Over on the blog, Gear Technology technical editor Chuck Schultz has been exploring various gear industry "Origin Stories," with tales of how some of the gear industry's veterans got their start in gearing. These are great stories for those of you who've been in the industry for awhile. You probably know most of these individuals. But they're also great for those of you who are relatively new to the industry. It's amazing to see how a seemingly unimportant decision or assignment early in one's career could lead to a lifetime in gearing.

• Luck of the Draw - Chuck Schultz
• Getting into the Gear Trade - Chris Trochelman of Trojon Gear
• Retail Management to a Career in Gearing - Who Would Have Guessed? - Matt Rossiter of RJ Link
• From Co-Op to Vice President - Octave Labath
• My Career in Gears - Ray Drago
• My Story - Ernie Reiter

Thank you to all of those who have contributed so far. We have more origin stories in the hopper, and we welcome contributions from the rest of the community. Please send your origin stories to Senior Editor Jack McGuinn (jmcguinn@geartechnology.com).

To see everything that's been going on at the blog lately (including Chuck's insightful commentary about these origin stories), just follow the link below...