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Eric J. Reid

Eric J. Reid returned from the Netherlands to Dodge City, KS, his hometown in 1995, and then went to the University of Kansas, winding up with a PR degree because it was easier to write and speak than mess around with accounting and statistics, and as long as he didn't know what the hell he wanted to do, he might as well get good grades and feel good about himself doing it. He decided that run-on sentences had their place. Especially if followed by short, strong sentences for balance. (Also, he eschewed rules about verbs always being in sentences.)

He always lived on campus, digging being in the thick of things and the vitality of university life. He was "Newman of the Year" at the scholarship hall where he lived his first year, then became an RA in the hippest dorm on campus: "Hash", the arts dorm. Tiring of the ceaseless dichotomy between narcing on the one hand and inspiring personal development and a sense of community on the other, he promptly moved to the basement of a liberal church, joining a non-denominational spiritual community as the resident atheist, skeptic, and all-around loveable jackass. Good times.

Before finishing up and being forced to earn his way in the world full-time, ejr decided that it was high time to live in Europe again. If he found his life's vocation through internationalism, so much the better. If not, at least he'd get another experience abroad before Leaving College. He lived, studied and worked in Prague for about 8 months. In addition to working in a small Czech travel agency, he got his first taste of teaching as an English teacher and tutor. Good comradeship, excellent beer and savory pork never tasted so good nor came so inexpensively to him. Unfortunately, he still had another semester of college back in Kansas, and he was informed in no uncertain terms by his lenders that Czech crowns were not likely to pay off the American student loans that would come due.

After he finished with KU, ejr found himself working with a company Chicago magazine has voted the best employer in the city, and that Forbes magazine has often placed in the top 100 employers to work for in the country. In a word, a sweatshop. Selling computer equipment for The Man. Note to self: when your sales manager idolizes movies like Boiler Room, it's time to look for another job.

So, in 2001, he moved to a job he loved — training individuals on software applications and web certification content. Also during this time, he was in a serious relationship with a chica from Chicago, based in Italy. Things heated up, big decisions were made, and in December 2001, he moved to Florence. He lived there for 6 months, bringing himself to advanced Tarzan-speak levels of Italian and setting up a web consultancy business. After having developed a small client base for web development and training, having progressed with the language, having made some new friends, and having become more legal than most freelance Italians, ejr and his ladyfriend shook hands and went their separate ways. (These events are not necessarily related.)

He returned to Kansas to enjoy the nearness of friends and family again. He also returned to realize that The Recession was serious stuff. Fortunately, The War on Terror is a big business, and ejr worked a few months as a contractor for the Transportation Security Administration in airport security training. After that dried up in 2003, he seriously contemplated a move to Korea, which was on the brink of war, to teach English. Saving his mother the cardiac arrest, he took a position with a technology training company in Kansas City, instead.

These days, he's living with his brother's family back in the hometown, has set up a small business and works from home. His social life is largely compressed into very rewarding and nerdy stuff like gaming with his brother and nephew, participating in Big Brothers Big Sisters, making Czech-style beer with his dad, and tinkering on this website. Cheers.

Key Stats

Country of Origin:

USA

Education/Next Steps post-Holland:

University of Kansas, Bachelors of Science in Business Communications

Birthday:

April 28, 1976

Current Address:

2419 Hart Ave

Dodge City, KS 67801

(back to living with my bro's family at the old address on my Rotary card!)

Current Phone Number:

intl() 913-909-1971

Preferred E-mail Address:

ejr@ericjreid.com

Current Profession or LifeGig:

President of Open Road Communications, a web development, communications and training company.

Favorite expression in Dutch:

"Wij gaan apen-kijken. Lekker ding, jo."

Vote for a Rotary Exchange Holland Reunion (REHR):

Somewhere warm, cheap and centralized. Like Vegas. At least a mini-reunion in the US so I can afford to go.

Rotary club in Holland:

Steenwijk Regio (included Blokzijl, Dwingeloo and Eesveen)

Hosting Rotary club in home country:

Dodge City

Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Eric J. Reid