WORKING -- Tommy Reminiskey

HE IS

The technology guru

KEEPING MACHINES UNDER CONTROL

Tommy Reminiskey keeps the clocks ticking, the computers humming and

the alarms ringing at all of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District

campuses and properties.

Although he has a staff of four, it is Reminiskey whom everyone knows

in the district, because he is always out there trouble-shooting.

The first thing he does each day is to check his e-mails and phone

messages for problems at schools.

Any glitches in the public announcement systems or dead batteries in

fire alarms will be repaired and replaced in no time.

MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Reminiskey also is the reason the community can sit in the comfort of

their living rooms twice a month and watch as school board members debate

the issues, instead of having to endure the stiff, uncomfortable chairs

of the boardroom.

Back in his cramped audiovisual room, he controls the taping of the

meetings and provides a live feed to the cable station.

He follows the action, cutting back and forth between the three

cameras in the boardroom that are controlled by robotics.

Meanwhile, he makes two tapes of the meeting, a VHS copy for posterity

and 3/4-inch tapes that he takes to the Costa Mesa and Newport Beach

cable stations for them to replay.

“We used to do it on audio way back when,” said the 23-year veteran of

the school district.

A CREATIVE GUY

The presentations that others make at meetings also begin with

Reminiskey’s creativity.

He may flip off the lights and power them up, but he had a hand in

them long before that.

“I do the footage and write the scripts for those,” Reminiskey said of

the Newport Coast Elementary School videos and the maintenance and

operations video that faithful viewers may remember.

As more cameras make their way into the school system, Reminiskey’s

job will expand, but he revels in the challenges, he said.

“It’s real challenging, but I enjoy it,” he said. “It’s like a home --

more like a family -- here than a job.”