Who wants to know about the ElioOwners.com Moderation Team? 
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- Thread starter goofyone
- Start date
First let me tell you about how I became involved with this whole Elio Motors thing:
In November 2013 a friend of mine just happened to be at Lenox Mall in Atlanta, GA while the P3 was being shown as part of the marketing tour. He took some pictures and posted about it on Facebook where I read a little about it and thought it was pretty neat but really did not do anything more. The following month, December 2013, another friend, who I have ridden motorcycles with on occasion, again mentioned this Elio thing to me and at that point I decided to read up on it some more which lead to my $100 all-in reservation.
A few months passed and in early March I just happened to see another motorcyclist friend post something about Elio Motors on Facebook as well. While digging around and researching a bit I discovered this site and joined in the fun. After a few days of reading a bunch of information, and enjoying this forum best of all, I upgraded all-in to $1K.
After about three weeks on this forum Okuma Steve posted that he needed another moderator. The site was still very small, this forum hit 500 members just a few hours after I joined, so I guess not a lot of extra people volunteered and after chatting with Okuma Steve for a bit I became the newest moderator in late March. Since then I have really just been sucked down the rabbit hole learning with a lot of reading and talking to so many people about Elio Motors.
Now for the general bio:
My real world name is Hector Jimenez. I was born about 35 years ago in Manhattan, New York City, and I currently reside In the northern Atlanta suburb of Cumming, GA.
I was always the type of child who took apart his toys to see how they worked and eventually tried to 'improve' on the design to varying degrees of success. This interest in how things work was almost certainly inherited, and definitely encouraged, by my father who is a mechanical engineer and a life long gear head. He always had project cars which I would help him with and he even eventually came to own several auto repair shops. My dad and one of his brothers even attempted to purchase a new car dealership as my uncle has had a long career in dealerships starting out as a used car salesman and ending up as the general manager of several large new car dealerships. Being raised in this type of family meant that my understanding of how cars work and how the auto industry works is just something I was exposed to and learned about as I was growing up.
My very first car, which I still own 20 years later and likely would only sell if I was very desperate, was a 1979 Triumph Spitfire 1500 for which my dad only paid $300 as even though it was in fairly good overall condition it did not run. It became my task to have it running and looking nice before my 16th birthday as this is when I was legally able to receive my full drivers license and drive on my own. He likely ended up paying more for parts and such than he envisioned however working so much on this car definitely made me appreciate it much more while I learned a heck of a lot more about cars.
Anyone who knows anything about these classic British cars knows that they can be a handful. Over the last 20 years there have been many ups and downs and a heck of a lot more maintenance just to keep the thing on the road. There are also a whole host of stories involving various places I ended up visiting and people I have met while being stranded and/or having to repair the car on the side of the road. To me all the history I have with this car just makes enjoy it even more.
I completed a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology with a focus in digital communications. A few weeks after graduation I took a six month project job working for a government contractor upgrading Defense Department IT systems throughout the world. Upon returning home from that I found another IT job working for a local Atlanta outsourced IT provider. After about six months one of the clients I was supporting decided to fire their IT Director and made me an offer to take over the position. This client was a small four year college with several hundred full time students who mostly lived on campus. I ended up spending the next four years managing that IT department which was quite a lot of fun as college students are always up to something. Unfortunately it all came to an abrupt end as they struggled to raise funds during the bad economy and eventually closed their doors for good in 2010.
I was out of work for a few months but ended up taking what I thought was going to be a good job with Comcast as a network engineer as they were hiring engineers to undertake a multi year project to upgrade all the Comcast data center network for higher network capacity. Well, six months after I started, the entire project was put on hold and for the second time in two years I was in search of a new job.
I managed to get an interview with the company that eventually hired me only a few weeks after being laid off from Comcast however it would end up taking nearly three months to go through the process and actually start working for what I also thought at the time would be a great job as it was working for a huge company, Schneider Electric, and working on a national security related government project. This job was really a lot of fun and also took me all over the world over the next 18 months. In 2012 I even took a vacation trip to Antarctica just because this meant that I could say that I visited all seven continents that year. However, thanks to the budget battles in congress which ended with the whole sequester mess, my entire project was completely defunded for a budget year which led to my entire team being laid off.
After being laid off three times in less than four years I had enough and actually had a great idea already brewing in my head which led to the formation of my own business with my father as my partner helping with the mechanical engineering side of things. Even if things have not gone as great this year as they did last year, I am having to wind things down before I start losing money, it has still been a fun journey for me to use some of the skills I have acquired over the years while being able to work for myself. Proving to myself that I could take an idea from my head and develop it into a real product which I have been able to manufacture and sell to others has been a very rewarding experience.
I have a few possibilities I am working on for my professional future, or I may just start sending out resumes soon, however my business winding down over the last few months has actually been why I have had so much spare time lately to help on this forum. This moderator experience has been a lot of fun for me and I hope to meet a lot our members over the next year or more as we hopefully move closer to getting these things into production.
In November 2013 a friend of mine just happened to be at Lenox Mall in Atlanta, GA while the P3 was being shown as part of the marketing tour. He took some pictures and posted about it on Facebook where I read a little about it and thought it was pretty neat but really did not do anything more. The following month, December 2013, another friend, who I have ridden motorcycles with on occasion, again mentioned this Elio thing to me and at that point I decided to read up on it some more which lead to my $100 all-in reservation.
A few months passed and in early March I just happened to see another motorcyclist friend post something about Elio Motors on Facebook as well. While digging around and researching a bit I discovered this site and joined in the fun. After a few days of reading a bunch of information, and enjoying this forum best of all, I upgraded all-in to $1K.
After about three weeks on this forum Okuma Steve posted that he needed another moderator. The site was still very small, this forum hit 500 members just a few hours after I joined, so I guess not a lot of extra people volunteered and after chatting with Okuma Steve for a bit I became the newest moderator in late March. Since then I have really just been sucked down the rabbit hole learning with a lot of reading and talking to so many people about Elio Motors.
Now for the general bio:
My real world name is Hector Jimenez. I was born about 35 years ago in Manhattan, New York City, and I currently reside In the northern Atlanta suburb of Cumming, GA.
I was always the type of child who took apart his toys to see how they worked and eventually tried to 'improve' on the design to varying degrees of success. This interest in how things work was almost certainly inherited, and definitely encouraged, by my father who is a mechanical engineer and a life long gear head. He always had project cars which I would help him with and he even eventually came to own several auto repair shops. My dad and one of his brothers even attempted to purchase a new car dealership as my uncle has had a long career in dealerships starting out as a used car salesman and ending up as the general manager of several large new car dealerships. Being raised in this type of family meant that my understanding of how cars work and how the auto industry works is just something I was exposed to and learned about as I was growing up.
My very first car, which I still own 20 years later and likely would only sell if I was very desperate, was a 1979 Triumph Spitfire 1500 for which my dad only paid $300 as even though it was in fairly good overall condition it did not run. It became my task to have it running and looking nice before my 16th birthday as this is when I was legally able to receive my full drivers license and drive on my own. He likely ended up paying more for parts and such than he envisioned however working so much on this car definitely made me appreciate it much more while I learned a heck of a lot more about cars.
Anyone who knows anything about these classic British cars knows that they can be a handful. Over the last 20 years there have been many ups and downs and a heck of a lot more maintenance just to keep the thing on the road. There are also a whole host of stories involving various places I ended up visiting and people I have met while being stranded and/or having to repair the car on the side of the road. To me all the history I have with this car just makes enjoy it even more.
I completed a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology with a focus in digital communications. A few weeks after graduation I took a six month project job working for a government contractor upgrading Defense Department IT systems throughout the world. Upon returning home from that I found another IT job working for a local Atlanta outsourced IT provider. After about six months one of the clients I was supporting decided to fire their IT Director and made me an offer to take over the position. This client was a small four year college with several hundred full time students who mostly lived on campus. I ended up spending the next four years managing that IT department which was quite a lot of fun as college students are always up to something.
Unfortunately it all came to an abrupt end as they struggled to raise funds during the bad economy and eventually closed their doors for good in 2010.I was out of work for a few months but ended up taking what I thought was going to be a good job with Comcast as a network engineer as they were hiring engineers to undertake a multi year project to upgrade all the Comcast data center network for higher network capacity. Well, six months after I started, the entire project was put on hold and for the second time in two years I was in search of a new job.
I managed to get an interview with the company that eventually hired me only a few weeks after being laid off from Comcast however it would end up taking nearly three months to go through the process and actually start working for what I also thought at the time would be a great job as it was working for a huge company, Schneider Electric, and working on a national security related government project. This job was really a lot of fun and also took me all over the world over the next 18 months. In 2012 I even took a vacation trip to Antarctica just because this meant that I could say that I visited all seven continents that year. However, thanks to the budget battles in congress which ended with the whole sequester mess, my entire project was completely defunded for a budget year which led to my entire team being laid off.
After being laid off three times in less than four years I had enough and actually had a great idea already brewing in my head which led to the formation of my own business with my father as my partner helping with the mechanical engineering side of things. Even if things have not gone as great this year as they did last year, I am having to wind things down before I start losing money, it has still been a fun journey for me to use some of the skills I have acquired over the years while being able to work for myself. Proving to myself that I could take an idea from my head and develop it into a real product which I have been able to manufacture and sell to others has been a very rewarding experience.
I have a few possibilities I am working on for my professional future, or I may just start sending out resumes soon, however my business winding down over the last few months has actually been why I have had so much spare time lately to help on this forum. This moderator experience has been a lot of fun for me and I hope to meet a lot our members over the next year or more as we hopefully move closer to getting these things into production.
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zelio
Elio Addict
I look forward to reading it.Several members have asked me about my background and I have shared some things however I decided I would write a bio and post it and also encourage the other moderators into sharing as much or as little as they feel comfortable with.
Z
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Space reserved for posting a bio when I'm not grumpy.
Quick version: For $$$ I'm billing & tech support for an iPhone support center and this is our hell week.
Quick version: For $$$ I'm billing & tech support for an iPhone support center and this is our hell week.
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Goofyone, "Thank you!" for your service to our country. I envy you, in the fact that you have traveled the world. Other than my stint in the Army and duty station in Germany, ( I was actually stationed at the Army Hospital where I was born ) my travel has been limited to the U.S. (Except Hawaii) and 3 short trips into Canada. I can tell by your life story ( so far ) you will succeed at whatever you set your mind to. Good luck in your future endeavors.Several members have asked me about my background and I have shared some things however I decided I would write a bio and post it and also encourage the other moderators into sharing as much or as little as they feel comfortable with.
zelio
Elio Addict
Thank you for sharing your bio with us, Hector. Perception is a marvelous thing. I assumed you had been with elioowners longer than me. I joined the day before you did. Not only that, I think Steve started elioowners on my birthday in 2013. No wonder I was drawn to this site. Somehow it was meant to be and I look forward to the day when we will meet because I already consider you a friend. Do not be too worried about the changes in your life. With your attitude and aptitude, you will find as one door closes another opens and you will be a success at whatever you decide to do. It is a pleasure sharing this time and space with you. Z
Not only that, I think Steve started elioowners on my birthday in 2013. No wonder I was drawn to this site. Somehow it was meant to be and I look forward to the day when we will meet because I already consider you a friend. Do not be too worried about the changes in your life. With your attitude and aptitude, you will find as one door closes another opens and you will be a success at whatever you decide to do. It is a pleasure sharing this time and space with you. Z
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Thanks for sharing and a special thanks for all that you do to keep us civil and informedFirst let me tell you about how I became involved with this whole Elio Motors thing:
In November 2013 a friend of mine just happened to be at Lenox Mall in Atlanta, GA while the P3 was being shown as part of the marketing tour. He took some pictures and posted about it on Facebook where I read a little about it and thought it was pretty neat but really did not do anything more. The following month, December 2013, another friend, who I have ridden motorcycles with on occasion, again mentioned this Elio thing to me and at that point I decided to read up on it some more which lead to my $100 all-in reservation.
A few months passed and in early March I just happened to see another motorcyclist friend post something about Elio Motors on Facebook as well. While digging around and researching a bit I discovered this site and joined in the fun. After a few days of reading a bunch of information, and enjoying this forum best of all, I upgraded all-in to $1K.
After about three weeks on this forum Okuma Steve posted that he needed another moderator. The site was still very small, this forum hit 500 members just a few hours after I joined, so I guess not a lot of extra people volunteered and after chatting with Okuma Steve for a bit I became the newest moderator in late March. Since then I have really just been sucked down the rabbit hole learning with a lot of reading and talking to so many people about Elio Motors.
Now for the general bio:
My real world name is Hector Jimenez. I was born about 35 years ago in Manhattan, New York City, and I currently reside In the northern Atlanta suburb of Cumming, GA.
I was always the type of child who took apart his toys to see how they worked and eventually tried to 'improve' on the design to varying degrees of success. This interest in how things work was almost certainly inherited, and definitely encouraged, by my father who is a mechanical engineer and a life long gear head. He always had project cars which I would help him with and he even eventually came to own several auto repair shops. My dad and one of his brothers even attempted to purchase a new car dealership as my uncle has had a long career in dealerships starting out as a used car salesman and ending up as the general manager of several large new car dealerships. Being raised in this type of family meant that my understanding of how cars work and how the auto industry works is just something I was exposed to and learned about as I was growing up.
My very first car, which I still own 20 years later and likely would only sell if I was very desperate, was a 1979 Triumph Spitfire 1500 for which my dad only paid $300 as even though it was in fairly good overall condition it did not run. It became my task to have it running and looking nice before my 16th birthday as this is when I was legally able to receive my full drivers license and drive on my own. He likely ended up paying more for parts and such than he envisioned however working so much on this car definitely made me appreciate it much more while I learned a heck of a lot more about cars.
Anyone who knows anything about these classic British cars knows that they can be a handful. Over the last 20 years there have been many ups and downs and a heck of a lot more maintenance just to keep the thing on the road. There are also a whole host of stories involving various places I ended up visiting and people I have met while being stranded and/or having to repair the car on the side of the road. To me all the history I have with this car just makes enjoy it even more.
After high school I wasted about 1.5 years in college, and blew an academic scholarship, having way too much fun and not studying enough so eventually my parents decided they would not foot the bill for my fun any longer. As a result my father gave me the choice of going to work full time, paying for my own college education, or his recommendation was to do as he and most of the other men in my family had done, mostly after being drafted, and join the military. I chose the military and even though it was not always easy it was probably one of the best decisions of my life. When tested I showed good aptitude with computers and electronic systems so I ended up becoming a 74B/25B IT Specialist which at the time was pretty much a do it all IT guy. I thought my military career would be a relatively calm one however just about a year after I left for boot camp 9/11 happened followed by Iraq. Before my enlistment was through I ended up being deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq where my role was to serve the IT needs of various combat outposts which put me outside the wire on a regular basis with exposure to everything that entails.
I had actually passed a few classes before enlisting and completed some more college coursework during my down time in the Army so after separating I ended up using my GI Bill benefits to complete a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology with a focus in digital communications. A few weeks after graduation I took a six month project job working for a government contractor upgrading Defense Department IT systems throughout the world. Upon returning home from that I found another IT job working for a local Atlanta outsourced IT provider. After about six months one of the clients I was supporting decided to fire their IT Director and made me an offer to take over the position. This client was a small four year college with several hundred full time students who mostly lived on campus. I ended up spending the next four years managing that IT department which was quite a lot of fun as college students are always up to something.
I was out of work for a few months but ended up taking what I thought was going to be a good job with Comcast as a network engineer as they were hiring engineers to undertake a multi year project to upgrade all the Comcast data center network for higher network capacity. Well, six months after I started, the entire project was put on hold and for the second time in two years I was in search of a new job.
I managed to get an interview with the company that eventually hired me only a few weeks after being laid off from Comcast however it would end up taking nearly three months to go through the process and actually start working for what I also thought at the time would be a great job as it was working for a huge company, Schneider Electric, and working on a national security related government project. This job was really a lot of fun and also took me all over the world over the next 18 months. In 2012 I even took a vacation trip to Antarctica just because this meant that I could say that I visited all seven continents that year. However, thanks to the budget battles in congress which ended with the whole sequester mess, my entire project was completely defunded for a budget year which led to my entire team being laid off.
After being laid off three times in less than four years I had enough and actually had a great idea already brewing in my head which led to the formation of my own business with my father as my partner helping with the mechanical engineering side of things. Even if things have not gone as great this year as they did last year, I am having to wind things down before I start losing money, it has still been a fun journey for me to use some of the skills I haver acquired over the years while being able to work for myself. Proving to myself that I could take an idea from my head and develop it into a real product which I have been able to manufacture and sell to others has been a very rewarding experience.
I have a few possibilities I am working on for my professional future, or I may just start sending out resumes soon, however my business winding down over the last few months has actually been why I have had so much spare time lately to help on this forum. This moderator experience has been a lot of fun for me and I hope to meet a lot our members over the next year or more as we hopefully move closer to getting these things into production.
My personal life has been a bit less hectic than my professional life however along the way there was a Mrs for a while but that did not end very well. As I have mentioned in the hobbies thread I love to read and quickly end up digging through a lot of material on subjects I choose to study. I still consider myself to be a gear head and routinely work with my father on our project vehicles which is very easy for me since for the last few years I have lived in the apartment over the workshop on the family property. I enjoy traveling both domestically and internationally and in the past I have road raced both cars and motorcycles. I also enjoy watching a variety of racing and in particular love Formula 1.
I have been told many times that I have a calm demeanor and can sometimes even appear to be too calm about things. I believe that comes from my time in uniform as since then my view has been that compared to IED's exploding and bullets flying there is just not much to get terribly upset about in life.