Meet Deborah McDuffie, Service Delivery Coordinator!


Deborah McDuffieDeborah McDuffie was recently selected as Socket's You-Make-the-Difference-Award winner for April.
 
This is Deborah's THIRD time winning the YMTD award. She also set a record (we're pretty sure) with 11 nominations in a single month. Needless to say, a lot of people around here think she does a great job.
 
"Deb is an exceptional employee," said one of those 11 co-workers who nominated her for the award. "Her amazing attention to detail makes installations go so much better than they would without her oversight. She's always happy to assist customers and her fellow Socketeers."
  

Deborah originally started with Socket's residential technical support team back in 2008 before moving to our business center in 2009. Since 2012, she's been working as a service delivery coordinator. She's instrumental in the delivery of our hosted business phone systems, doing everything from assisting with orders to training new customers on using the new phones and features.
 
When she's not hard at work for Socket, Deborah enjoys cooking and spending time with her husband, Robert, and their three pets (2 dogs, 1 cat). She's also involved in the Society for Creative Anachronism and enjoys researching and sewing 10th-14th century outfits to wear at historical events.
 
"I was very touched by all the nominations," said Deborah. "I'm glad that I can continue to contribute to the awesomeness that is the Socket team!"
 
We're glad you're part of our awesome team, Deborah. Congratulations!
 

How We Keep Our Employees Informed


Last week, we closed shop for two hours in the middle of the day and headed to Shakespeare's Pizza.
   
Crazy? We don't think so. We actually do this once a quarter to gather our employees and discuss company goals, progress and strategy. We call it our Town Meeting.
   
As we’ve grown, it’s become more challenging to stay in touch with employees and keep them in the loop with regards to what’s going on in the company. This is one way we regroup and get everyone on the same page. We cover not only current projects in all departments, but also where Socket is headed over the next few years.
    
We try our best to minimize any inconvenience this causes our customers. Our techs still make emergency dispatches if an issue arises during the meeting. We attempt to contact those who call us while our call center was closed.
 
Even though it's a hassle to briefly close our doors, there's great value in getting our people in the same room. Our employees tell us it’s helpful to hear about future plans, which often comes straight from our owners. It also gives us an opportunity to interact with people and departments we don't see as often. The free lunch doesn’t hurt, either!
 
We don’t hear about a lot of other companies doing this, at least not companies our size. Maybe it’s too hard to coordinate the logistics. And some companies are just too big or geographically dispersed . We’re fortunate that we’re able to do it, for now at least.
  
But no matter how much we grow, we'll keep having Town Meetings as long as our employees are leaving better informed about what’s going on, where Socket is headed, and how they play a part in that. We'll be a better company as a result, and our customers will benefit from that.
   
   

We Found the Popcorn!


Socket welcomes home Central MO Honor Flight veteransThe Central Missouri Honor Flight embarked Tuesday, May 7, on its 22nd flight to take local veterans to Washington, D.C. to see the memorials dedicated to their honor.
 
Socket was proud to make a holiday donation in 2012 to send 10 veterans on this Honor Flight. (We thought it was a better way to thank our customers than sending them a tin of popcorn.)
 
Doug Ragland, Socket's director of marketing and consumer sales, joined the crowd to welcome the veterans home early Wednesday morning.
 
"It was a truly inspirational experience," Ragland said. "If you haven't seen 500 motorcycles rumbling through the night on a mission like this, you're missing out."
 
Despite the late hour, several family members, friends and other citizens were in attendance to welcome the veterans back to the Courtyard by Marriott in Columbia. Each was introduced and honored with waving flags and cheers from the crowd while bagpipes played patriotic tunes.
 
"I just viewed this as a way to pay forward the welcome home that I received as a soldier returning home after the first Gulf War," Ragland said. "It's an experience I'll never forget and hope all veterans have."
 
To learn more about the Central Missouri Honor Flight, visit www.centralmissourihonorflight.com.
  

More Callaway County Residents Can Now Sign Up For Fiber Broadband


We're now accepting fiber orders and pre-orders in even more pSocket Fiber Project Maparts of Callaway County!
  
Check out our recently updated project map for updates on construction and order dates. Residents in some areas south of Millersburg can now sign up and schedule installations, and those near Fulton can now pre-order service.
 
Enter your address on our website to see if you're in our fiber coverage area. You can also place an order or pre-order if you're in an eligible area.
 
Even if you're not in our coverage area, enter your address on our website or give us a call at 1-800-762-5383 to tell us you want fiber in your area. This will help us determine where we should expand in the future.
 
As always, give us a call at 1-800-762-5383 or visit www.socket.net/fiber to learn more about Socket's Rural Fiber Project.
  

Central Missouri Honor Flight #22


Today marks the 22nd Central Missouri Honor Flight, and 71 American veterans are on board to visit the memorials dedicated to their honor in Washington, D.C.
 
Socket is proud to sponsor 10 of those veterans as the result of our 2012 holiday donation.
 
Members of the flight will return to Columbia late tonight. Help give a welcome these heroes deserve at the Courtyard by Marriott (3301 Lemone Industrial Blvd). Buses are expected to arrive around 1:00-1:30 AM, but organizers ask those attending to arrive around midnight.
 
To learn more about the Central Missouri Honor Flight, including how you can get involved, visit www.centralmissourihonorflight.com.
  

   

Spring 2013 Adopt-A-Spot Cleanup


team photo
 
adopt a spot trash

Eight of our Socketeers donned vests and gloves yesterday to clean up our Adopt-a-Spot stretch of roadway.

The area near our office (Clark Lane between Paris Rd and the Highway 63 interchange in Columbia) is looking pretty nice now, if we do say so ourselves!

We collected a total of 22 bags of trash from the roadside.

We even considered building a car after finding hub caps, a front bumper and various other auto parts during the cleanup.

Although rain initially delayed our pick-up day, we really lucked out and got to enjoy sunny, 84-degree weather this time around.

Our involvement with local communities wouldn't be possible without a great team of employees, so thanks to everyone who took part!

If you would like to participate in Columbia's Adopt-A-Spot program, it is easy to get involved!

Just visit their website for information on how your company can get involved by adopting a location or email them at volunteer@gocolumbiamo.com for information on how you can get involved with existing Adopt-A-Spot locations. 

Meet Mat Harrison, Programmer!


Mat HarrisonMat Harrison was selected as Socket's You-Make-the-Difference-Award winner for March. His fellow co-workers decided his ability to move things to a state of awesomeness was worthy of recognition.

"Mat is a real asset to the Socket team," said a co-worker who nominated him for the award. "There are so many examples of him taking something and making it more awesome, saving us time and helping us serve our customers better."

Mat joined Socket’s tech support team in October 2004 before moving to the programming department in 2005. If you’ve ever paid your Socket bill online, checked your email using Socket Webmail or used navigation menus on Socket’s website, you've used something that Mat played a role in building or improving. He helps make things run smoothly and keeps us looking good.  

Mat went to high school in Steele, MO (a stone’s throw from both Arkansas AND Tennessee). He earned a degree in systems engineering from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock before moving to Columbia in 2004. In his spare time, he enjoys hanging out with his dog, Rex, playing golf, home brewing and playing video games.

"I love my job because of the variety of projects I work on," said Mat. "It's never boring and I'm consistently refining and expanding upon my expertise."

Congratulations, Mat!

Socket Softball Season Starts With A Win


socket softballFriday, April 19 marked the first game for Socket’s co-ed softball team here in Columbia, MO. The team got off to a great start with a 10-5 win!
 
A few employees expressed interest in starting an employee softball team for the 2013 season, and we decided it was a great idea. The last time Socket had a company team was in 2008, but we are back and ready for action!
 
Our opponent on Friday was short the required number of players, but the Socket team sent two of its own so the game could go on. Our remaining squad of 10 players brought home a win in the fifth inning (the games have one-hour time limits) with some very memorable plays.
 
The highlight of the game was a solo home run hit by Jeff Smith from our accounting department. Everyone on the team had a blast and was happy to have the chance to represent Socket as a team. Catch their next game this Friday, April 26 at 8 p.m. on the purple field at Cosmo Park in Columbia. 

2013 Dream Factory Poker Tournament


dream factory poker columbiaSometimes you’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, and know when to fold ‘em. Perhaps maybe our poker players should’ve folded more often but that didn’t keep them from having a blast at this year’s Dream Factory Poker Tournament.
    
On Friday, April 12, Socket sponsored the event for the second year in a row, which benefits the Central Missouri Dream Factory. The tournament was held at the Knights Of Columbus in Columbia and raised more than $111,000 to grant dreams to chronically and critically ill children in mid-Missouri. Event organizers estimate the funds raised will help fulfill 20 dreams!

We sent six poker players to represent Socket, but we wanted to make sure we sent our best. On April 3 we hosted a mini-tournament of our own at the office after work. None of our poker stars made the final table at the real tournament, but they still had a good time for a good cause – and ate some good food!  

Our players said their favorite part of the event was hearing dream stories from some of the children in attendance and seeing how a dream grant impacted a child and their family. One girl shared her story about receiving 16 spinal taps and being in and out of surgeries repeatedly between the ages of 7-10.

For her dream trip, she visited the American Girl Store in Chicago, where she designed a custom doll and picked out matching outfits for her and her doll with a personal shopper. 

If you are a poker fan, we highly recommend checking out this event next year! 

Connecting Critical Institutions


As Socket’s fiber-to-the-home network expands, the number of residents able to enjoy high-speed Internet continues to climb. On top of that, major community institutions are beginning to see the benefits of high-speed, reliable connections.

For Callaway Community Hospital and Clinic, connecting to Socket’s fiber network has broadened the ability to quickly transfer large documents and patient records with the hospital’s network based out of Atlanta, GA.
 
In January, Millersburg Fire Protection District became the first emergency service provider to receive high-speed Internet services on our fiber network. We connected Callaway County Ambulance District with fiber in February.
 
In the coming months, we expect to add more critical community institutions to our network, providing hospitals, schools, emergency services and other public services with the high speeds and reliable service they have been anxiously awaiting.
 
Follow our fiber blog for more updates on our fiber network.
  
Check your address to see if you are eligible for service. Or, give us a call at 1-800-762-5383. 

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Who is Socket

Founded in 1994, Socket is a Missouri-based telephone and Internet service provider with the largest service area in the state.

Socket is a privately held company that provides families and businesses a choice for local and long-distance phone and Internet service. We combine the highest quality customer service with in-depth technical knowledge.

Our network serves more than 20,000 residents and businesses in more than 400 Missouri cities, and our customers enjoy simple billing and quick, friendly service.
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