, with my wife Alishea, 17-year-old son Peyton, and our German Shephard, Butch.
- Right now, Peyton keeps us busy with his football and rugby schedule and preparing for life after high school.
Matt’s interests
- In our free time, Alishea and I like to take road trips and get lost on the backroads of Indiana finding small towns and hidden gems.
Favorite memory and accomplishment at Orchard
- Some of my best memories at Orchard are also our biggest accomplishments. Through my tenure I have been fortunate enough to be a part of some of our largest installs and have pulled plenty of 48-hour shifts during activations, catching quick naps in waiting rooms and hallways when time allows. Seeing everything come together and work to transform the lab made all the long hours worth it.