Every record lost is a story gone forever. Beyond Me exists because one Navy veteran decided that wasn't acceptable.
R.T. Wilkinson didn't set out to build a digitization company. He set out to serve — and spent more than three decades doing exactly that.
In 1993, R.T. enlisted in the United States Navy as a Seaman Recruit. His aptitude and drive caught the attention of his command, and he was selected for the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training (BOOST) program — a highly competitive pathway that prepares exceptional enlisted sailors for officer commissioning. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and was commissioned as an Ensign in August 2001.
Two weeks later, the world changed. The September 11th attacks launched the United States into the Global War on Terrorism, and R.T. found himself serving as a Surface Warfare Officer aboard USS Anchorage (LSD-36) and USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in direct support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served his country during one of its most consequential chapters — and he watched, up close, what happens when records, histories, and documentation aren't properly preserved.
"Last visit my parents sent a box home with me — high school yearbook, early Navy commendations, documents that represented everything I'd worked for. And I thought: there has to be a better way."
— R. T. Wilkinson, FounderAfter his sea tours, R.T. transitioned to a career as a Government Civilian IT Specialist with the Navy, spending years working on the Electronic Military Personnel Records System in Millington, Tennessee — the very infrastructure responsible for maintaining the service records of America's sailors. He understood, at a technical and deeply personal level, what it means when a record is lost, corrupted, or simply left to deteriorate in a box.
That box became a mission. Beyond Me LLC was founded to give every person, institution, and organization access to the same level of precision archival care that R.T. spent a career building for the United States Navy — applied now to the yearbooks, cruise books, family films, and institutional records that define who we are and where we came from.
Beyond Me is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee and operates out of the Memphis metro area. It is a veteran-founded, veteran-operated business built on thirty years of documented trust.
Joined the United States Navy as a Seaman Recruit. Selected for the BOOST officer accession program based on exceptional performance.
Earned B.S. in Management Information Systems from Miami University. Commissioned as Ensign — weeks before 9/11 changed everything.
Served as Surface Warfare Officer aboard USS Anchorage and USS Carl Vinson in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom during the Global War on Terrorism.
Founded Beyond Me LLC — applying 30+ years of federal records expertise to the preservation of the histories that define individuals, families, and institutions.
Beyond Me exists because the records that define us — the yearbooks, the cruise books, the family films, the institutional documents — are deteriorating every day. Heat, humidity, entropy, and neglect are the enemies of memory.
We built the Secure-Link protocol, invested in planetary scanning technology, and developed archival-grade delivery workflows because we believe every record worth keeping is worth keeping properly. Not good enough. Not eventually. Now, and forever.
Every scan treated as a primary source document. 350 DPI minimum. Zero binding stress. Cold-light capture only.
AES-256 encryption. MD5 checksum verification. Triple geographic redundancy. Built to outlast everything.
Founded by someone who has seen what happens when records aren't preserved. This isn't a side project. It's a mission.
Three decades of federal records experience, military-grade security protocols, and a founder who understands personally what preservation means.