My grandfather, Jim, worked at Diebold from 1941 to 1981 at Plant 1 in Canton, Ohio. We had a very close relationship. I spent a lot of time with him, and over the years he inspired me in many ways.

One thing my grandfather always talked about – even prior to my employment at Diebold – was Diebold's people and the pride they had in their work. He always told me that Diebold hired good people – and that made it a great company. I always thought Diebold seemed like a great place to work. Imagine my surprise when I received a letter from the company with the opportunity to participate in its co-op program, which I did from 1996-1998. My grandfather was very proud. 

But our employment at Diebold wasn’t the only thing my grandfather and I had in common. During our time at the company, we were both heavily involved with Mosler, but in different ways. My grandfather was constantly reminded to be better than Mosler because it was our fiercest rival in security at the time; whereas I was involved with the Mosler asset acquisition. At first, I wasn’t able to speak about it. Once I could, he was the first person I contacted. He could not believe it. Imagine working at a company for 40 years and all you heard was, "We need to be better than Mosler." Then imagine your grandson saying he worked on a project to help assist in the purchase of Mosler's assets.

Some of the most important conversations we had involved Diebold’s efforts during World War II – and the part we played in it. Along with making halftracks, Diebold also made flak protection for the bottoms of American bomber fuselages, protecting the pilot and co-pilot. Some Diebold associates fighting overseas would write to their co-workers in the United States, thanking them for making these products. These letters often appeared in The Diebold Warriors, a company magazine created during the war.

My grandfather worked at Diebold because his valuable tool-and-die skills were desperately needed on the home front. He and others at Diebold received an E-pin from then-President Roosevelt to remind them that working the home front was just as important as working the front line. I still have this pin.

There were many other projects that my grandfather took part in. One he always discussed was the design and installation of a new vault door in Walt Disney World®. The door weighed several tons, but could be opened with a rubber band. Discussing this project with my grandfather clearly defined for me the pride and dedication in the work at Diebold. We always had the customer in mind.

I joined Diebold full time in 2000. During my time with the company, there have been three important accomplishments that impacted it – and me: working on the Hope Diamond project, being part of the Mosler asset acquisition team, and most recently, creating a proposal to implement a nationwide security program for the U.S Postal Service®.

There isn’t one advancement that stands out in my mind. Rather, it’s the continued advances occurring throughout the security industry, such as the movement from VCRs to DVRs, and moving into full digital surveillance and security systems, video analytics and video management. Everything continues to change at a fast pace and evolve technically, which keeps things exciting. 

While things at Diebold have changed quite a bit from my grandfather’s time at the company, there is one thing I believe remains true….Diebold hires good people – and that makes it a great company.