JORGE GARCES VOTED EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH!
Congratulations to the May Employee of the Month in Grand Prairie.
Jorge started his career with Lone Star Communications on December 5th, 2018 in operations as a lead technician. He now works in service as a service technician. Jorge proves day in and day out what it is to be a part of Lone Star Communications. One Team, One Purpose, One Family. He shows drive and adeptness in the field and always goes the extra mile. He is widely appreciated among his team members and customers.
Michael Langelier’s comment:
Jorge has been nothing short of amazing in his role as a service technician. He came to us from Operations in April of 2020. In the short time he has been part of the Service Group, he has managed to master almost every system we install and service. This is no small feat, it takes most individuals two or three times longer to be proficient with this many platforms. Jorge is a team player, has an extremely kind and generous personality, and is always looking out for the customer and fellow workers. It has been my pleasure watching him progress his career at Lone Star; I feel confident he will make an outstanding part of the engineering team in the near future and will bring talent, fresh ideas and a broad knowledge base with him.
Here are some Comments submitted about Jorge:
Always goes the extra mile for anyone he comes across!
He always goes above.
Always willing to go the extra mile for the company and customer.
One Team, One Purpose, One Family
Jorge is an outstanding worker. He is always willing to help others and take on extra work after his on call week. Jorge is also known for getting outstanding feedback from the customers.
Jorge exemplifies a true Lone Star culture. He continuously goes above and beyond to help fellow Lone Star family/Team members. He always puts the customer first and always does the job right the first time, every time, on time. He is a true asset to LSC.
Great service tech, always willing to go extra mile.
Teaching me a lot.
Jorge will receive a gift and each Employee of the Month will receive a commemorative Coin.
Jorge Cerda joined Lone Star Communications as a Warehouse Assistant on 5/10/21 at the Grand Prairie office and reports to Austin Eubanks. He brings more than 10 years of Warehouse experience and has expertise in shipping, receiving, quality control, inventory, safety, and forklift operations.
In Jorge’s spare time he enjoys cruising in his late model trucks with his family, visits with family in Mexico and beach vacations.
Please welcome Jorge Cerda to our team! You can reach Jorge at: (972)-336-0000 or jorge.cerda@lonestarcom.com .
-Ramona Rook, Senior HR Director
JASON CHATHAM RECEIVES DALE CARNEGIE AWARD!
Congratulations on recently winning the “Breakthrough Award” Jason (Project Superintendent)! Keep up the great work. As you know this award is recognition by his peers that he has taken another step toward his goal for the program.
FIRE AT THE MEADOR MANOR!
On May 26th, 2021, Talent Development Manager, Trey Meador, experienced an unexpected fire at his home. THANKFULLY he was immediately able to get it under control and no one in his household was harmed!
-Chris Coleman | Customer Service | R5 System Instructor
FUN WITH BSWH SERVICE DOGS!
One of our LSGP technicians, Alfonso Prieto, got to visit with the nursing staff Service dogs at Baylor Scott & White (BSWH) BUMC:
JUSTO GARZA VOTED EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH!
The Employees of Lone Star Communications Houston (LSCH) have voted Justo Garza our May 2021 Employee of the Month.
Justo came to LSCH (HALCO) back in August of 2005 and recently received his fifteen-year award.
Comments from Justo’s coworkers
Justo is an example of hard work and dedication.
Organized, efficient, steady, dependable, and follows up.
A team player for the PM role and for the company overall.
He works way more than others.
Mr. Garza consistently continues to display great leadership skills.
Great leader & mentor.
Justo lines you up to succeed.
He is so handsome.
Always looking to keep the work efficient.
Communication with facility and team is one of the best I've seen in comparison with other companies I worked for.
He is strict but fair and a great leader.
His leadership and quick thinking have saved many projects from disaster.
He is a hard worker and very reliable.
Always has an answer or a solution.
Cubs? C’mon man.
Amazing project manager! I can't say enough about how much Justo does for our customers and our team!
Does a great job facilitating projects. He is always on top of everything going on.
If there is an issue or we don’t know something, Justo can help any technician in the field.
Professional
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Justo was raised near in the Chicago O’Hare Airport. I’m sure he had experience watching the wheels on the jumbo jets deploy over the house on the landing approach to O’Hare International.
One thing that Chicago was famous for is getting the vote out for people that are no longer alive, that is dead people voting on the 1960 presidential election. Mayor Richard Dailey said he would bring in the votes, so he used the names of deceased people to vote for JFK. Well in the spirit of Chicagoland where Justo is from, one of you in the office voted twice for Justo. I’m glad you appreciate his work so much that you like him twice as much. After an analysis with that vote being removed, Justo won employee of the month anyway.
Cubs fans are few and far between in Astros country, but Justo is a banner waving Cubs fan. What heartbreak (except for 2016).
Justo grew up in Wood Dale Illinois and attended Fenton High School in Bensenville Illinois. Right down the road from Wood Dale was Portillo’s first hot dog stand in Villa Park, IL (I used to go there when I was a kid). Now they are a Chicago institution.
Rauland sent a couple of hand-written thank you cards to Justo last year for his fine work managing their projects.
Rauland national account work with HCA can be challenging with all of the players involved.
One Team, One Purpose, One Family.
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THE FUN STUFF
Justo will receive a gift set from behind door #2 in my office.
We will add his name to the plaque in the front lobby alongside the other 2021 Employees of the Month.
Finally, Justo will receive one of twelve limited edition Employee of the Month commemorative custom coins designed by our own Cliff Switzer.
Congratulations Justo!
ANGEL CUP CHARITY SHOOTING EVENT!
Angel Cup Charity Shooting Event will be held on Friday, June 25th at Providence Plantation in Rosharon, TX.
Winners of the Houston raffle for tickets to the event are shooting team participants Philip Cerna & Hector Ruiz
For additional information, visit the Angel Flight South Central website: Angel Cup 2021.
WILFREDO LAMB VOTED MAY EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH!
We are proud to announce that we have a winner. Wilfredo Lamb is our May Employee of the Month!! CONGRATULATIONS WILFREDO!!!!
Below are a few comments from his coworkers.
He continues to go above and beyond with his dedication and hard work to the making us the best we can be.
He is the definition of One Team, One Purpose, One Family.
He is driven, dependable, and loyal.
He always knows what he wants to achieve.
He has been with us for the long time and loves to grow with the organization.
He is ready to jump into action whenever someone needs him.
Dependable, consistent, trustworthy, responsible and no drama.
Proven year in and year out to always be there to lend a hand.
Always loyal.
Steadfast to get the job done.
CHRIS BEAIRD VOTED EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH!
I would like to congratulate Chris Beaird on being chosen by the Lone Star Communications Arkansas (LSAR) team as the April Employee of the Month. Chris is a Crew Leader in our Shreveport branch and has been with the company a little over 3 years. He is truly focused on ensuring each job is done to the best of his ability, while providing quality customer service at every chance he gets. Below are some comments on why he was chosen to receive this award. Chris will be receiving a $50 gift card and a certificate. Congratulations Chris!!!
I also would like to congratulate Kevin Waruszewski on winning the participation award. He will receive a $25 gift card for being randomly selected among those that participated.
Thank you to everyone that participated. The May nominations will be sent out around the first of June.
Comments from nominations:
One Purpose – Cares that what he is doing is the right thing and leads to a satisfied customer
Always willing to bring suggestions for improvements
Always willing to do what it takes to keep our customers happy
He is always striving to take care of the customers
Chris is a hard worker who looks to do things the correct way. He really cares about what we do and keeping communities and people safe.
RICH ORVIS' BIRTHDAY!
We celebrated Rich Orvis’s, Director of Engineering, 60th birthday on May 12th, with chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen.
-Melinda Gibbs, Project Manager
(click to enlarge)
NATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONAL'S DAY!
We unfortunately missed two incomparable Arkansas administrators last month. Please learn more about the amazing Ramona Rook and Melinda Gibbs below!
National Administrative Day is a time that we get to recognize the professionals who keep our offices running smoothly every day. They are the ones “behind the scenes” supporting each of you and ensuring we collect money from our customers! Administrative professionals have to be organized but flexible to handle the unexpected changes that occur from day to day, and this team definitely excels in those areas. I honestly couldn’t ask for a better group of hardworking, committed individuals to be part of this team, and I'm excited to honor them this week. I will be sending out emails focusing on each team member throughout the week. I encourage each of you to spend some time getting to know each of these individuals if you don’t already know them!
Carolyn Hardiman – Little Rock – Accounts Payable
Melinda Gibbs – Little Rock – Office Manager
Melissa Terrell – Little Rock – Collections
Melissa Woodruff – Springdale – Admin/Dispatch
Ramona Rook – Little Rock (Corporate) – Human Resources
Chet Chilcutt – Little Rock – Warehouse/Purchasing
Brian Fraser – Springdale - Warehouse
FUN FACTS:
While Ramona is no longer an actual LSAR admin employee, she is based in the Little Rock office and I did want to take a minute to recognize her and all accomplishments. She was actually hired by Melinda Gibbs in 2009 and began her career as an administrator. Throughout the years, she pushed herself to take on more responsibilities and moved into the human resources role for ArCom. Shortly after ArCom was purchased by Lone Star Communications, she was asked to take on the role of Corporate Senior HR Director that would be responsible for the HR policies and processes for all 4 of the Lone Star Communications companies. She knew it was going to be a lot of work, but gladly accepted the opportunity. In her new role, she has pushed for increased policies and procedures ensuring alignment among all the companies. Without her, things like our benefits, processing of new hires, and documented HR policies wouldn’t be possible. In June of 2020, she received her official PHR certification. I am beyond proud to see the progress she has made and appreciate the support that she provides both to LSAR employees and the whole organization.
Here are just a few fun facts about Ramona:
•She played competitive volleyball for about 15 years. She was involved in a couple leagues and played for fun down at Murray Park on Saturday afternoons. She also played Wallyball, which is volleyball on a racquetball court.
•She is the only girl in her family with an older and younger brother. "We are all 4 years apart and Daddy named us all with 3 R’s just like him. My dad was Raymond Rufus Reynolds, my older brother is Roger Raymond, and youngest brother is Rick R (I never understood why he only got an initial), and then I am Ramona Rae." She married a Rook so she got to keep her 3 R’s. Her license plate on her car is even TRIPLR!
•Her dad always tried to teach her to think positive by saying, “Can’t never could do anything” every time she would say “I can’t do this, or I can’t do that”
•She doesn’t even know how many pairs of shoes she has, but she says not nearly enough because she keeps buying more and boots are her favorite
•If she could share a meal with 4 people it would be her mom and dad so she could say some things she never got a chance to say before they died and then her grandma and grandpa on her dad’s side because she was really young when they died and never got to know them.
•If she had a warning label it would say “Redheaded and Irish! Sunshine mixed with a little hurricane!”
Thank you for everything that you do for us Ramona! We love you and appreciate you a ton!!
If I am ever having a bad day, I can guarantee that seeing Melinda will put a smile on my face! You all voted her the March Employee of the Month, so you definitely know that she lives the Lone Star Communications' values day in and day out. During her 18 years with the company she has had numerous accomplishments, and I have seen her push herself to make big strides in both learning new skillsets and personal achievements. She has taken several courses over the past few years such as Listening Skills, Excel, Punctuation and Grammar, Leadership, and Retaining the Good Ones. She serves on the LSAR hiring committee and honestly is a joy to work with. If any of you have ever had a problem, I would guess that Melinda did everything in her power to help you solve it.
Here are just a few fun facts about Melinda:
Her first job was at age 14 making watch crystals with her dad. She had to use a sanding wheel to get the exact shape and then a buffing wheel to polish them so they looked just like the original piece. If she sanded them too much, she had to start all over.
She was hired as the administrative assistant for the Central Arkansas office. Less than 2 years later, she moved into the Office Manager position. She loves her job, because it is challenging and evolving, which keeps things fun and exciting.
Her proudest moment was October 18th, 2016 when she was able to make her very last mortgage payment on a home that was built in 2006 and became officially debt-free!! She thanks God for being so good to her allowing this dream to become a reality.
Her hobbies are hiking, floating the Buffalo River, swimming, roller skating, reading novels, traveling and painting! Every time she says to my husband, “Honey, I’ve been thinking”, he replies with, “Oh no! what are you going to paint now?” Refinishing furniture is her new favorite thing to do. She loves learning new things and doing things with her hands. She said “I’m not super good at anything but I sure am having fun living this life I’ve been given.”
Thank you Melinda for being the sunshine in the Little Rock office!!