Get to Know Go Local ft. Jeremy Benson

Jeremy B with football and trophy

Each month we shine the light on one of our spectacular employees and give you a behind-the-scenes look into who they are outside of the office. This month we are getting to know Web Development Manager, Jeremy Benson.

School/Degree: Chinese Linguist Certification from Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

Job Title: Web Development Manager

How did you find your way to Go Local? I was raised as a tiger cub by David Copperfield.

Young Jeremy with a tiger

David Copperfield with young Jeremy

At age 6, I joined a group of Klingon mercenaries.

Young Jeremy with people dressed as Klingon Mercenaries

After graduating high school I joined the US Air Force as a Chinese Linguist.

Jeremy in the Air Force dorms

Jeremy ordering dinner with a stuffed tiger
Visiting family

 

Jeremy at graduation from the Air Force
Graduation!

After serving in the Air Force, I recognized the potential of the world wide web. I worked as a restaurant manager while learning networking and web development. I served my time and quit the service industry to work for a year doing commercial cable and network installation, still studying web development in my off hours.

Cable guy

Finally, my best friend pushed me to apply for a developer job at a small agency where he worked as a designer. It was love at first byte, I was terminally hooked on web development. I learned everything about everything about web dev, from domains and hosting, back-end coding, to front-end display and interactivity. I eventually went on to lead the web development team at that agency, shaping a team of great developers and making several contributions to the development process.

I broke up with that agency after they broke my heart, and that’s when I met Go Local Interactive. We hit it off right away. I was passionate about web development — and they had a wealth of complex cloud architecture, API integrations, and web development prospects. The rest is history!

 

What do love most about working with your product or department?

Innovating. I love making the web better and I get to work on that every day. Working with high-quality servers and software makes it even more fun and I get to work with a team that is just as driven as I am.

 

When you’re not at work, what do you do for fun?

My kids and I like to play games (like Minecraft), I’m a part-time anime nerd  (don’t ask me what I’m watching), and I love to cook (reigning chili master).

Jeremy's kids: Arthur and Iris
Arthur and Iris

 

What’s your favorite KC restaurant?

I’m a big fan of the barcade’s in the KC Area: T3, Tapcade, UpDown. I love them all equally and for different reasons. The atmosphere is fun and local tournaments are great.

 

What is something that no one would know about you by looking at you?

I’m pretty good at Dance Dance Revolution and Pump it Up.

 

Alright, Here is where you get to brag about your pet’s: Pictures, Names, Etc.

We’re a three cat family: Banzai, Baron, and Bella.

 

Describe yourself in 3 words.

Curious, Disciplined, Tenacious

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