Dale Laushman founded The Uptime Group in 2001 to serve a historically underserved market -- small business owners who were trying to figure out how best to use technology to get business done. He has more than 20 years experience in the technology industry, including work in networking, telecommunications and computer programming.

Particularly passionate about working with small businesses, he enjoys the relationships he is able to develop with customers. "It is extremely gratifying to know how much our work positively impacts the operation of our client companies. We have seen over the years how many of them started out as small businesses and developed into successful, growing businesses. It is great to watch."

Dale is the first person you are likely to meet in person from The Uptime Group because he is responsible for sales and account management. As a small business owner himself, the responsibility does not stop there. He also manages the consulting team and is responsible for day-to-day delivery of services.

Patty Laushman brings a varied background to The Uptime Group. Formerly a symphony violist, analytical chemist, marketing writer, high tech recruiter and high school chemistry teacher, it is safe to say that she had a hard time figuring out what she wanted to be when she grew up. Fortunatley, she feels she has found her niche in life serving the needs of other small businesses.

In late 2003, she took over the direction of the company, hired the company's first employee and started growing the company with formal sales and marketing efforts. "I spent a lot of time in different organizations -- public, private, for profit, non-profit -- observing what I liked and didn't like about the way they were run. I made mental notes about how I would do things someday 'when I was the boss' and knew I wanted everything to operate around the idea of 'people-first.' The most important thing we do every day is listen to our customers and employees, because over the years, our best suggestions have always come from them."

Patty is responsible for marketing, accounting, human resources and general administration.

Teddy T-Bone brings his special talents as a seven-year-old Golden Retriever to his position as director of stress management, which he has held since February 2004. He is the real brains in the organization, a fact he tries to keep confidential from the people listed above because there's something about being upstaged by someone who slobbers that makes them feel inadequate. Teddy was hired by The Uptime Group as a rescue dog from Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies, an all-volunteer non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that helps place unwanted, abandoned or surrendered Golden Retrievers into loving forever homes.

He would love to share with you all the doggone good reasons to outsource your computer support to The Uptime Group if you're willing to stop by the office sometime. Also, he can't wait to send one of our tail-wagging technicians to your office to do a thorough sniff of your network to look for viruses, spyware, security loopholes, hardware problems, system errors and backup issues that cold cause a lot of expensive problems for you. In fact, he says, "If you think you'd like to give us a try, click here to sign up for our FREE 19-point problem prevention audit!"

Teddy is responsible for helping employees and visitors manage their stress.