Blake's current position as Enterprise System Architect has had him supporting the Infor/XA systems and their supporting servers and applications.
Claude Stolz, Director, Enterprise Application Support, has worked extensively with Blake during his time with BW IT. He emphasizes that Blake has been a cornerstone of our ERP XA Operations Support team for many years, adding, “We kind of think of Blake like Oz—the man behind the curtain! Blake guided BW through the consolidation of our IBM i (XA) servers from over eight down to two, implemented High Availability (HA) as part of our disaster recovery efforts, and then ultimately transitioned those two IBM i servers with HA to a hosted partner—and they continue to support XA today for BW!”
Nancy Risch, Cloud Infrastructure Leader, and Blake’s team leader, notes her gratefulness to Blake for his commitment.
“Blake has played a critical role as a member of the IT Infrastructure team for nearly 27 years,” Nancy said. “He has always provided exemplary service to users and coworkers, always willing to lend a helping hand. His documentation skills are second to none, which I am so grateful for as we transition to L.A.B. (Life After Blake)! It has been an absolute pleasure having Blake on my team for the past few years, and he will be missed, but I wish him all the best as he rides off in his camper to start the next chapter!”
Blake has had many fond memories while working at BW.
“I’ve always had great leadership that let me run free and do my work,” Blake said. “I have had a lot of opportunities to learn and grow, and the benefit of working with most of the individuals across all the IT areas. I didn’t hesitate to go to anyone for help, and everybody has always been willing to help me if they could.”
Blake also highlighted his fondest BW moments.
“I have always tried to help anyone who needed assistance,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of fun with the different people in the IT department, and the users, over the years. No single memory stands out as the best—my best memory will be that of my working relationships with everyone I’ve known at BW.”
Blake is looking forward to spending more time with family and doing projects around his house. He hopes to see more of the United States and spend more time camping, hiking, fishing, putting miles on his ATV, and enjoying nature.
Today, we are happy to celebrate Blake as he steps into this exciting new chapter of retirement. Please join us in expressing our heartfelt appreciation for the meaningful impact he has made in his time here at Barry‑Wehmiller.
