Ron Kruse
Lone Star Communications, Houston
(d) 281-846-7352
(c) 817-739-5106
SEPTEMBER 28, 2022
SHAWNA FALCO VOTED HOUSTON SEPTEMBER EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH!
Shawna Falco started working for Margie Adams in June 2000 (11 months after Marquis) and worked for her for 15 years until becoming part of Lone Star. In a previous career, Shawna worked at a dentist office and even taught dental hygienists classes.
Shawna has a cool bag of gadgets and likes to have them on hand in case of an emergency. I don’t know if she was a girls scout, but she would have made a good one. She always has an updated hurricane kit and is ready to go.
I have left the office late many a night and Shawna was still in the office making sure the work got done. When you work behind the scenes, most folks don't realize the details that have to be settled to do the kind of work we do. As Shawna will tell you, details matter.
Shawna plans to retire on October 1,2022 and begin to pursue her bucket list. It’s a great list. You should ask her about it.
- Ron
Comments from Shawna’s coworkers
“Shawna always goes the extra mile to be sure things are correct in her paper trail....”
“Always willing to help & keeps excellent notes.”
“Team player, and always goes above and beyond.”
“Shawna understands the importance of showing her Team that they are valued and appreciated. She is generous with verbal recognition and more than once a thank you note and sweet treat was left on my desk. Also, she was always willing to mentor, teach or support anyone who needed help. She will be missed.”
“Always working hard and makes sure her work is accurate.”
“If anyone deserves this, it’s Shawna. The true definition of committed to do the best job possible.”
“She always goes above and beyond on everything.”
“Shawna is an asset to Lone Star Communications Houston. She will be greatly missed after she retires. “
"Shawna is one of the hardest working people I have ever known. Her tireless dedication was a major part of the success of Halco and she has been a huge asset to Lone Star as well.
Her work ethic is amazing and we will miss her terribly. Here is hoping she can finally put her feet up and kick back. She has certainly earned it ." - Jamie Selman
Shawna will receive her gift set from behind door #11.5 in Ron’s office and we will add her name to the plaque in the front lobby alongside the other 2022 Employees of the Month (Joel Orellana, Cris Ortega, Andrew Mueller, Carlos Melo, Debra Sandoval, Ernie Chavez, Marquis Woodard, Hector Ruiz).
Finally, Shawna will receive a limited-edition Employee of the Month commemorative custom coin designed by our own Cliff Switzer.
THIS WEEK
September 29-30 - Responder 5 Hardware training class by Gabe Sanchez. Trainees are Slade Robinson and Dylan Naylor of ECD in Tempe Arizona (Rauland Distributor). We don't market these classes for outside companies as our emphasis is internal training. ECD is a friend of Lone Star and we are glad to help them out. As mentioned in the town hall meeting, in the future if Rauland continues to have less training options, we might have an opportunity to train outside companies. Stay tuned.
LAST WEEK
September 20, 2022
Gabe Sanchez received the outstanding performance award at Dale Carnegie Houston.
NEW WORK
Greg Propps - New Project 4509 MDA ioMRI & RR - [Linbeck]
Julie Fischer - New Project 4454 HMH OPC3 Prosthetics Lab Buildout [SpawGlass]
BLUE BEAM
Blue Beam End of Life Coming Soon.
Blue Beam Revu 2019 and below will end support March 2023. You will still be able to use the product, but you will not be able to use studio if you currently use it now.
Jon Pennington will elaborate in the future if needed.
SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
WELCOME WAGON
A warm Lone Star Welcome to Darlene Dickinson.
Darlene has recently transplanted from Smithville Mississippi to Humble (the only Texas city with a silent H). After her time in the US Marine Corps, Darlene obtained her BS on Biology and a Masters Degree in Education Curriculum and Instruction.
Darlene is our new Clinical Applications Specialist (CAS) in training and is working with Andrew Mueller this week.
Darlene can be reached at darlene.dickinson@lonestarcom.com
Welcome Darlene!
FALL
The fall equinox arrives on Thursday, September 22, 2022, at 9:04 P.M. EDT in the Northern Hemisphere.
SEPTEMBER 29 LUNCH N LEARN
Houston Chapter of HIMSS
September Lunch & Learn - Data Governance 101 Thursday, September 29th - 12:00 to 1:00 pm
This event will be hosted at the offices of Improving, located at 10111 Richmond Avenue, Suite 100. The event will be on September 29th, from 12:00 to 1:00 pm. You can park for free and lunch will be provided.
MORE ABOUT THE HIMSS HOUSTON CHAPTER
Houston Chapter Board of Directors & Committee Leaders - 2021-2022
President Regina Wysocki, MS, RN-BC, CPHIMS, SHIMSS Informatics Clinical Applications Specialist Lone Star Communications Regina Wysocki, MS, RN-BC, SHIMSS, CPHIMS, is an Informatics Clinical Applications Specialist with Lone Star Communications in Houston, TX who specializes in optimizing digital healthcare solutions to improve patient care and clinician satisfaction. She is ANCC Board Certified in Nursing Informatics and a Senior member of HIMSS. Regina holds a Masters in Healthcare Informatics from the UT Health School of Biomedical Informatics (SBMI). As the current President of the Houston Chapter of HIMSS, Regina believes in giving back to the informatics community through service in professional organizations. Regina has also participated on the planning committee for the TX Regional HIMSS Conference for the past three years and is the Communications Chair responsible for the registration website.
NEW WORK
Greg Propps - Project 4471 Houston Methodist Magnolia Emergency Care Center [Vaughn]
Julie Fischer - Project 4482 HMH Dunn 10 West Reno. [DPR]
MAKING COMMUNITIES SAFER
Lone Star Communications Research and Development team (Hashem & Justin) is testing firearm detection artificial intelligence at the Grand Prairie office 9/20 through 9/21. The firearms are unloaded and there is no ammunition on the premises. They will follow firearm safety best practice and will treat as if loaded. We will be interested to hear the outcome of their testing.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2022
NEW WORK
Project 4467 - CHI Brazosport IT Refresh [Forney Construction]
DID YOU KNOW?
From the Bi-Monthly roundtable discussion on 9/14. This was a fact that was not known by some in the room.
Direct reports to Jon Pennington.
Craig Cordes - LSGP
Jason Marshall - LSCT
HA Caraway IV - LSGP
Chase Barrier - LSGP
Joe Trevino - LSCT
Scott Nations - LSCT
EXTRA SPACE
A few years ago the Fort Bend Fire Marshal restricted our high stacking in the warehouse. We are not able to stack above 12' without a permit. They will not issue a permit unless the area is sprinkled. It severely limited our available space.
We added 400 sq feet yesterday with container #2. This will be dedicated to non-inventory items such a Responder 4 stations that have been removed from customer sites. Also "demo & hold" equipment that is not part of our inventory.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
LOOK AHEAD
September 14 - Roundtable 12:00 to 13:00 Command Central
September 29-30 - Responder 5 Hardware Training by Gabe Sanchez. Trainees are Slade Robinson and Dylan Naylor of ECD in Tempe Arizona (Rauland Distributor in Arizona).
NEW WORK
Julie Fischer - 4454 HMH OPC3 Prosthetics Lab Buildout Nurse Call [SpawGlass]
Cliff Switzer - 4458 - UTMB Galveston ED Temp Pillow Speakers [UTMB]
Julie Fischer - 4460 HMH DB1 Radiology Oncology Finishes [SpawGlass]
Julie Fischer - 4461 HMH Dunn Level B1 LINAC Replacement [SpawGlass]
RAULAND NEWS
Houston is 83.5% of Rauland quota for the calendar year. Great news!
While we are very fortunate to be able to sell, delivery problems still persist with a backorder of $895K. This number means shipments that have missed their target delivery date. As many of you know, this problem which has been going on for more than a year is not unique to Houston.
INPROGRESS
Refresh of the second floor classroom.
THANKS FOR THE HELP
We thank Adrianna Felan for helping out up at the front desk for the previous 100 + days. She was working with us through Burnett's Staffing. Adrianna has now gone back to Burnett's as of 9/1 to find a position that is suited to her.
