I started Geist Associates in 1983 with an IBM Selectric typewriter on a kitchen table in a tiny Anchorage, Alaska efficiency apartment.  What the company lacked in technology, it made up for in experience and determination. (Prior to moving to Alaska, I had over 15 years of formal experience designing, servicing, and documenting electronic systems and computers, plus work as a commercial and fine art photographer.)

Before that first winter in Alaska was over, I had coauthored Frontier Energy: Appropriate Technology in Alaska 1974-1984 for the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development, developed procedural manuals for the University of Alaska Instructional Development Distance Education group and edited successful proposals for a North Slope catering company bidding on the support services contract for the giant Prudhoe Bay oil field.

In 1984, I moved further North to study journalism and computer science at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The next two and half years found me working as a photographer for the University of Alaska Museum and the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, helping raise two wonderful kids, building a house and, in my spare time, freelancing for state, regional and national publications. In December 1986, I achieved my goal of becoming the first person in my family to obtain a college degree when the University of Alaska Fairbanks awarded me Bachelor's of Arts in Journalism (with the Computer Science minor and a 3.25 GPA). I also received the Chuck Keim Excellence in Magazine Journalism Award for my work as Art Director for Alaska Today magazine.

After graduation, I co-founded Mushing magazine (an internationally circulated lifestyle/sports publication) and moved Fairbanks Arts ( the Fairbanks Arts Association's bimonthly arts and culture newsletter) to a highly respected consumer-oriented publication. I also created national recognition for AlasCan Systems International, an award-winning organic waste treatment system manufacturer, and wrote and produced several television specials for statewide broadcast, including the 1989 and 1990 Arctic Man Ski and Sno Go Classics. In 1990, Fairbanks-based, Emmy Award winning Alaska Video Productions ask me to be field producer for their broadcast coverage of the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.

Family responsibilities resulted in my accepting a position as Operations/Marketing Manager for ComputerLand Alaska, a task I approached with the same dedication as all my ventures. In addition to hiring, training, managing and mentoring the sales staff, I researched and selected inventory, controlled pricing, provided customer/public relations and designed, configured and sold peer-to-peer and client/server networking systems to customers throughout urban and rural Alaska. After ComputerLand Alaska, I moved to a supervisory position with the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, adding grant proposal development and science editing to my growing inventory of skills.

l left Alaska in 2000 to join Tivoli Systems, Inc. (a division of IBM) as an Information Developer, providing both editorial and graphics support to the group developing detailed operation and programming documents for Tivoli's Storage Area Network product line. I returned to Alaska at the end of that contract to help the Alaska Legal Services Corporation develop ADA Section 508 compliant web sites and a "one-stop shopping" site of legal information for the state's economically disenfranchised residents. When that grant funded project was finished, I moved to Brooks Range Contract Services to improve the proposal development process. My efforts helped the Alaska Native Village Corporation double its contract awards.

During this same period, I was honored to help an Alaskan-based Native American cultural organization create a professional Internet presence and other marketing collateral for an event it was sponsoring. I also helped organize volunteers to record the event. In 2003, my efforts were rewarded with a Goldie Award from the Alaska Broadcasters Association as a field producer for "Why We Dance, The Story of the Midnight Sun Intertribal Powwow." (2003 TV Uniquely Alaskan Program, Division 2, KUAC, “If We Dance: The Story of the Midnight Sun Intertribal Powwow,” Aaron Elterman – Producer/Videographer/Editor, Mark Cosson – Videographer, Marie Mitchell – Field Producer, Al Geist – Field Producer.)

My next challenge was taking over a software documentation project for a complex spatial database management system under development by BLM-Alaska. The project was three months behind schedule on the day he started. Using RoboHelp, I successfully create the necessary online Help applications with accompanying printed support documents for both in-house data entry personnel and online visitors (public and professional), completing the project by deadline.

I left Alaska in 2002 for good to join Lectrosonics, Inc., the recognized world leader in wireless microphone and audio processing systems. During my tenure, I developed all forms of product related documentation and implemented a review process to ensure their accuracy and quality. I also redesigned the company's web site to improve navigation and appearance. The new site has been praised by customers, management, employees and shareholders alike.

In 2005, my journey brought me to Vermont where I assisted Efficiency Vermont improve its documentation of their Knowledge-Based Information Technology Tool (KITT), including developing a single-source process allowing the documentation elements to be used in an online HELP. Later, I would join the IBM team at the Burlington facility developing highly detailed microprocessor design guides and technology reliability reports.

On the artistic side, I also developed Geist Images, a sister web site to Geist Associates. Geist Images offers fine photographic art prints and note cards drawn from my extensive personal collection.

All of these experiences have combined to create a foundation of knowledge that includes most facets of business creation, marketing and success. The lessons were learned from real life, augmented by extensive formal training. In other words, I have conceived the trenches, engineered them, dug them and then lived in them.

Whether it is bringing a project back on track or guiding one from concept to completion, my goal has always been quality products, delivered on time and within budget. A background steeped in technology, marketing, management and production helps, but professional demeanor, old-fashioned work ethic and team-player attitude are the real keys to my success.