Samuel W. Hills

116 Camelot Dr.
Slidell, LA 70460-5720

(985) 649-2757 (home)
(504) 401-1737 (cell)
(240) 201-7484 (fax)
Website: samhills.com
e-mail:
Microsoft Word version: SamHillsResume.doc

An accomplished application/systems programmer, systems administrator and website designer with over 25 years experience in the entire life-cycle of the software design process, including requirements definition and specification, data structure definition, program design, user interface design, implementation, coding, debugging, testing, maintenance, documentation and customer support. Demonstrated growth and success on numerous large-scale software projects, often resulting in significant reductions in bugs, program failures and customer-support costs. Also experienced in Network administration, hardware design and testing, and computer support, maintenance and repair. Analytical thinker with the ability to learn new technologies and programming languages quickly. Possesses a keen insight into the inner operation of computer hardware and software, meticulous attention to detail and an excellent ability to analyze, diagnose, debug and fix problems in software and hardware. Strong interpersonal and written communication skills, able to analyze issues, propose solutions and respond to rapidly changing priorities.

Career Objective: Software development

Applications programmer
Systems programmer
Website designer/programmer
Network Administrator

Principal Skills

Operating systems:

Microsoft Windows
MS-DOS
Digital Research CP/M and MP/M
TRS-DOS & LDOS (Radio Shack TRS-80)
DEC RSX-11M
Novell Netware

BASIC dialects:

ZBasic (Zedcor / 32-bit Software)
CBasic (Digital Research)
Visual Basic (Microsoft)
TRS-80 Level II Basic (Microsoft / Radio Shack)

Assembly Language:

Intel 80x86
Intel 8051
Zilog Z-80 / Intel 8080A
Zilog Z-8
DEC PDP-11
IBM 7044

Other programming languages:

Procmail
Fortran IV
Pascal
xBase (FoxPro)
HTML
PHP
Smarty
SQL
Btrieve
Cobol

Other software:

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel & Publisher)
Microsoft Access
Relational databases
WordPerfect
MapInfo
QuickBooks Pro
Envelope Manager and DAZzle Plus
EASE Church Management Software
Parnell & Associates financial system
Corel Photo-paint
Sony Vegas Video editor
Adobe Audition audio editor
HTML editors

Hardware:

IBM-PC
DEC PDP-11
Burroughs B-20
Radio Shack TRS-80
Zilog Z-80
Zilog Z-8
Intel 8051
Ethernet LANs
Printers, scanners and other peripherals

Professional experience

July 2006-present
Medical Practice Software
174 Corporate Sq
Slidell, LA 70461

Programmed vertical-market web-based medical application in PHP, Smarty and HTML.
Built, installed and maintained PCs.
Customer support (on-site and telephone).

1989-2006
Bryan Bell / Gosnell Computer Services, Inc.
1331 Third St.
New Orleans, LA 70130

Audio and Video production:
1. Set up and shot video of Mr. Bell narrating his war experiences and other activities.
2. Edited video using Adobe Audition and Sony Vegas Video software and compiled to DVD.
3. Edited and cleaned up video from other sources and transferred to DVD.
Greater New Orleans "Jesus" Video Project:
1. Converted lists of churches from Microsoft Excel spreadsheets into a FoxPro database and converted spreadsheets to read list of churches from the FoxPro database.
2. Prepared maps using MapInfo showing locations of churches and groupings for fundraising efforts.
3. Prepared documents, mailings, spreadsheets and other materials using Microsoft Word, Excel and Publisher.
4. Maintained and updated database of Individuals (FoxPro).
5. Prepared materials for bulk mailing using Envelope Manager and DAZzle Plus software.
6. Designed, programmed and promoted the JVP website (http://gnojvp.org).
7. 7. Established a PayPal account, a merchant account, credit card gateway and secure website to enable donors to make donations online.
8. Converted JVP accounting data from EASE to QuickBooks Pro.
EASE Church Management System for MS-DOS (Zbasic):
1. Restructured the EASE program to make it maintainable./li>
2. Implemented configuration-management, source-code control and automated compilation.
3. Separated common code into 'INCLUDE' files to improve maintainability and eliminate bugs.
4. Maintained the EASE program, fixing all bugs.
5. Added many new modules and features:
  1. Denomination-specific annual reports.
  2. Attendance module.
  3. Built-in data Backup and Restore module.
  4. File-maintenance utilities.
  5. Multiple accounting funds and fund types.
  6. Olan Mills Pictorial Directory interface.
  7. Music filer with Usage History.
  8. Sermon filer with Usage History.
  9. Media Library module with lending, checkouts and reservations.
  10. Equipment Inventory with Maintenance History, automatic Depreciation calculation and posting.
  11. USPS interface for CASS certification.
  12. Bulk-mail sorting.
  13. Family pictures.
  14. Y2K compliance.
6. Rewrote and maintained the User's Manual to match the program changes for each major revision.
7. Handled customer-support calls and solved users' problems.
GCS database (FoxPro):
1. Added several enhancements and fixed several bugs.
2. Added the ability to make customized disks for each user directly from the customer's database record.
EAZ (EASE for FoxPro):
1. Helped define program specifications.
2. Guided program development.
3. Identified problems and inconsistencies with user requirements.
EASEWIN (EASE for Windows, in Visual Basic):
1. Designed and developed Membership module and Contributions module.
2. Selected and installed add-on programming tools for use with Visual Basic.
3. Debugged conflicts between third-party components.
Zbasic compiler (8086 assembly language):
1. Fixed numerous bugs in the compiler.
2. Rewrote major parts of the full-screen editor to make more memory available for the compiler.
3. Modified the compiler to allow more than 64K of source code.
4. Added numerous optimization routines to the compiler.
5. Added 32-bit integer operations.
Bulk-mail processing:
1. Identified the requirements for bulk-mail processing.
2. Evaluated numerous bulk-mail programs and CASS-certification programs to determine which one(s) were suitable for our requirements.
3. Installed CASS-certification software.
4. Performed CASS certification of mailing lists for EASE users.
Lessons in Lifemanship (online book):
1. Converted revised version of the book to HTML, developed and cleaned up the website.
2. Added titles, META tags and other HTML components to the web pages so they would rank higher in the Internet search engines.
3. Added navigational buttons and other "eye candy" to the HTML pages to make them more visually appealing.
4. Evaluated, selected and installed website-promotion software.
5. Promoted the website to search engines.
An Infantry Platoon Leader in Patton's Army (online book):
1. Converted text to HTML and developed the website.
2. Added titles, META tags and other HTML components to the web pages so they would rank higher in the Internet search engines.
3. Scanned photos and removed streaks, dust-specks and other defects, and optimized the files for faster downloading.
4. Promoted the website to search engines.
Design Corps (website):
1. Added titles, META tags and other missing HTML components to the web pages.
2. Fixed several HTML bugs.
Wrote Procmail recipes and installed e-mail filtering programs, resulting in a 99% reduction in spam.
Evaluated website hosting services.
Performed computer and networking hardware installation, maintenance and upgrades for entire site.
Installed, maintained and administered the office LAN.
Selected, installed and maintained applications, utilities and system software.

1999-present
Independent contract work:

Provided customer support and upgrades for users of the EASE Church Management software.
Provided CASS certification service for bulk-mailers (see http://samhills.com/CASS.html)
Selected, installed and set up computer hardware and software for Family Seeds magazine.
Designed and set up website for Family Seeds magazine.

1992-1994
Axonn Corp.
New Orleans, LA

Designed, programmed and debugged microprocessor-controlled radio transmitters for electric power monitoring, burglar alarms and smoke detectors (Intel 8051 assembly language, electronic hardware design).
Programmed support systems for microprocessor-controlled radio transmitters (Borland Pascal).

1992
Automotive Insurance Co.
Kenner, LA

Programmed and maintained in-house application software in Digital Research CBasic and Novell Netware.
Maintained and repaired PC workstations and network hardware and software.
Trained operators in the use of custom in-house software.
Installed and supported 3^rd-party application software.

1985-1988
John Parnell and Associates
Metairie, LA
(out of business since 1988)

Programmed and maintained the Parnell small-loan-office system (Digital Research CBasic compiler and 80x86 assembly language).
Network administrator (Novell Netware, Corvus Omninet).
Developed application development tools used in product development.
Customer support.

1982-1985
White Enterprises
Covington, LA

Programmed and maintained application software for small-loan offices (derived from the Parnell software).
Evaluated, selected and installed 3^rd-party software (development tools, word-processing, telecommunications, etc.).
Installed and repaired computers in White's branch offices.
Trained operators in the use of application software.
Customer support.

1978-1982
TANO Corporation
New Orleans, LA

Developed and maintained remote-control software for oil and gas pipelines (DEC PDP-11 assembly language, FORTRAN IV, RSX-11 operating system).