The end of an era

Today saw the conclusion of 15 years of Service for Patty McGrath at BT. For those that have worked with Patty at BT they know that her wisdom about ERP systems is only surpassed by her passion for doing the right thing. The right things are the root of her principles on instance management, testing, interfacing closely with users, testing, years of experience on multi national installations, and oh- did I say TESTING?
Beyond her zeal for being the best at what she does, Patty is a gem of a person. One that is dedicated to life long learning, one that has compassion for everyone around her.
A trip past Patty's work station indicates that Patty lives her life on her own terms and practices what she preaches. Patty is green- and this not just because she is Irish. She lives a life of conservation and kindness to the environment. Patty recently brought us cookies generated by wind power. They were great despite me having to wait until Passover was over to eat them! Patty is a die hard liberal that studies and understands all aspects of local, regional and national politics.
I know I speak for all of the people at BT when I say that Patty's departure will leave a massive void in our organization. Patty was the stabilizing force in the office. The one that knew how to react on the days where things did not go perfectly. She mastered a methodology for untangling the jams that we got ourselves into. Her calm demeanour in the face of near database tragedy was always helpful.
Patty has been a friend, mentor, cohort, conspirator to scores of people in BT. She has been all of these things to me. As my career started at BT in 1998, at what we called Concert 'classic', Patty provided all of the guidance, wisdom and direction as any professor can. Despite my relative inexperience, she graciously gave everyone around her the chance to learn- and learn we did. At some point we all aspired to learn as much as she was able to casually forget in one day.
Patty has shared in all of life's experiences for me. Marriage, the birth of my children, the recent loss of my father. Through those times her spirituality has helped find deeper meaning in everything. I will miss seeing her at the office every day but I know she is just a phone call away.

Patty, best wishes always and keep in touch...