THE APPRENTICE BECOMES THE MENTOR
MY PATHWAY
Fifty years. One thread. Every step taught me what I now teach — and every second chance I got, I now give.
MICHAEL RUTHERFORD, FOUNDER
secondchancepathways.com dba rezconnect.store
This is my own path — from a kid proving himself by mail in the seventies to handing the next generation everything I built. Scroll the journey.
Five Eras, One Thread
Education runs through all of it — learning it, building systems for it, and now giving it away.
On July 6, 1978, Michael becomes the first apprentice ever on the American Culinary Federation correspondence course roster in the entire United States — sponsored by Robert H. Nelson, mentored by Chef Larry Farhat at Spring Lake Country Club. Every skill proven by mail: documented, enveloped, judged. The years that followed stacked the proof: 1981 SWMCA Apprentice of the Year, 1982 ACF/NRA Gold Medal winner, a 1982 graduate of Washburne Culinary Institute, and a 1982–83 internship at The Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center and The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago — specializing in Louisiana Cajun & Creole cuisine.
1989 brings his first experience with the internet — and a flash of recognition. The same proving-by-documentation he'd done by mail as an apprentice could now happen at the speed of light. Mentored by Bob Parker through 1988–90, he architects T.U.R.N.S. — The Ultimate Real-Estate Network System — mapping every screen and workflow by hand (the schematic below). Alan Weiner writes the first code in DOS, before Windows even existed; BJ Hart takes it over and carries it forward. It brought courthouse records to the desktop — property data that used to require a trip downtown, now on a screen. The business model? $150 per office, per month. A subscription. Software as a service — years before anyone called it SaaS.
"This is a drawing that was created to show the schematic of the program and the different screens and the workflow." — MICHAEL RUTHERFORD
Joins Jadeon Inc. as an Aloha POS reseller — becomes a top-3 dealer worldwide. Rides the acquisition wave all the way up: Radiant buys Aloha ($45M), Radiant buys Jadeon ($7M), NCR buys Radiant ($1.2B). Managed sales, service, and support for 7,800 locations and 600+ restaurant clients. Through Hospitality Technology Solutions powered by Accredited Portfolios, he supported 7,800 locations.
Builds LeaderTracker — cloud SaaS for education leadership development, funded by a Wallace Foundation grant. Developed with the Institute for Performance Improvement, Deb Page & Dr. Judy Hale. Five years, 70 human-performance case studies. Plus ProStart apprenticeship work with the National Restaurant Association. It connected learners, teachers, and employers through streamlined standards and career readiness programs.
RezConnect.store puts 50 years of systems into small-business hands. Walk the Beat becomes the living lab. And the student affiliate earn-and-learn program hands it all to the next generation — real work, real pay, real coaching.
The Work
Four builds across four decades. Each one taught the next one how to exist.
T.U.R.N.S.
The Ultimate Real-Estate Network System. A subscription platform linking realtors, appraisers, and lenders over a dedicated network — written in DOS, before Windows, before the web. SaaS before SaaS existed.
Explore the project →Jadeon / Aloha POS
Top-3 Aloha dealer worldwide. 7,800 locations, 5,800 software licenses, 1,200 businesses supported 24/7 — then acquired up the chain to NCR's $1.2 billion buyout. This is where scale was learned.
Explore the project →LeaderTracker
Cloud SaaS for education leadership development. Wallace Foundation grant. 70 case studies with the Institute for Performance Improvement. Teaching teachers to coach — the methodology behind everything since.
Explore the project →Local Merchant Solutions
A consortium of local technologists serving the SMB community — the bridge between enterprise systems and Main Street. The direct ancestor of RezConnect.store.
Explore the project →SECOND CHANCE
PATHWAYS
Every second chance Michael ever got — the apprenticeship, the mentors, the open doors — became this: an earn-and-learn program where students do real work inside real businesses, earn real pay, and get coached every step of the way. Walk the Beat is the living lab where it all plays out in public.
RezConnect.store
The all-in-one platform for local businesses — websites, CRM, automation, loyalty, reputation, and AI. Fifty years of systems thinking, distilled into one login. This is the engine under the mission.
VISIT REZCONNECT.STOREbecause they are not coached.”
Fifty years ago, the apprentice waited weeks for every lesson by mail — and that wait became a lifetime mission to make learning real-time.
Today, the mentor hands the next generation everything he built.
secondchancepathways.com dba rezconnect.store