Author Archive
A Hero Twice Over
In the fourth quarter last year, one of those awards went to Eric Washburn, a Suddenlink broadband technician who works in Parkersburg, W. Va., and nearby Marietta, Ohio. Eric turned around and donated the cash portion of his award to the Marietta Youth Football League.
“I didn’t think I did anything out of the ordinary to earn the award,” Washburn said. “I’ve been involved with the youth league for about six years. We are always in need of funds, so I thought donating the money would be the right thing to do. Every penny we have helps a lot of local kids. I didn’t have that kind of support growing up, so any kid we can help makes me feel better.”
Salute to Troops
In addition to free food, more than 300 volunteers from Suddenlink and other local organizations provided games and live entertainment for the troops, their families, and a crowd of well-wishers.
As the event drew to a close, organizers handed out care packages that included stationery and teddy bears with implanted voice recorders. National Guard members could record a message for their children to listen to while they are away from home.
Can You Use That in a Sentence?
The East Texas Medical Center team racked up their third consecutive win in the contest by spelling “fantoccini.”
New Bern, NC
New Bern was first settled by German and Swiss adventurers led by Baron Christopher de Graffenried, a Swiss nobleman and entrepreneur. New Bern’s ties with the Swiss run deep – in fact, New Bern’s city flag still prominently features a bear in its emblem, honoring its relationship with Switzerland’s capitol city, Bern or Berne, purportedly named by its founder for a bear he had killed.
New Bern is also the first capitol of the Colony of North Carolina, home to Tryon Palace, so named for British Royal Governor William Tryon, who lived there until 1771. Josiah Martin, the second royal governor to live in the Palace, fled in 1775 at the beginning of the American Revolution. After the U.S. won its independence, North Carolina patriots made the Palace their capitol and conducted the first sessions of the N.C. General Assembly there. (In 1794, Raleigh became the state capital.)
New Bern is widely recognized as the birthplace of Pepsi Cola, which was invented by pharmacist Caleb Bradham in 1898 and was first known as “Brad’s Drink” before adopting its modern name. Today, Bradham’s pharmacy is the site of a store and museum dedicated to all things Pepsi. That facility opened its doors in 1998, on the occasion of the soft drink’s 100th anniversary.
Gibbs Jones to Help Enhance ‘Customer Experience’
Jones has spent the last 17 years in customer-centric operations and initiatives, most recently as the head of a management consultancy practice, Global Service Connections. There, he advised and worked directly with media and communications clients, including Suddenlink, to improve the experience and loyalty of customers. Jones will now apply his leadership and expertise exclusively to Suddenlink’s operations, working with the company’s six region vice presidents and the leaders of its major customer-contact centers in North Carolina, West Virginia, and Texas.
“In today’s increasingly competitive environment, our relationship with our customers is more important than ever,” said COO McMillin. “Internal and external surveys suggest we’re making progress, but we still have room for improvement, and we’re excited Gibbs has agreed to help accelerate our progress in this critical area.”
Prior to Global Service Connections, Jones held various customer-care and related management positions at Tupperware North America, Comcast, Capital One, and Circuit City.
More HD in TX, AR, LA, and MO
Check here for more information on the categories or tiers of HD channels generally available through Suddenlink HD cable systems.
Check here, and enter your zip code, to determine if Suddenlink HD service is available in your area.
A Strong ‘TitleTown’ Finish for Parkersburg
To give you a sense of just how close Parkersburg was to the tilte, viewers of the ESPN’s results segment last night report that only Valdosta and Parkersburg earned more than 20% of the votes cast, with the former at 29% and the latter at 24%. What’s more, Parkersburg’s 24% was more than twice the percentage of the third-place finisher: Green Bay, Wisc.
Be proud, Parkersburg! You have many good reasons to celebrate.
Suddenlink Hires Spoelman as Ops VP
Spoelman, a 22-year cable-industry veteran, will focus on enhancing Suddenlink’s operational excellence, coordinating closely with the company’s regional operating teams.
For the past five years, Spoelman was Vice President and General Manager for Charter Communications, overseeing that company’s operations in western Michigan, prior to which he held other positions with Charter in Michigan and Texas.
Spoelman started his cable career in 1986 with TCA Communications, where he worked in two of the Texas markets now served by Suddenlink: Tyler and Amarillo.
DTV: Getting the Word Out in West Texas
Suddenlink Marketing Manager Monica Kincer participated in the series.
Major Suddenlink Market Finalist for TitleTown USA
Parkersburg, the only Suddenlink-served community among the finalists, is part of Suddenlink’s largest cable-broadband system, which also includes Charleston and Beckley, W. Va..
Suddenlink West Virginia team members are pushing for support for Parkersburg. Additional information, including ESPN’s report on Parkersburg, is available at ESPN’s TitleTown Web site. Voting begins at that same site July 23. The winner will be announced on ESPN’s 6 p.m. (EDT) SportsCenter, Monday, July 28. A Parkersburg News and Sentinel story offers more about ESPN’s visit.
Network West Virginia, a service of Suddenlink Media, will air a special program called “TitleTown: Behind the Scenes.” The network, which televises West Virginia high-school championship football, conducted interviews with ESPN and taped coverage of the event. Network West Virginia’s special program begins a series of showings the evening of July 23.
