NAEO Annual Conference 2006: 
Empower Your Call Center

By Kelli Harrigan and Ron Waine

June 2006

The 2006 NAEO (National Amtelco Equipment Owners) Annual Conference was held March 25-28 in Orlando, FL at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center.  A new attendance record was set with 240 attendees coming from around the world to participate in the conference where the theme was Empowering Your Call Center.

The conference opened on Saturday night with a welcome reception for 40 first time attendees and then the Opening Reception officially kicked off the conference.   The educational sessions began Sunday morning with opening ceremonies, conducted by NAEO President Marci Imes.  Keynote speaker Steven Little, author of The 7 Irrefutable Laws of Small Business Growth, started the conference.  Several other educational sessions followed.

On Monday, Amtelco continued their demonstration of Infinity 5.4 and the latest in Intelligent Dispatching.  Lori Jenkins, president of ATSI, spoke to the attendees about the work ATSI has been doing, followed by several more educational sessions.

The sessions concluded with the NAEO business meeting and election of the new board members.  The candidates elected to the board were Joe Adam, Renee Dunn, and Ron Waine.  NAEO president Marci Imes passed the gavel to president-elect Joe Miller.  The NAEO Board held a meeting after the close of the business meeting.  Jim Wagner was elected as President-Elect and Kelli Harrigan was elected as Treasurer/Secretary.

Amtelco hosted their annual party for conference attendees on Monday night in the Castillo Fort Pavillion on site, providing a gala event with an international flare with great food, drink, live music, and the opportunity to mingle and unwind.  The party didn't end there, many attendees found their way to the Piano Bar where festivities continued!

Tuesday morning, Jamey Hopper and Mike Burkinshaw started off the sessions with a presentation on Strategic Planning for your Call Center.  They were followed by a series of round table discussions.  NAEO president Joe Miller announced the next conference location - Barton Creek Resort in Austin, TX, March 11-14, 2007.

Awards were also presented.  Scott Harbin received the President's Award, Kevin Ryan was named NAEO's Amtelco Employee of the Year, Carla Rosario was awarded the Christina Collins Scholarship, and Brenda Bechard from QEII in Halifax, NS, was awarded the Curtin Scholarship.