Our Team

John Widdows | Dave Freeman | Devan Stewart | John Jackson | Victoria Baer

John Widdows :: President

John Widdows has over 30 years of experience in the Computer Information Technology industry. As the founder and CEO of AppSoft Development Inc. John is applying his expertise in leadership, sales training and customer relationship management. John has achieved advancements in the management of product services, operational development, strategic marketing and team building. In addition, John combines his years of understanding technology and applying marketing strategies to increase his customers' return on investment.

John also served as a Regional SR Manager with Giga information Group and Forrester Research. Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology.

John served as Vice President Of Sales & Marketing for Baywood Technologies, a Software Development, Training and IT Outsourcing firm, where he was responsible for company revenue, new product rollouts, marketing and strategic business development relationships.

John has also served as founder and CEO of Megabytes Computer Centers of Florida, a retail computer chain for 13 years.

Dave Freeman :: SEO Copywriter

Dave Freeman became famous in early 80s as the original head model for the popular "chia pet". Before that, he says he graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in advertising followed by post-graduate studies at the University of Texas. At UGA , he was president of Pi Sigma Epsilon, a professional marketing fraternity that was sponsored by Sales Marketing Executives of Atlanta.

His first real job was in newspaper. As an editor and later general manager in the New York Times regional newspaper group, Dave became active in community affairs and served on the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce for Amelia Island. As a senior partner of Byte Five Inc., Dave began teaching others how to apply computer technology to every possible business application. He was later hired by a Fortune 50 franchising company where he served as vice president and Director of Franchise Development.

Broke and beaten down by economic down turns, Dave showed up on AppSoft's door steps earlier this year and has been hanging around every since. When he's not writing killer web copy, we really don't know where Dave can be found. If you see him, tell to phone home.

Devan Stuart :: SEM Copywriter / Social Media

Devan Stuart is a five-time Florida Press Association Award winner and freelance correspondent for People magazine, Chicago Sun Times, Suite101.com and the Associated Press. She has produced live TV news programs; feature packages for the Jacksonville Jaguars broadcast team; documentary projects, and corporate and promotional videos for major name clients.

As a journalist, she has interviewed dozens of notables, from pop starlet Jessica Simpson to Evangelist Billy Graham to famed Forensic Scientist / Medical Examiner Michael Baden to the family of a downed World War II airman discovered frozen in the icy reaches of a Sierra Nevada glacier.

Stuart also is founding chair of the Norman Studios Silent Film Museum, Inc., a nonprofit organization working to restore and reopen silent filmmaker Richard Norman's five-building studio complex in Jacksonville's Arlington district. The Norman property is Northeast Florida’s only surviving, full silent film studio complex and was among the first to break the motion picture industry's racial barrier, producing films that starred African-American actors playing positive, non-stereotypical roles. Plans include a museum that chronicles Northeast Florida's days as the "Winter Film Capital of the World," workshops led by veteran film and television professionals, and a summer camp designed to give underprivileged children a hands-on venture into the world of filmmaking.

Stuart earned a Bachelor's Degree in communications from the University of North Florida in 1996 and has continued studies at UCLA, the Poynter Institute, MediaBistro and the Southern Newspapers Association. She lives in Jacksonville, Fla. with her son and four rescued pups.

John Jackson :: VP of West Coast Sales & Operations

John B. Jackson is Vice President of West Coast Sales and Operations for AppSoft Development. Located in Orange County, California Jackson is responsible for web development, search engine optimization, SEO marketing, and pay-per-click management for customers in the western USA.

Jackson is also Director for The Center for Entrepreneurship at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF). Since 2003, he has been a Lecturer in "Entrepreneurial Marketing" at California State University, Fullerton. Jackson also teaches "New Venture Creation", "Professional Selling", and "Marketing Strategy" at CSUF. Known affectionately as "Professor JJ" by his students, Jackson brings practical marketing knowledge to the classroom from both Silicon Valley and Wall Street.

Jackson's career began in high technology sales in the semiconductor industry at Signetics Inc., but he soon moved to high technology market research with Dataquest Incorporated. At Dataquest, he served as Vice President for nearly ten years and held a variety of roles in sales, marketing and research.

During the dotcom era, he joined Bowne and Company, the world's largest financial printer, and served eight years as Senior Vice President responsible for sales, marketing, and operations. While at Bowne, Jackson was intimately involved many high profile corporate mergers, acquisitions, and initial public offerings.

Jackson also was Sales Director at Forrester Research Incorporated, an IT advisory firm. While at Forrester he served as Director of the Canada Operation and the Western US Region.

As an entrepreneur, Jackson founded The BirdDog Group in 2002, which is a consulting firm that specializes in helping small businesses with marketing and sales strategies.

In February 2007, Jackson authored the book "First, Best, Or Different: What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Niche Marketing" which helps demystify marketing and strategy for the entrepreneur and small business owner. The best selling book is used by small business owners and marketing executives across North America and is also used in the classroom at a numerous university business schools.

Jackson is very active in the Southern California philanthropic community having served on numerous boards including The Los Angeles Sports Council, The Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, The Los Angles Triathlon, and Junior Achievement of Southern California.

His resume also includes public speaker, corporate trainer, philanthropist, and horseman. Jackson lives in Yorba Linda, California with his wife and three children.

Victoria Baer :: Marketing Consultant

Victoria Baer was born April 1974. She does not like being called Vicky. Instead, call her Posh, which stands for the best of everything (an old luxury liner term, P.O.S.H. stood for "Port Out, Starboard Home"-- the best rooms). Growing up, she didn't like being driven to school in her father's Rolls Royce (they were very wealthy; later, as Posh, she would have an image of someone who revels in wealth). Victoria began as a dancer before eventually landing a spot as a member of The Spice Girls. While in college, Victoria was briefly in another band. After completing the 3-year course at Lanie Arts, she answered an ad in "The Stage" magazine, which was looking for 5 girls who could sing and dance. Victoria was picked, history was about to be made. (Victoria had met: Emma who had been in a play with her when they were kids; Geri while auditioning for a role in Tank Girl (1995); Mel C. attended a rival school when they were 15; and Mel B. at the audition for the forming of the band.) The Spice Girls became fantastically successful, achieving international fame. The wildly popular Spice Girls performed at sold-out concerts, did tours, and of course the Spice World (1997) movie. Victoria married soccer player Haris Burazerovic, and they had a son in 1999.