Channel Surfing Blog 

PAETEC Agent Channel President John Leach (center) with PAETEC Agent contest winners

PAETEC honored 17 top-performing East and South region agents with an all-expenses paid trip for them and a guest to The Ritz Carlton in Amelia Island, Fla., June 11-14.

Claimed by the French, fought over by Spain, and named for an English princess, Amelia Island is an authentic Victorian seaport village, locked in the charm and enchantment of a bygone era. PAETEC agents and their guests were treated to The Ritz’ 27,500-square-foot spa facility and the private Golf Club of Amelia at Summer Beach.

PAETEC agent contest winners enjoying Amelia Island

The sales contest, which ran July 1, 2008, through March 31, 2009, was to reward agents who achieved the highest MMF percentages. Winners also automatically became part of PAETEC’s Agent Advisory board.

PAETEC winners

The contest winners in the West and Central region will enjoy a trip to the Encantado Auberge Resort.in Santa Fe, N.M., in September.

The East/South region winners with PAETEC’s John Leach (front row, fifth from left)

Jim Crowe (CEO) and Sunit Patel (CFO), speaking to BPAC members.

On June 17-18, Level 3 Communications hosted four master agents and seven direct and subagents at its third annual Business Partner Advisory Council (BPAC) at the Level 3 campus in Broomfield, Colo.

Master agents in attendance included Jay Bradley, Intelisys; Jack Knocke, MicroCorp; Ken Mercer, TBI; and Vince Bradley, WTG. Direct agents included Steve Rome, Advantage Communications Group; Lisa Campbell, Choice Communications; Ian Kieninger, CDW; Chris Palermo, Global Communication Networks; Joel St. Germain, Global Communications Group; Mike Nguyen, Silent Partners Telecom; and Bart Beatty, Simplify.

The Gold Hill Inn Partner dinner.

On Thursday, June 18, top Level 3 executives presented to the council the vision and strategy for Level 3, specifically around its enterprise strategy and services. Level 3 reinforced its commitment to the Business Partner Program and anticipates this to be a critical part of its growth strategy. Speakers included Jim Crowe, CEO; Sunit Patel, CFO; Jack Waters, CTO; Jeff Tench, president of Level 3’s Business Markets Group; and Craig Schlagbaum, vice president, Indirect Channels.

The Gold Hill Inn Partner dinner.

In the afternoon, the partners broke into two different sessions by partner type and held working sessions to identify best practices Level 3 can leverage to strengthen the partner program in areas such as subagent engagement, and channel model and communications best practices. Partners were then asked to report back to Level 3 on what their recommendations were, and Level 3 is currently evaluating their suggestions.

Jeff Tench, speaking to BPAC members.

For fun, Level 3 hosted a partner golf outing in Broomfield Wednesday afternoon, followed by a partner dinner. Then, on Thursday evening, the company closed the event with a dinner and bluegrass concert at Gold Hill Inn, located in the foothills outside Boulder, Colo.

Lightyear agent partners from across the region turned out for Lightyear’s Track & Training 2009 in Louisville on June 18. The event featured an Agent Training Seminar at Lightyear’s corporate headquarters in the morning, and thoroughbred racing at historic Churchill Downs (home of the world-famous Kentucky Derby) in the afternoon.

Agent partners Don Yates, Paul Carlisle, Scott Drysdale and Mark Williams flanked by Lightyear’s Tonya Moore and Theresa Walker.

“It was a terrific event,” said Kevin Shady, Lightyear’s vice president of agent sales. “In today’s economy, you have to get back to the basic fundamentals of teaching our agents how to be more productive and arm them with the knowledge of all of Lightyear’s products. Events like these help us strengthen our relationship with our agent partners, so the next time they encounter an opportunity, they will remember the value of selling Lightyear.”

Lightyear’s Kevin Shady and Sherman Henderson with agent partners Tom Futch, Kelly Ratcliff and Gene Braun.

Seminar topics included Lightyear Wireless sales positioning, Lightyear Data Products Training & Pricing, and a Dynamic T1 overview. As a special feature, Sprint officials were on hand to give a Sprint data presentation.

“We are betting on Lightyear,” said Gordon Simonson, Sprint’s wholesale account manager. “We were impressed with the agents who attended the Track & Training program, and we look forward to them embracing Sprint’s wireless and wireline products.”

Lightyear’s Jeanie Dillow and Jennifer Pickett were flanked by agent partners David Weddell and David Kilburn.

TMC Communications recently held the second meeting of its 2009 Agent Advisory Council at its corporate headquarters in Santa Barbara, Calif. The council is comprised of nine TMC agents located across the country who provide guidance to TMC’s senior management on ways for the company support its agents and help them win new business.

TMC staff and the Agent Advisory Council enjoy a welcome happy hour at Madison’s Bar & Grill in downtown Santa Barbara.

Agents who are included in the inaugural council are: Jeremy Kerth, Wired Networks; Dave Laskowski, CTG3; Patrick Wefers, Infinium Communications; Tom Graham, Agentiv Inc; Roger Duncan, Tellurium Communications; Ron Dunworth, ADVODA Communications; Hilary Fox, ADVODA Communications; Richard Lang, Single Source Telecom Inc.; and Bret Hickenlooper, Sumo Communications.

Agent Advisory Council members and TMC staff, after a few cocktails at Madison’s – Rick Lang and his wife Kate, and TMC agent sales directors, Ryan McDowell and Shannon Martin, along with TMC vice president of revenue assurance and product development, Sarah Linares.

The Agent Advisory Council members received complimentary airfare and hotel to attend the meeting which was held June 5-7. The weekend included the general meeting, training on TMC products as well as social activities with the entire TMC team. The fun-filled weekend, included work, wine and “WOW!” as TMC rolled out KOR-IP, its newest line of SIP Trunk and Hosted VoIP products, and announced its partnership with Adaption Technologies.

TMC staff and the Agent Advisory Council enjoy a delicious Italian meal with plenty of wine at local Santa Barbara hotspot, Bucatini Ristorante.

“Our Agent Advisory Council provided valuable and thoughtful feedback prior to taking our innovative line of products to market," said Ron Ireland, president and CFO of TMC Communications. “We were able to introduce and train Council members on our powerful set of IP products, make adjustments in response to their comments, and have a great time in the process.”

TMC vice president of sales, David Schwartz, “dips” an unnamed bachelorette patron after the wine tasting at Red’s Tapas & Wine Bar in Santa Barbara.

From the Santa Barbara Airport, agents were whisked off to Madison’s Bar & Grill for a meet and greet Happy Hour with the entire TMC staff, followed by a lovely dinner at longtime local fave, Bucatini Ristorante. Saturday morning focused on the Agent Advisory Council general meeting and the soft launch of TMC’s KOR-IP, including a demo of the new Hosted Voice product.

“I’m excited about TMC’s IP products. They are easy to implement, have scalability and include the features my customers are waiting for,” said Wired Networks’ Kerth.

The “Burgundy Team” raise their glasses during the private wine blending party at Oreana Winery in Santa Barbara – Keith Roberts; Hilary Fox; Matt Morris, agent sales director at TMC; Rick Lang with his wife Kate; and Kathy McFadden, TMC’s sales support manager.

With a buzz surrounding the launch of this new product line everyone worked up quite an appetite – so it was off to Red’s Tapas & Wine Bar for lunch and wine tasting. The team sampled the best wines of the Santa Ynez Valley and then proceeded on Santa Barbara’s Urban Wine Trail.

The next stop was Oreana Winery where the group split off into three teams to taste and create their own wine blends. It was a friendly competition where the best palette won. Later that evening, the Agent Advisory Council was treated to Mexican fare at the hot and trendy Los Arroyos Restaurant in high-end Montecito. Viva!

TMC president and CFO, Ron Ireland, and Tellurium’s Roger Duncan working hard on creating the winning wine blend.

“We had a blast outside of the office getting to know the TMC team better. They took great care of us,” said ADVODA’s Fox. Dunworth, president of ADVODA. She added, “TMC runs a great organization with a staff that really cares about the partners and customers. We’re excited to see what we can do together to capture more business.”

Subsequent Agent Advisory Council meetings are scheduled for September and December.

The wine label for the winning blend, “Red Team Reserve” taken in the barrel area of Oreana Winery, downtown Santa Barbara.

Rick Dellar of Intelisys and fellow sales partner drive out to kick off the tournament.

Here’s proof that work can be fun. Time Warner Cable – Business Class recently invited agents to attend its Business Class Invitational, which took place at The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast, Calif., on May 12-13.

The event, co-hosted by Intelisys – one of the company’s Master Agents – brought in agents from around Southern California. It included a hotel stay at The Resort at Pelican Hill and 18 holes of tournament golf on the South Course. When they weren’t on the links, they were taking part in a post-event lunch and business session.

In addition to golf, attendees were treated to stunning views of the property which sits perched upon 504 acres of hillsides along the Pacific.

Agents were greeted with breakfast and 18 holes of golf on the South Course at The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast, Calif.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brian Snortheim (center right), director of marketing for TWC, pauses on the course for a photo with Intelisys agents from Southern California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Robb of Intelisys enjoys a round of golf with sales partners.

Agent David Bang of Litch Data and his crew flash their casino cash.

Since its introduction in 2002, the “Tee & Sea” hosted by World Telecom Group (WTG) has been a fun event that has given a nod to the common phrase Ts & Cs (terms and conditions), with which all in the industry are familiar. Whether on the “tee” for golf or lounging and enjoying lunch and wine tasting by the “sea,” WTG has found that spending quality time with telecom peers is a great way to build relationships and business in a relaxed environment.

WTG’s Vince Bradley (center) poses for a photo with Partner Perks winners Diane Hoey, Chuck Maginnis, Eric Asquino, Brad James and Mel Olshan.

Attendees enjoy lunch at the Malibu West Beach Club.

                 The Malibu Country Club hosted the second day of Tee & Sea, which added the following sponsors to the attendee list: Qwest Communications International Inc., TelePacific Communications, Covad Communications, Access2Go, AT&T, Cbeyond, Simple Signal, Sprint, TNCI, Verizon and PAETEC. Agents, guests and sponsoring providers were greeted with goodie bags and then they enjoyed breakfast and participated in a fun seven-hole putting contest among other activities. The group was then divided into two groups, wine tasters and golfers. Chartered shuttles took the wine tasters back to lunch on the Malibu Pier at the Beachcomber Restaurant followed by wine tasting at two local Malibu wineries: Rosenthal and Saddlerock. The golfers enjoyed an 18-hole scramble tournament, tucked away in the beautiful Malibu Hills.

Rodney Nesbit of Level 3 enjoys a round of golf with WTG agent partners Bob Morrison and Shawn Clancy.

The event concluded at the Malibu Country Club for a “19th Hole” cocktail hour (with appetizers, drinks, massages, casino games and more) and a nice, sit-down dinner. During dinner, WTG’s CEO, Vince Bradley, entertained the crowd of more than 150 mostly agent guests with his speech and an awards ceremony. The ceremony included sponsor gifts and prizes worth more than $10,000! All in all, the 7th Annual Tee & Sea was a fun-filled successful event that brought the telecom industry a little closer together.

Lightyear Network Solutions agents said “Aloha” to their dream vacation May 12-17, during the inaugural Lightyear President’s Club Retreat to Hawaii.

Lightyear agents Jim Hanson Jr., Michael Woodruff, Ron Dunworth and Rick Lang displayed their 2009 President's Club awards during the Lightyear Luau in Hawaii.

While there, they enjoyed a number of fun activities including golf, swimming with dolphins, snorkeling, deep-sea fishing, hiking, a volcano tour, a Lightyear reception, luau and fun in the sun.

Lightyear's Kevin Shady and his wife Jennifer enjoyed deep-sea fishing with agent Michael Woodruff and Robyn.

Every agent who met the revenue target was eligible to go on the trip and most attended. In attendance were Jim Hanson Jr., Rick Lang, Ron Dunworth and Michael Woodruff.

"This was the first group to attend our special Hawaiian retreat that we are planning to hold every spring at the Mauna Lani Resort," said Kevin Shady, vice president of sales at Lightyear. "We had a terrific time in Hawaii, and special events like this are important to us because they help strengthen our relationships with our agent partners."

Rick Lang, Kevin Shady, Ron Dunworth and Jim Hanson Jr. had fun on the golf course in Hawaii.

Lightyear Vice President of Sales Kevin Shady, left, and his wife Jennifer, right, posed with Agent Rick Lang and his family in Hawaii.

 

 

Agents enjoyed spectacular viewing during the Hawaiian vacation including picturesque Akaka Falls Park waterfalls, with its 480-foot drop.