Cathy and David Dieter
Cathy and Dave relax on Spanish Cay in the Bahamas
In her professional life, Cathy was a computer systems analyst specializing in SAP. Upon graduating from Duke, she went to work at Kodak where she supported one of the divisions' financial systems. Upon Kodak's sale of its Clinical Diagnostics business to Johnson & Johnson, Cathy became a Johnson & Johnson employee. When Johnson & Johnson offered an early separation package, Cathy took it and became an independent SAP consultant to Kodak. When David was transferred by Kodak to Northern Virginia, Cathy took a position with Hughes Network Systems, managing the financial systems group in support of both the finance and human resources organizations. In addition, Cathy has volunteered for numerous non-profit organizations ranging from PTO officer, church board member, church youth group leader, Venture Crew leader, Red Cross instructor, etc. She loved to sing in the church choir.
David has broad information technology management experience. Upon his graduation from SUNY at Buffalo, he went to work at Kodak where he supported the equipment manufacturing division's applications. When Kodak outsourced its data center to IBM, David led one divisions efforts to migrate to the new facility. He became manager of the data administration/database administration team for Kodak's corporate operations. When Kodak decided to run its global business on SAP, David took responsibility for building its computer operations for this venture. David joined PictureVision, a Kodak subsidiary, as Vice President of Operations, which led to his move to Northern Virginia. When Kodak decided to close PictureVision, he decided to leave Kodak to remain in the area where he and a partner began a small company. When a PictureVision associate asked him to assist him at the Corporation for National & Community Service, David took a temporary position to lead the development of a Business Intelligence capability and offer other advice. David has volunteered for numerous non-profit organizations ranging from PTO officer, church board member, church youth group leader, Cub Scout leader, Boy Scout leader, Venture Crew leader, Red Cross instructor, etc.
David and Cathy were very active in raising Adam and Bonnie both of whom have grown up and have created their own lives. Adam and his wife Christina live in Richmond, VA with their family. He has a good job as a pharmacy technician at a Rite Aid drug store and is raising 4 or our grandkids -- Droz, Jayden, Alexis and Serenity. Bonnie lives in Jarratt, VA, with her husband Troy along with our other 2 grandkids, Troy and Taylor. Bonnie is a 6th grade math teacher. Adam and Christina, Bonnie and Troy are wonderful parents to our many grandchildren. We are VERY PROUD of them.
It took a couple of years for us to make the transition from working full time to cruising full time. In 2004, we took sailing lessons from Annapolis Sailing School and Sailing Club of Washington. We began searching for our sailboat with a lot of great help and advice from Tim Wilbricht of Annapolis Yacht Sales. Orion, our 36' center cockpit Beneteau, was purchased in December.
Our plans continued to develop in 2005 with the opportunity to sail Orion from our home port in Edgewater, MD at Liberty Yacht Club on the South River. We enjoyed growing our skills while spending time with friends, family, and members of the Sailing Club of Washington. We were even fortunate enough to have several of the sailing instructors join us for a day. In the fall, we sailed Orion to Solomons, MD where she sat on the hard at Spring Cove Marina, waiting for our adventure to begin. In addition, with the hot real estate in the Washington, D.C. area, we received an offer from a couple to purchase our home. By taking them up on their offer and moving into an apartment, we were better positioned to move onto Orion in May of 2006, beginning this phase of our life as full-time cruisers.
David has broad information technology management experience. Upon his graduation from SUNY at Buffalo, he went to work at Kodak where he supported the equipment manufacturing division's applications. When Kodak outsourced its data center to IBM, David led one divisions efforts to migrate to the new facility. He became manager of the data administration/database administration team for Kodak's corporate operations. When Kodak decided to run its global business on SAP, David took responsibility for building its computer operations for this venture. David joined PictureVision, a Kodak subsidiary, as Vice President of Operations, which led to his move to Northern Virginia. When Kodak decided to close PictureVision, he decided to leave Kodak to remain in the area where he and a partner began a small company. When a PictureVision associate asked him to assist him at the Corporation for National & Community Service, David took a temporary position to lead the development of a Business Intelligence capability and offer other advice. David has volunteered for numerous non-profit organizations ranging from PTO officer, church board member, church youth group leader, Cub Scout leader, Boy Scout leader, Venture Crew leader, Red Cross instructor, etc.
David and Cathy were very active in raising Adam and Bonnie both of whom have grown up and have created their own lives. Adam and his wife Christina live in Richmond, VA with their family. He has a good job as a pharmacy technician at a Rite Aid drug store and is raising 4 or our grandkids -- Droz, Jayden, Alexis and Serenity. Bonnie lives in Jarratt, VA, with her husband Troy along with our other 2 grandkids, Troy and Taylor. Bonnie is a 6th grade math teacher. Adam and Christina, Bonnie and Troy are wonderful parents to our many grandchildren. We are VERY PROUD of them.
It took a couple of years for us to make the transition from working full time to cruising full time. In 2004, we took sailing lessons from Annapolis Sailing School and Sailing Club of Washington. We began searching for our sailboat with a lot of great help and advice from Tim Wilbricht of Annapolis Yacht Sales. Orion, our 36' center cockpit Beneteau, was purchased in December.
Our plans continued to develop in 2005 with the opportunity to sail Orion from our home port in Edgewater, MD at Liberty Yacht Club on the South River. We enjoyed growing our skills while spending time with friends, family, and members of the Sailing Club of Washington. We were even fortunate enough to have several of the sailing instructors join us for a day. In the fall, we sailed Orion to Solomons, MD where she sat on the hard at Spring Cove Marina, waiting for our adventure to begin. In addition, with the hot real estate in the Washington, D.C. area, we received an offer from a couple to purchase our home. By taking them up on their offer and moving into an apartment, we were better positioned to move onto Orion in May of 2006, beginning this phase of our life as full-time cruisers.
