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About Scott...
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���I was born on October 28th, 1969. So, yes, I was alive for the moon landing! I was born to George Henry and Martha Anne Sheader; the 4th of an eventual 5 children. In order, my sibs are: Georgianne Sue Concannon (45), Jeffrey Byron Sheader (43), Cheryl Lynn Sheader (41), Me (31), and Glenn Alan Sheader (29).
We're of English (Dad-100%) and Slovak/who knows descent (Mom). And, for some odd reason, we have as strong of family ties as any Italian family. Thank goodness.
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Scott and Mom ���
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For the first three years of my life, we lived in a small subsection of McKees Rocks (very near to Pittsburgh) called Pittock. Great community, but, it had a very bad proximity to Neville Island (one of the country's biggest chemical manufacturing areas). Because of this, my Mom, and many others in the community developed cancer. So, at three, my poor Dad became a single parent. Luckily (and UNluckily in a lot of ways) for me, defense mechanisms have prevented me from really remembering this time period.
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Cheryl, Glenn, Mom, Georgianne,
and Scott, in front in 1973
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Shortly after this, my father purchased a house in McKees Rocks proper (2 blocks from the Mancini's bakery), at 404 Woodward Avenue. This is where I would grow up. My first 2 years of school, I went to Wilson in the Bottoms, Foster in West Park, and back to Wilson. Needless to say, this wasn't the easiest thing for a recently widowed man and his toddler sons to go through. But, we made it through (with help - from Aunt Irene and Uncle Hank, Cheryl, Georgie, and Jeff). Lots of things could've gone wrong for us (Dad, Glenn and I), but, because my father was such a strong, intelligent gentleman, Glenn and I never had any problems with school. As a matter of fact, both of us were lucky enough to be enrolled in Gifted And Talented Education. In retrospect, Glenn and I could've been the kind of kids that ended up in a Juvenille detention center, but, because of our strong family, we ended up better than OK.
���Pretty much, the rest of school was a coast. I was never a popular kid, and I've always battled the bulge. But, I was always nice and had a lot of friends. Played football, threw track in High School. Never really excelled at either. Lifted a lot of weights at this time. Did pretty good at that. Considered a career in the military (even had a scholarship for the Navy), but, that never materialized either. Graduated 5th in my class, which was pretty cool, considering there wasn't much separating the top 5...
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��And then, I went to Penn State.
���I actually started out as an Engineering major...fool. Didn't take me long to realize that the guidance counselors in high school were ABSOLUTELY WRONG. I rushed the fraternities my first semester, as per my high school buddy's advice. I had NO idea about this process. But, at one point, one house had me out for a friendly game of tackle football. Guess they liked the way I played (when you're from the same area as Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Johnny Unitas, Jim Kelly, and so many other greats, you know how to play the game!). I thought I did ok...apparently, they thought otherwise. I got my bid to Sigma Nu shortly thereafter. This was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. I've made so many lifelong friends and contacts because of this, I'd HIGHLY recommend any college student try to find a group such as this to help them grow (although, to be honest, they're NOWHERE near as much fun anymore).
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Sigma Nu Fraternity House
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���Not too long after, I decided to be a teacher. And, what better for me than Art Education (oh, I failed to mention that I'm a pretty good artist). This was another of my great decisions. Finished all of my classes for Art Ed, achieved a 3.3 gpa in the major, but failed to graduate. Which has turned out to be, probably, the BIGGEST mistake I've made so far. Heck, I was only 6 or so credits away! At the time, I figured I was "only taking time off." In a year or so, I'd go back, and finish up.
And then, my Dad died from cancer...
���Although this was difficult emotionally, I wasn't totally taken by surprise. Dad smoked Lucky Strikes and drank a ton of coffee. So, he, and we understood why God called him home. Plus, he got to be with Mom again. And, my family became stronger because of this. It's strange for a lot of people to hear me say this, but, I strongly feel his presence all the time. I dream very peaceful dreams with Dad in them several times a month, and I'm SURE that this is his way of staying in touch.
���Well, I decided to find work where I could, and that wasn't too far away. A friend of mine had recently purchased a major bar in town, so I asked him for a job. I got hired as a doorman. What a job! I had so much fun, met so many people...had plenty of OTHER job offers. But I was always really happy doing this. And then I tended bar. I would never be the same. I found a job that I both loved and excelled at. I'm as humble as it comes to most things, but, gosh darnit, I can bartend with the best!! My time at the Brewery will always hold fantastic memories for me. I've made so many friends, learned so much, and worked with such fantastic people. In most ways, I consider some of these people another branch of my family. I could never envision my life without their presence.
���So, I happily worked as a bartender for 3 or so years before I met Jackie. You can see how we met here. And, we dated for another year before my buddy Mike Peterson called me out of the blue asking if I would consider working with his company out in California. I've had a lot of friends offer me jobs over the years, but you'd be surprised how much a bartender can make! Plus, the Brewery was such a part of me that doing anything else hadn't crossed my mind. However, the money was SO GOOD (I asked for a ton since I was completely happy doing what I was doing) that I had to think about it. I did a ton of soul searching and discussing with Jackie and others, and decided that it might be in our (mine and Jackie's) best interest if I'd at least try.
���So, off to Los Angeles I went. The company was a Search Engine optimization company, which meant that clients would pay us to ensure good rankings in the search engines (Alta Vista, Yahoo, Google, MSN, Hotbot, Inktomi, and others). And, this was the premiere company in this field, largely due to Michael's efforts. So, I did whatever was necessary, from keyword lists, to buying domains...whatever extra work there was, I was the man.
���After about 2 months of this, the bosses came to me because Mike had told them that "he can draw". So, they decided to see if I really could. They wanted a logo/mascot for a new search engine that they, themselves were considering making (WebGenie, or something to that effect). Well, I showed them my mock-ups, and they were completely taken off-guard. Apparently, they didn't believe Mike. Within a day, I had Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator installed on my machine. With very little instruction, they said, "Go ahead. Learn it." So I did. I became the Designer/Web Designer by default. Before long, I'd developed a logo that the bosses really loved for the new search engine - BestoftheWeb.com. It's still there. I thoroughly love working with Photoshop, and have pretty much mastered it.
���Coming aboard, I knew that I wouldn't be in California for years. Mike wanted to eventually come back to PA, and it wasn't long before I knew I couldn't be away from Jackie for much longer. Sure, LA is great, and I really wouldn't mind living there. Provided I could have Jackie AND my family there. The sheer isolation of being 3000 miles away struck home severely with the death of one of my best friends, Tim, from cancer. I had no way of being where I should have been. And, what if something else would happen unexpectedly? I don't know how people do it...being powerless because of distance wasn't my cup of tea.
���Well, we gathered our courage and told the guys we were leaving for Pennsylvania soon. And, to our astonishment, they agreed to allowing both of us to continue working from PA. I mean, I figured that they might let Mike stay, since he was the SEO god, but, why keep me? Not for me to ask! In late February, we made the long, fun drive back across the United States (why is Tennessee so wide from corner to corner? why do people live in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas? why are there so many mistakes with mileage in Arkansas?). This was definitely one of the best experiences I've ever had.
���At any rate, I worked my tail off for them from Pennsylvania for the next year. I worked harder BECAUSE I was here, and they pushed me all the time. But, this honed my skills quicker and better than anything.
���But, most importantly, Jackie and I continued to become closer and closer. She hated the long hours, but we really did have time to have lots of fun, travel, socialize, and plan for the wedding. It's amazing how much we got done in the first couple of months of planning.
���In August, Websiteresults got sold to 24/7 Media out of New York city. All of us in the company had been working so hard, making sacrifices, and dreaming of this day. The bosses had told us that when the company sold, we'd "all be millionaires. Never have to work again in your lives." That is, if we sold for enough. Well, we did - 60 million PLUS incentives which could total an additional 35 million (of course, this was all in stock, which couldn't be cashed for a year). There were about 26 of us that had been told this. Divide it up, and there was plenty for everyone. We all spent our shares in our heads. And then, we found out that they had lied. Period. All of that stock was divided up between 11 people. Some of these deserved a lot less than Michael. And he wasn't included. Sure, I was PROMISED at least a million myself, but Mike had had an enormous influence on the success of the company. Needless to say, things went downhill for the company from there. Morale? Yeah, right! Try to imagine being in my position! How would you feel to think you're "in the money" one day, and nothing the next? If I'd have been told, "maybe you'll get a cut", it would have been a lot easier. But, they promised. Gave us their word...
���But, even still, my salary was very respectable, so I tooled on. I guess I was doing really well with my work (if you've seen banner ads on webpages, mine were some of the best out there - phenomenal click-through rates). So, in December, they flew me out for a week. Said lots of nice things to and about me. I was on cloud nine. Then they asked me to come out again for a month or more (told me I'd get a bonus - which I never did). So, in January, I went out there for about 34 days. But, the deal was that they'd give me the last weekend off, and fly Jackie out. It was a long month, but I had fun, learned a bunch, met some really great people, and enjoyed LA. And, when Jackie came out, we had more fun, and went to Universal City and Disneyland.
���To make a long story shorter, when I came back, I KNEW my days with the company were numbered. I'd gotten wind of this rumor out there. So, I waited and waited for the day. The internet's a tough business right now, and most companies have taken a hit. 24/7 ordered a round of layoffs, and of course I was included. No hard feelings about this, really. Especially since the stock that the "millionaires" had was worth less than 3% of its original value! So, noone's a millionare, and it's looking like worse days are coming for the people who made some enemies. I'm not getting involved in these shenanigans, but, I know a lot of my former co-workers have vengence on their minds ( in the form of litigations ). Oh well...I'm glad to have done it, and happy to have learned as much as I did. The entire experience has made me a much better man.
���So, as of today, I'm enjoying unemployment, working as a DJ at the Shandygaff, and, yes, I'm working part-time at the Brewery. Home again, home again...oh, and enjoying all of the extra time with my lovely future wife. ;-)
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