The National Amtelco Equipment Owners (NAEO) held its annual meeting in Clearwater, Florida. With over 160 present, the meeting officially began Sunday evening with an opening reception, but was preceded by a pre-conference seminar, hosted by President Elect, Michael Leibowitz on MDR and report generator. After dinner, the group enjoyed a lively game of “Glow-in-the-Dark” volleyball, on the beautiful Sand Key beach.
By Monday, the convention was in full swing; NAEO President, Jamey Hopper, along with Tom Curtin and Joe Everly, welcomed attendees. Jim Esser and Kevin Beale continued with an informative overview of Infinity developments. Matt Crocker presented an enlightening discourse on Internet security. And ATSI President, Darlene Campbell gave the ATSI update and, along with Paul Del Fino, encouraged everyone to submit their benchmarking surveys.
During lunch, Amtelco‘s spacious exhibit hall opened and remained available for demos and training. Two educational tracks were then offered. Shane Burleson adeptly headed the medical/hospital session, while Cheryl Campbell, Kelli Harrigan, and Jim Curcuru talked about nurturing staff. Peter Shurman followed with his insight into sales and marketing. Next up were Allan Fromm, Clayton Robinson, and Bill Smith extolling the virtues of voice logging. Amtelco sponsored the evening’s dinner and music in their usual magnanimous style; everyone had a great time.
Tuesday began with the NAEO business meeting where Dan Hogan, Marci Imes, Brad Wagnon, and Joe Sameh were elected to the NAEO Board of Directors. Next up was a panel of Stan Gardner, Cheryl Campbell, Joy Dunn, and Renee Dunn on managing remote operators. Connie Johnson then gave an overview training session on BillingLinks. After lunch, the trio of Jim Marchbank, Gordon Mott, and John Ratliff discussed the three-call versus one-call debate; each gave insightful input and shared unique perspectives. Then Connie Johnson covered eCreator basics, Clayton Robinson shared ideas on generating new revenue, and Jamey Hopper delivered his anticipated skills-based routing workshop. There was more open time in the Amtelco exhibit hall, followed by a (calm) inland waterway cruise.
On Wednesday, Gary Kerner and Kevin Beale shared Infinity’s new add-on features. The attendees were impressed and pleased with the innovations and enhancements. Another panel followed, with John Ratliff, Jim Marchbank, and Jamey Hopper providing some practical “how to” tips. Next, Kevin Beale, Jim Esser, and Mike Leibowitz held an informative “Q & A” session where NAEO members had a chance to express their product ideas directly to the developers.
This was followed by the awards luncheon. The following awards were presented: Amtelco Employee of the year: Mike Freidl (honorable mentions to: Wendy Towne, Ray Jalbert, and Jody LaLuzerne); President’s Award: Shane Burleson; Writer of the Year: MaryAnn Wetmore; Curtin Scholarship: Jim Curcuru; Collins Scholarship: Candice Luser; and the drawing for free registration for the 2003 Conference went to Chris Matthews.
Two post conference workshops were held. Allan Fromm conducted an advanced MDR workshop, while Connie Johnson took an in-depth look at eCreator.
The conference committee of Mary Reeves (chair), MaryAnn Wetmore, and Kelly Harrigan did an excellent job of planning the meeting, while supporting cast Shannon Pfarr Thompson and David Ewald at management firm Ewald and Associates were at their usual high level of excellence with their prep work and behind the scenes efforts.
Jim Marchbank succinctly captured the consensus: “I think it was one of the best meetings that I have ever attended.” Laurie Blow concurred, “I want to thank everyone for the excellent information that was shared. [I] was quite impressed with how many of your ideas I was able to return to the office and put into action.”
[Pictures are available at www.naeo.org]
[From Connection Magazine – May/June 2002]