What began with a simple graphics design class in high school pushed 28-year-old Randon Ware into the world of computers. After stints at Legacy IT and Howard Payne University, Ware for the last year and a half has served as the IT technical specialist for the City of Brownwood.

“I had a teacher that I was close with, he was into PC gaming which got me into the hardware section,” Ware said. “I learned from him and after that I was able to build my own computer from scratch. After that, I was an intern at Apollo Computers my senior year in high school, then I went to TSTC and got an associate’s degree in Computer Networking.”

As for his role at City Hall, “I’m a general do-it-all type person,” he said. “I help people with computers if the network is going slow, or I’ll work on servers or network equipment, it’s a jack-of-all trades type thing. The main thing we’ve been doing is network upgrades. As internet and computers get faster, there’s so much more of a demand on network resources. When I first got here the network equipment we had was pretty old and caused a lot of slow downs but since we’ve swapped that out for newer equipment it’s gotten a lot better.”

During his five years at Howard Payne, Ware said he managed, “the same type of things minus the server and network portion. I would help the students that would bring their laptops in with office issues or they couldn’t log into the portal, that type of stuff. During the summers when the students were gone we would do our refreshes. We’d get a semi truck load of computers and go around swapping them out with new equipment in all the labs. It was probably about 120 computers each year.”

Away from work, Ware spends as much time as he can with his wife, Ashley.

“She beat cancer for the second time in November and has been in remission since then,” Ware said. “But about two months ago she was airlifted back down to Houston because she was having some heart problems from the side effects of chemotherapy. But things are on the upswing with that, too.”

Reflecting on life during Ashley’s illnesses, Randon said, “Luckily with my job I’m able to work remotely. During the times we were at MD Anderson at Houston for chemotherapy and she had to stay in the hospital I wasn’t able to work remotely much because emotionally it was a lot. I wasn’t able to work 40 hours a week but I did what I could and my workplace was really understanding. It was really cool of them to be able to work with me on that and that meant a lot to me. It’s hard seeing your wife go through all that and you not be able to do anything.”

Randon and Ashley were engaged in November of 2020 and shortly after, Ashley was diagnosed with Stage 4B Hodgkins Lymphoma. The couple moved their wedding date up to Feb. 13, 2021 and honeymooned during the infamous winter storm.

Following her treatments, Ashley went into remission in May 2021 and the couple purchased a new home. In May 2022, a mass developed in Ashley’s back that made her unable to walk or lay down straight.

“I carried her everywhere and helped her in a wheelchair for about three months until we discovered her cancer had returned,” Randon said. “After getting her chemo treatments, she was able to start walking again. Then she went through her Stem cell transplant to ensure it didn’t come back. This process involved us being at the hospital in Houston for over two months.

“While we were there both of our jobs poured into us. My job at City Hall gathered together and sent us financial support, cards, and prayers. Ashley’s job at the time at Coggin Elementary supported us financially, and started a meal train for us for when we returned home. The community of Brownwood, our sister community Cross Plains, and surrounding areas poured into us and helped us in so many ways. ”