The AAPG Feature Staffers
Anne Payne
I came to work at AAPG after marriage interrupted my career as an airline stewardess (back then, stewardesses could not be married!!) Almost from the beginning, I was involved in "things digital," initially working on word processors.
In 1980, AAPG decided to bring the data processing operation in house and I became Data Processing Manager. Custom code was written for the membership processing with the help of a contract programmer. Eventually I attended evening classes at Tulsa Junior College and learned to program and we wound up writing ALL of the code, including general ledger, accounts payable, payroll, fixed assets, convention registration, exhibits processing, and much more. We first used a System 34, which was the predecessor to the System 36, which was the predecessor to the AS400.
For many years, AAPG was "ahead of the curve" in the association data processing arena. However, that began to change as procedures became more complex and as functions, like dues payment and book purchasing, began to take place via the Internet.
At the same time, association management packages became more mature, so in mid-2004, AAPG switched from custom code to packages (iMIS and Great Plains) for the membership and accounting processes. Although I am very proud of the custom system I helped develop and the many years it remained viable, I realized that a more mainstream system was needed to position AAPG for the future, and I fully supported the move.
I'm so fortunate to have such a challenging job and to have what I consider the best staff in Tulsa. Linda Burris and Michael Jones are conscientious and dependable co-workers and they are well-respected by other staffers. I've also met many members over the years and, without exception, I consider them good friends.
The light of my life are my children: Mark, who lives in New Orleans and Lisa, who is in Colorado Springs. I have seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren and love to visit them whenever I can.