Patrick is a local to Augusta, having grown up and attended school in the Aiken area. At 20, he joined the US Army Reserves and served 6 years as a Biomedical Equipment Technician, deeply enmeshed in customer service and electronics. But like many who grew up in the ‘80s and ’90s, he was enamored with computers and technology, and so he pursued and achieved the Systems Engineer title from Microsoft in 2000.

Working His Way up the “Corporate Ladder” 

From there, he began working as an IT Consultant and assumed that his path was to work his way up the corporate ladder. But one year into his newfound career, he began to feel disenfranchised by the self-serving way that the company operated with and related to the customer. He took initiative and began to lead a team of three people, but he believed a more servant-based approach was called for. But that would require starting his own company.

A Risky Proposition 

In 2004, not only was his career budding, but his family was too. Patrick and Sharon had three children 6, 4 and 1. Although he had expressed his desire to start something unique and open up his own company, until 2004, understandably, his wife was concerned about leaving the family vulnerable without a guaranteed income. He knew this was a door the Lord would have to open! When he approached his wife with plans for starting his own company in 2004, not only was Sharon at peace, she was behind him 100% and willing to make sacrifices because she believed that Patrick could build something amazing.

Cross Link Consulting Was Born!

In 2004, Patrick started his LLC and opened the doors to Cross Link Consulting. His first concentration was primarily on car dealerships and securing their computer systems, but his vision was to create something more than just a “fix a problem” paradigm. In 2010, he saw a niche in the market not just to fix what was wrong but to ensure that his customers would not have to “fix” things at all. He created a company that performed in-house IT services on an outsourcing basis. Patrick wanted his clients to be able to pick up the phone in a moment’s notice and get the help they needed. His felt as if there is no job too small or insignificant. His company was there to provide the best in troubleshooting, maintenance, and installation, and also to guarantee that his clients had the most advanced computer systems and cyber-security protection at all times. For Patrick IT isn’t just a job, it is a responsibility to keep customers safe.

About His Employees 

Patrick believes that work is not a hardship, but a means to a successful and productive life. He is not shy about his faith in God and following his beliefs happens not just in his personal life but his professional one as well. He not only lives a life surrendered to God, but he also seeks to align himself with other people who share his passion and love for work and serving others. Expertise is a must, but it can be taught. Patrick believes in looking to the person underneath the accreditations and training to find out who a person is and what drives them. Patrick doesn’t consider his work a “job”. His mantra is to work hard for the those who put their trust in us.

“I will know”

When Patrick worked as a young man at Burger King, he had “dining room duty”. That means he was responsible for the cleanliness of seating. After hours, as Patrick was washing down the tables and chairs one evening, he started to sweep underneath a corner booth. As he swept, he noticed that there was a French fry shoved way to the back corner beneath the bench. It had probably been there for a very long time. He stopped for a minute and pondered whether he was going to just leave it there and move along or take the time to sweep it up. After all, clearly other people in charge had not tried to retrieve it, and no one was going to see it. But after thoughtful consideration, he came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter if anyone saw that he had gone the extra mile. After all, he didn’t have someone standing over his shoulder checking his cleaning. But it was in that very moment that he recognized a profound truth: It wasn’t important if anyone saw what he was doing; he would know. That is how he looks at his position at Cross Link Consulting, his leadership, and his role in life. He isn’t concerned if other people are watching and see what he is doing because this is what God has called him to do, and he will do it faithfully as a form of worship to God. He knows that it is his responsibility to use his gifts according to this calling to serve his neighbors. And that is how he sees everything he does professionally and personally in life. It doesn’t matter if anyone else knows he is doing a good job; he knows and God knows, and that is what matters.