A Family Tribute
That feeling hit home last week when we learned of the passing of Homer and Diane Combs of Lexington, Ky., who were among those killed on Comair Flight 5191. Homer and Diane were longtime employees of Systems Design Group, a family-run Lexington-based solution provider. The Combs were setting off on a vacation to celebrate their 31st wedding anniversary.
Combs was co-owner/partner and senior vice president alongside his brothers, Glen, the company's CEO and president, and David, the company's senior vice president.
Distribution Editor Scott Campbell, who attended the Tech-Select gathering in Chicago that Homer participated in just before the intended vacation, spoke with members of the TechSelect community for a story about their grief and loss that can be found at www.crn.com.
"He was one of my favorite guys to take out for dinner," said Mike Cullen, vice president of sales at Ottawa-based N-able Technologies, who was at a dinner with Homer Combs during the TechSelect event. "He was talking about for the first time in his career that he was going to take six weeks of [vacation]. He was going deer hunting. He talked about how much he loved his wife." Cullen was one of several colleagues who talked about Homer Combs' big heart and his love of family.
John Marks, CEO of JDM Infrastructure, said the loss is felt by the entire channel community. "We all consider ourselves part of the same family," said Marks of his fellow IT solution providers. "When we come together at industry events like TechSelect, you can see the camaraderie, esprit de corps, and the love of the business and for each other."
The Combs family has asked in lieu of flowers that donations be made in memory of Homer and Diane Combs to one of the following organizations: The First Baptist Church of Whitesburg or The Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Center of Excellence. Condolences may be sent to [email protected].
How much are you giving back to your family? Let me know at (781) 839-1221 or via e-mail at [email protected].