Tell Me More Thursdays...

My Life of Bytes and Bikes

By: Meredith Johnson

I will never forget the day I brought my brand new Apple IIGS home. I spent every single dollar of my Bat Mitzavh money on the full set-up. One day, I had my entire computer apart down to the wires when my mother came in to say she was leaving for the store – seeing the mess I had made of my new purchase, she was absolutely livid. She announced that she was still going to the store and my computer had better be working by the time she returned home.

At 13 years old, I had my Apple IIGS completely reassembled and fully-functioning in roughly one hour.

Four years later, and I’m at the start of my college journey studying – you guessed it, computer engineering. I was proud to have gotten accepted into an out of state engineering school but after my first year I needed to move back home and transfer to a Florida college. Once there, I majored in engineering.  

My engineering degree required a few business courses so I chose one of the most numbers-oriented courses I could find – accounting. Night school was tough but it was my day job that kept me motivated. I was hired as the accounting assistant at the National Mental Health Institute on Deafness (NMHID) and in less than 1 year I became the CFO’s assistant. 

I thought well, this is kind of fun – it's just math, easy math! It was way more fun than differential equations but I wasn't ready to give up my engineering – so I decided I'd double. I double majored in computer engineering and accounting and it wasn’t easy but it sure was fun. 

Growing up, I was the kid incapable of following the easy route. 

I’m assisting in running the books at the NMHID when one day we had a system crash. There was no IT person at the time, so my mom, who was also my coworker, told the owners, “Meredith’s a computer geek, like all the way, do you want her to take a look?” They rushed over to me saying they trust me implicitly and that they really needed a solution. So, at 19 years old I figured out that it was a bad router, all the routers had gone bad in the entire office. I was handed the company credit card and the owner’s car, left to purchase new replacement routers, returned to plug them up, and everybody was back online that same day.

I had saved the day by transforming myself from their super accounting wizard into their super computer geek!

After college, I worked as an assistant to the general manager of a major mall in Florida, #BrandonTownCenter. I was there for several years doing #ADP payroll and loved it. After several years though I recognized how complacent I had become when I saw a hiring ad for support representatives. The job listing was at #BestSoftware, now Sage People .

After two sets of interviews, one with the manager and one with the team, I was offered a support representative job with Best Software – and haven't left software industry since.

It was 2002 when Kronos purchased a Best Software product. Up to that point, I had no idea why I was training Kronos people but I had already submitted my resignation for Best Software as I had plans to relocate to South Florida. The following day, one of the Kronos product support managers approached me urging me to come to Kronos. He explained that I could continue training and supporting my current clients who were using the #AbraEnterprise product - the only difference would be I'd be a #Kronite, as they had purchased the Abra Enterprise product. 

I was offered a remote position with comparable pay. I led the support team for 6-8 months and continued training the Kronos team. I proceeded with my move to South Florida and was grateful and flattered that the remote position had been uniquely created for me.

I had been wanting to get into consulting for years when I saw my opportunity within Kronos. Manager of the HRMS team, Susan N. brought me onto the consulting team which was interesting because I was the youngest Kronos consultant on both sides – HR Payroll and Timekeeper. I worked on the pilot program where Best Software clients needed support transitioning to Kronos. I also tested system upgrades and ensured go lives were successful.

At that point I was one in four, of the whole country, who could install the Abra Enterprise product (then called Kronos HR/Payroll) on the corporation's servers. I began training my colleagues how to install the product while simultaneously consulting other clients. Because I had started my career in support versus consulting I would get sent to go lives, providing my support on-site when a client couldn’t get their payroll balanced.   

Before I left Kronos, I achieved the fastest implementation on record for over 5,000 employees. It was a 5 month implementation for the YMCA of Greater Charlotte . I was living in Charleston at the time, and would drive over 3 hours whenever I needed to be on-site with the project manager. 

I had the fastest Kronos implementation of HR and payroll on record for over 5,000 employees but I was still ready for a change of scenery.

I went to work for another, much smaller software company. I started off as a consultant and then began managing their 25-person development team who handled all of the product customizations. Because they were based in India their days started at 10:30 at night my time. This meant I worked Sunday night through Friday evening. I was juggling my own consulting and implementation clients while also managing the development team’s customizations and product build-outs.

I worked here for about 3 years with this grueling schedule. The company was overly-dependent on me – so much so, that multiple customizations could not get done without me. When my son started preschool I decided that was enough of the difficult schedule and left to become an independent consultant. 

During my time as an independent, my path once again crossed with that of Sue Nuss'. After Sue left Kronos, she started her own software company and brought me on as a contractor for a WFC HR payroll job. This is when I was introduced to Mary C Sarracino .

Mary was having trouble with a particular account at JK Seva, who has since merged with #TheFASEGroup. After completing 3 or 4 accounts I became a JK Seva employee. After JK Seva, I started contracting with The FASE Group while earning my #UltiPro certification. Less than 4 months later, I was asked to join The FASE Group full time. 

Because having a toddler, a teenager, and a full time job is not nearly enough – I started a side gig.

Last month I created Dirty Divas Gear, a passion project that features apparel with dirt bikes, ATVs, and side-by-sides with catchy sayings and colorful designs. 

For women who ride, by women who ride. These toys are no longer just for boys! - Owner and Founder of Dirty Divas Gear

It all started 3 years ago when I was no longer able to go horseback riding, something I had been since before I could walk – let me explain. 

As long as I have loved computers, I have loved animals. I owned 7 horses, and enjoyed frequent horseback riding on my farm. I was also running a rescue and foster program for Great Danes – all the while working for Kronos, with the fastest implementation rate to date. In 2019 my husband Erick and I found out I was pregnant with my second son, Elliot. Getting pregnant was the shock of a lifetime because I was told after my eldest son, Ben, that I would never be able to have another child. 

Because of my pregnancy, horseback riding was no longer safe so I sold my horses, which was a slow and emotionally painful process. But then last April, after Elliot turned 3, my husband and I went for our first ATV and side-by-side trip – and I absolutely loved it! It was the same exhilarating fun horseback riding brought me but with a bit more control.

I started Dirty Divas Gear because there is an undeniable demand for it. Whenever I went to buy my best friend and I anything off-highway vehicle, or #OHV related, it was all geared towards men. With my company, the apparel is all women based, printed on women's cut shirts for a more flattering and comfortable fit. I chose to include a few unisex options as well, for those who prefer a unisex fit but enjoy the women based design. I have seen many men’s trail groups on Facebook so my friends and I started a women’s only trail group where we can share photos and ideas, chat about the last ride, and plan future riding locations and times. 

My hope is to increase awareness across the country that women also ride off-highway vehicles. If you enjoy driving fast and getting dirty, check out our Dirty Divas Gear store:

I recognize that not everyone finds their passion at 13 years young –although I was very fortunate in that regard, I have not been without my share of struggles and doubts. 

I know my strengths, I know my passions. I also know how some of the world may misjudge my strengths and passions due to the fact that I am a woman. I did not, and will not let the world’s unfair treatment of women define my strengths and what I like to do. I hope my story has proven this as well as encourages you in the formation of your own story.

I boast in this article because my skills and achievements are boast worthy. I am proud of my history, if you made it this far – thank you for reading my HerStory. I do not claim perfection nor seek to obtain it. However, numbers are one of the closest things to perfect – if you know how to work them!