It has taken a couple of weeks, but we’ve entered the fifth stage of grief over the departure of our colleague Patrick Shaw for his new job at Denny Mountain Media. Acceptance.

Patrick spent six years with us at NPower Seattle in a multitude of roles–some of which were in his job description and many others that he just assumed out of his commitment to the work. As the manager of our Web and CRM teams for the past couple of years, Patrick helped to pull those fledgling areas of service into the growing powerhouses that they are today. We all wish him the best of luck in the for-profit consulting world.

I’ve taken on the Management of the Web and CRM teams and I’m ramping up as quickly as possible. For ten years I helped build and run an Internet consulting firm that grew to 150 people. So the role feels comfortable. But I still have a lot to learn. Luckily I have a wonderful team of colleagues to help paper over any of my cracks: Jesse, Patrick, Evan, Kevin, Veronica, and Mike–as well as Elaina, Bridget, and the rest of our colleagues.

Patrick isn’t going far: he’s working from his perch on Phinney Ridge. So, while we say good luck, we don’t say good-bye.