This article was copied in part from the Dayton Daily News, Tuesday, August 17, 2004, Life Section, Page E1 - Story by Meredith Moss and Photo by Bill Reinke
Randy Durrum is the computer guru for the Fairborn schools. A former teacher, he is starting his 34th year with the district.
Randy Durrum has always like solving problems. His second career is offering plenty of them to solve.
As the network administrator for Fairborn City Schools, Durrum is known as the "computer guy," responsible for keeping 900 computers up and running in eight buildings throughout the school year and providing technical support to administrators, teachers and 5,200 students.
"On the way to work this morning I had three calls," said Durrum, standing in the computer lab at Fairborn High School last week with 60 of his inanimate charges. "None of them could get their e-mail going."
Though school doesn't start until August 31st, Durrum has been hard at work all summer - hooking up all the computers and making sure they are in top working condition.
He has additional challenges in 2004: With his school district facing major financial deficits, Durrum has watched his support staff dwindle from 12 to three - including himself - in the past year.
But he remains upbeat. "We all have to do a little bit more. I think it serves the students best if we keep a positive attitude."
It's that attitude that makes the 55-year-old Durrum a favorite with those who know and work with him.
Kathy Call's kindergartners at Fairborn Primary School, for instance, are convinced that Durrum is a magician.
"If my students are working on a reading-readiness program and their computer freezes, Randy comes and all of a sudden he presses some buttons and then their computer works and they are able to finish their game!" she said. "They always clap for him."
Call says Durrum is soft-spoken and warm, and never makes teachers or students feel like their problems are trivial.
Every issue is important to him," she said. "He never seems rushed."
But she knows that's not the case for the man who runs from school to school solving computer emergencies.
Unlike grownups, Durrum said, kids are never scared by technology.
"It's fun to see their eyes light up and watch them learn!"
Congratulations Randy!
