Christopher Vaughn Comments from the gallery

Over the last couple of days people from Break Water which was one of the places that CD Vaughn worked at when he was here before moving to Chicago, have been talking. Mostly it is recollections about CD and how he was at that time. Remember this was 5 years ago, and this was before he was pulled on charges for killing his entire family. As well Break water is now a defunct company, so their name is used here as well.

Person One (remains anonymous). Editors note: Some spell checking was done, and some personal information was removed that was not pertinent to the impression from Person One.

As our manager he was hording work and going the extra mile to do it all himself in order to focus attentions on his own accomplishments (and his own bonus) rather than ensure that workloads were evenly and fairly distributed amongst people working for him. And lets not forget that he always presented himself as a model of organization and neatness.

Always with a clean pressed white shirt and slacks (and cowboy boots that were always shiny). Always without a single hair out of place (that picture in the Seattle Times looked nothing like the CD that showed up for work every morning at Breakwater, some people didn’t even recognize him off the photo). So on the surface, from his appearance, I’m sure he never looked like anything was wrong, never said anything out of place, never did anything that would’ve raised any suspicion. But there was just something about the guy that was wrong. I mean, besides the whole quoting of benjamin franklin in an email to introduce himself and why he took the job to the rest of the company. In the end, I’d never trust anyone that polished, neat, and seemingly organized who’s working in any kind of security field.

The second person provided the “Benjamin Franklin” memo that he sent early on when he joined the company.

From: C.D. Vaughn Sent: 8/11/2002 Subject: Dedication. “The main reason I chose to come to Breakwater is because of what its been through. Most small companies have not “been there and done that”. They are still learning and making the big mistakes. We as a company with enormous experience and wisdom regarding what it takes to run a small business. Paired with the potential for greatness Breakwater is truly a gem in the rough.

However, this is where it becomes a bit more complicated. Whether you believe it or not everything, you do impacts the company as a whole. No matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Here is a applicable quote: “A little neglect may breed great mischief; for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost.” Benjamin Franklin I know and understand you have all been through a lot. You have all contributed much. However if your focus has faded, your dedication faltered, or your heart is not into Breakwater 100% you are only hurting the rest of us.

The company is in the best condition it has been in quite some time. Revenue is growing steadily, booked business is growing, and utilization is at an all time high. “Person Name Deleted” has decided to leave the team. His last day was this past Friday. After personally spending the last two months ensuring higher utilization and better overall organization within the engineering ranks his departure comes as a particularly sharp shock. He decided to take an easy exit instead of sticking with it to help drive momentum within Breakwater. This was his choice based on what he felt he could and needed to do. However, regardless of what anyone did last week, last month, or last year, tomorrow will bring new challenges and requiring new focus and more effort. Teamwork is the key to success.”

These thoughts and memo’s are added to expand on the common body of knowledge for something is tragic, but leaves one wondering what could be going through someone’s mind at the time. We have reserved the right to keep the providers of the information anonymous, but know them and trust their information as well.

This information is provided as is, and no representations of suitability are made.