John Watkins, Director, Products

John Watkins joined First Rate in October of 1992 as a programmer in support of the original development of the First Rate Performance solution. Watkins has since guided the solution’s evolution, serving as a senior developer and most recently as manager of product development.

John began his career in 1988 at Inwood National Bank where he was in charge of nightly processing routines for the data center.  Watkins then joined First Rate as their first employee in 1992.  He has been involved in every performance development and implementation project at First Rate since its inception.
 

Watkins is very involved in his community, participating in the YMCA parent child program and serving as a volunteer coach for youth soccer and baseball. John graduated from Odessa Junior College with an Associate’s in Electronics Technology and completed his Bachelor’s in Finance from Dallas Baptist University.  John also has two years of Computer Science Engineering training from the University of Texas at Arlington and has certifications in WebFocus, Franklin Covey, and Dale Carnegie.