Being collaborative, patient and having a keen attention to detail are just a few of the reasons why Joey Lacroix has thrived in his role as a Systems Specialist on NetCov’s Onboarding Team.

Those same traits fuel his highly unique passion outside of work: historical military reenacting.

“It was never something I intended to seek out. It just happened to fall in my lap,” Lacroix said.

A friend in the Civil Air Patrol invited Lacroix to attend a World War II reenactment in Hudson, Mass., featuring “real tanks, cannons, explosions, aircraft, machine gun fire and actors all authentic to the uniforms and rank structure.”

“I was dumbfounded that any of this existed and was a hobby that people did,” he recalled.

Soon after, he participated in his first reenactment exercise himself.

“I crawled through the woods with real combat vets, operated in a historically accurate squad setting,” Lacroix said. “I was hooked.”

Today, Lacroix (pictured right at the 2023 Memorial Day Parade in Somerville, Mass.) participates in reenactments spanning multiple eras, including World War I, World War II and Vietnam War portrayals. For him, authenticity is everything.

“People will write postcards to send out to their loved ones, cook entire meals out of original field kitchens, sew up uniforms in the middle of battle, repair boots at an authentic cobbler in the trenches,” he said. “Everything is meticulously done in the spirit of maintaining authenticity.”

Before arriving at NetCov in March 2018, Lacroix spent time working at a supermarket, a pizza shop and as a certified pharmacy tech. He studied physics in college.

Ironically, it was a computer virus that helped launch his IT career.

“I tried to install Microsoft Excel off of The Pirate Bay and was unfortunate enough to bug my computer with a Kernel RootKit,” he said.

Stumped, Lacroix reached out to a family friend at NetCov. While resolving the malicious install required some guidance, Lacroix’s technical acumen impressed his acquaintance.

“He offered me an internship on the promise that I got my piece of crap Volkswagen inspected,” Lacroix laughed. “Two months later my car was fixed, inspected and I had a sweet new job.”

The environment was fast-paced and demanding, but it quickly became the perfect place for him to grow.

“It was a mad house,” Lacroix said, recalling the days when every phone in the office would ring any time a client called in. “It was such a great environment to learn a lot. Our clients were awesome, and our team members were so supportive.”

Over the years, Lacroix worked his way through several technical roles supporting clients directly before eventually joining the onboarding team. The transition changed how he approached the work.

“I went from tackling problems one at a time, speed-running through ticket closures and phone calls, to having to engineer much larger solutions that could affect entire organizations,” he said.

Today, much of Lacroix's role revolves around helping clients navigate uncertainty during periods of change. Technical knowledge matters, but he believes communication matters just as much.

“It’s important that we as IT professionals understand that sometimes the people we're supporting have no idea how the technology and the exchange of information works, even at its most basic roots,” he said. “It’s that understanding that helps us explain things to the user, and form relationships that make them more comfortable and happy to work with us.”

That steady mindset extends well beyond work.

The reenactments Lacroix (far right) takes part in are intense and incredibly realistic, with planes, cannons and other authentic elements of warfare involved.

“Mindfulness! Focusing on the 'here and now,'” Lacroix said when asked where his positive energy comes from. “Yesterday may have sucked but today’s a new day.”

Throughout his eight-year tenure, Lacroix has proven time and again that no assignment is too daunting.

“Pressure does not get the best of Joey,” NetCov’s Director of Client Success, Ryan Walsh, said. “Whether he’s flying across the country on short notice or assisting locally, he remains calm, cool, and collected at all times. His reliability, professionalism, and steady presence make him someone both clients and teammates trust and depend on.”

Whatever the next mission may be, Lacroix will be ready, willing and able when called upon.