Duty Calls (for Adventure)
Position opens Darrell Hawkes' eyes to new cultures, opportunities

Darrell Hawkes has been around the globe, and back. As president of Quest International Users Group he has traveled globally serving as an advocate on Oracle users' behalf. Darrell, an IT Project Manager and Turner Industries employee since February of 1999, became president of the users group after fellow board of directors members elected him based on his high-caliber volunteer leadership and long-time presence on the board of directors in other capacities. Darrell's time as a board member and president opened up a realm of possibilities for himself and Turner.

As IT Project Manager at Turner, Darrell is responsible for IT services with the Fabrication Division, working as interface between the IT department and all levels of Fabrication Division Management. He is currently working with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and its uses, such as tracking field materials. In the past, Darrell has also worked with the original voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) phone system and re-implementing Docusphere during the Chart of Accounts project, to name a few. While the Fabrication Division is his primary client, he has also worked for construction, maintenance, and equipment divisions.

Quest International Users Group is a not-for-profit global community of JD Edwards (JDE) and PeopleSoft users, such as Turner. They serve as a liaison between users of the software and the software vendor, Oracle. Since Turner purchased Oracle software products in the mid-90s, Turner has worked with the JD Edwards product team and user community.

When Darrell became a board of directors member with Quest International Users Group in 2005, he was already actively involved with Quest for four years, attending multiple conferences and serving as president of the Industrial Fabrication special interest group (SIG). His participation in SIGs, user forums, and Advisory Boards sparked relationships with leaders throughout Oracle and the JDE community. This has opened many doors for Turner's relationship with Oracle. Darrell can resolve Turner's Oracle related issues by referring the issue to the appropriate Oracle employee. He has also identified innovative solutions in the industry that were able to solve Turner's challenges. One such example was with two separate JD Edwards modules: Advanced pricing and configurator. Collaboration with other users allowed Turner to take two separate modules and mold them into one to create a billing solution for Turner's Fabrication Division. This customized solution was only possible from Darrell's and Turner's participation with Quest and JD Edwards.

With conferences throughout the United States, and even one in Berlin, Darrell was fortunate enough to experience historical sites and cultures he once only dreamt of seeing. While enjoying time off from a board meeting in Kalispel, Montana, he and other colleagues white water rafted in freezing water. During the adventure, a board member went overboard into the freezing water. "After one minute his arms stopped working," Hawkes recalls. "Fortunately, he lived to tell the story," he said gratefully. After Montana, Hawkes headed to San Francisco for a software training session at the Oracle Open World conference. During he and his wife's stay, Secret Service members and US Marshalls were busy wiring and securing the hotel. "It turns out we were sharing a hotel with President Obama," Hawkes said.

After stops around the northern part of the country, and even a few to Canada, Hawkes attended the Quest Collaborate Conference in Orlando. Here he delivered his "Presidential Message," Quest's "State of the Union," to the members of JD Edwards Users Group. After his speech he introduced the guest speakers, Jim Lovell and Fred Haise of Apollo 13. The astronauts took the stage exactly 41 years after their liftoff. It was a treasured moment for Hawkes, who holds a degree in aerospace engineering.

During a layover in London, Hawkes and his son, Samuel, ate at a pub that opened in 1363, all while the Royal wedding was taking place not too far away. Leaving London they headed to Berlin for the Deutsche Oracle Applications Group (DOAG) Conference for Oracle users. Hawkes was asked to speak about Quest's value to the German JDE community and Turner's innovative use of business intelligence in the enterprise. Our innovation created a benchmark for JD Edwards software possibilities. Quest International conferences showcase Turner's abilities and allowed us to interact with customers and new software to further learn Oracle's software capabilities.

Darrell has adventured around the world, but his adventures pale in comparison for his contributions to Turner and other Oracle customers. He has created innovative solutions utilizing JD Edwards software applications never before used by Turner.