HDI Honors Top Technical Service and Support Individuals and Teams

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., May 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- HDI, the worldwide professional association and certification body for the technical service and support industry, today announced the successful wrap-up of the twenty-fourth HDI Annual Conference & Expo, which took place April 1?4, 2014, at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando, FL. The HDI 2015 Conference & Expo will be held March 24?27, 2015, at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

The HDI Annual Conference & Expo is the industry's largest and most prestigious annual event. HDI 2014 featured extraordinary keynote speakers, compelling programming and tracks, content-rich breakout sessions from industry leaders, a massive Expo Hall packed with innovative solution providers and exciting offerings, and the HDI awards program, which grants the highest honors in the technical service and support profession.

"This year's conference experience was an incredible opportunity to learn from, grow with, and be inspired by industry leaders, experts, our vendor community, and, best of all, our peers from within the technical service and support industry. We saw an increase in attendance, which provided an amazing opportunity for our attendees to network with more of their peers in one location than ever before," said Michelle Frilow, HDI's director of conference and events. "We're also extremely proud that we get to honor organizations, leaders, and role models from within our community and the industry through HDI's award program."

Targeted to the needs of the technical service and support industry, HDI 2014 attracted more than 2,500 attendees from around the world. "This year's conference was another exciting, motivating, and rewarding experience for all," said Leslie Cook, HDI's director of membership. "It is such a thrill for HDI and Robert Half Technology, our premier award sponsor, to recognize our finalists and honor our award recipients each year. There are leaders at every level in an organization, and HDI has long recognized the value each individual brings to a team and each team brings to the IT organization. We're so proud of all of our award winners, and we wish them continued success."

HDI's industry awards, presented each year at the HDI Annual Conference & Expo,recognize individuals and teams for excellence. HDI's award lineup includes the HDI Analyst of the Year and Manager of the Year Awards, the HDI Desktop Support Technician of the Year Award, and the HDI Team Excellence Award, which are sponsored by Robert Half Technology. The lineup also includes the Ron Muns Lifetime Achievement Award and, new this year, the HDI Local Chapter Officer of the Year Award. Finally, HDI recognizes the HDI CSAT Elite 50, the industry's top performers in terms of overall customer service as determined by the HDI Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Service.

The 2014 HDI award winners include:

HDI Analyst of the Year – Luke Keultjes, LifeWay Christian Resources, representing HDI Music City and the Southeast region

As a client services analyst for LifeWay Christian Resources, Luke Keultjes interacts with customers from the LifeWay corporate office as well as employees from LifeWay's 186 retail stores, summer camps, and conference centers. Luke joined LifeWay in January 2012, after serving as a client technical support specialist for Dell Services Federal Government (DSFG), where he provided advanced systems support for US military personnel around the world. In his current role, Luke assists customers with password resets, network connectivity issues, printer problems, and much more. He also serves as a liaison for Cisco WebEx and conferencing support, as well as an audio/visual specialist for LifeWay's executive leadership team and trustees.

HDI Desktop Support Technician of the Year – Ron Remon, Tampa Electric Company, representing HDI Skyway and the Southeast Region

Ron Remon has worked for Tampa Electric Company for nearly twenty-three years, fourteen of those working in the IT department. He began his career with Tampa Electric as a laborer in a coal-fired power plant, working his way up through a mechanical maintenance apprenticeship. During his time at the power plant, he earned a bachelor's degree at the University of South Florida

HDI Manager of the Year – Todd Neffenger, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Todd Neffenger is the manager of the help desk and data center operations team at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Todd's team supports nearly 19,000 employees and handles more than 13,000 calls each month, and he works closely with the nearly 400 staff and managers in his department. Todd joined the OSU team in 2000, as a senior systems developer/engineer, transitioning to desktop support management two years later. He was promoted into his current role in 2011. In this position, he focuses on process improvement, technical training, team morale and empowerment, and metrics. Under his direction, Todd's team recently launched a virtual help desk kiosk and help desk website, and is leading the effort to implement a comprehensive asset lifecycle management process. Todd is a past member of the HDI Healthcare Providers Forum, and he received his technical degree from DeVry Institute of Technology in Phoenix, AZ.

HDI Team Excellence Award – J. Paul Getty Trust  

The Tech Support department at the J. Paul Getty Trust is a full-service help desk, providing everything from troubleshooting, user education, and hardware break-fix to equipment refreshes and software rollouts. The team supports a diverse group of users, including curators, researchers, scholars, scientists, and professional and administrative staff. In 2012, the team successfully brought its overseas help desk back home by hiring locally and using technologies made in America, which helped the Getty achieve major cost savings, higher first call resolution, and a customer satisfaction rating of 99.6%.

Ron Muns Lifetime Achievement Award – Jeff Rumburg, MetricNet, LLC

Jeff Rumburg is a cofounder and managing partner at MetricNet, LLC, where he is responsible for global strategy, product development, and financial operations. As a leading expert in benchmarking and re-engineering, Jeff is the author of a best-selling book on benchmarking, and he has been retained as a benchmarking expert by several well-known companies, including American Express, EDS, and General Motors. Prior to founding MetricNet, Jeff was the president and founder of The Verity Group, and held senior leadership positions at META Group and Gartner, Inc. He received his MBA from the Harvard Business School and his MS in operations research from Stanford University.

HDI Local Chapter Officer of the Year Award – Carrie Francart, University of Pittsburgh, representing HDI Steel City

Carrie Francart has fourteen years of experience in the technical service and support industry. In her current role as the manager of customer support for the Financial Information Systems department at the University of Pittsburgh, Carrie creates and manages service desk procedures, creates and ensures process compliance, performs service level management, provides technical support, and ensures customer satisfaction. She is also an active member of HDI, and she's served in many official capacities in the HDI Steel City local chapter over the past five years, including president and VP – Programs and Vendor Relations. In her current role as the VP ? Communications, Carrie has refreshed HDI Steel City's image by redesigning the chapter website, digitizing the chapter newsletter, creating social media pages, and implementing a new email communication and event marketing tool. During her tenure as an officer, meeting attendance has increased by 23 percent, annual memberships have increased by 55 percent, and HDI Steel City, the 2012 HDI Local Chapter Rising Star Award winner, has earned the HDI Circle of Excellence Award with President's Circle Distinction every year.

HDI CSAT Elite 50

Top-Ranked Support Center: Ameritas IT Hardware-C

The HDI CSAT Elite 50 recognizes outstanding technical service and support centers around the world. These support centers are ranked based on customer satisfaction survey responses gathered by the HDI Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Service, an independent, third-party tool that tracks and trends customer satisfaction from year to year. This year, HDI was proud to recognize the top fifty support centers, including the top-ranked support center, Ameritas IT Hardware-C. To see the full list of CSAT Elite 50 winners, visit www.ThinkHDI.com/CSATElite50.

About LifeWay Christian Resources

LifeWay Christian Resources is one of the world's largest providers of Christian products and services, including Bibles, Bible studies, research, church music and supplies, and digital services. The company owns and operates more than 180 LifeWay Christian Stores across the nation, as well as the Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina. Through its publishing division, B&H Publishing Group, LifeWay publishes books, including the widely respected HCSB Bible translation. LifeWay is a nonprofit organization that reinvests income above operating expenses in mission work and other ministries around the world. To learn more about LifeWay, click here.

About Tampa Electric Company

Tampa Electric Company, one of Florida's largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves almost 700,000 customers in west-central Florida. Tampa Electric is part of the TECO Energy family of companies. TECO Energy Inc. is an energy-related holding company with regulated electric and gas utility operations in Florida (Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas System) and coal-production facilities in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia.

About The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Located in Columbus, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is one of the largest and most diverse academic medical centers in the country and the only academic medical center in central Ohio. Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center includes a top-ranked College of Medicine, six hospitals, a unified physician practice, a network of primary- and specialty-care practices, more than a dozen research centers and institutes, and twenty core laboratories. This powerful enterprise is driven by its mission to improve people's lives through innovation in research, education, and patient care, and united by a common vision: to shape the future of medicine by working as a team to create, disseminate, and apply new knowledge, and by personalizing healthcare to meet the needs of each individual.

About J. Paul Getty Trust 

The J. Paul Getty Trust is a cultural and philanthropic institution dedicated to critical thinking in the presentation, conservation, and interpretation of the world's artistic legacy. Through the collective and individual work of its constituent programs—the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Getty Research Institute—it pursues its mission in Los Angeles and around the world, serving both the general public and a wide range of professional communities with the conviction that a greater and more profound sensitivity to and knowledge of the visual arts and their many histories are crucial to the promotion of a vital and civil society.

About Ameritas

Ameritas offers a wide range of insurance and financial products and services to individuals, families, and businesses. These products and services include life insurance, annuities, individual disability income insurance, group dental, vision, and hearing care insurance, retirement plans, investments, mutual funds, asset management, banking, and public finance.

About MetricNet, LLC

MetricNet, LLC, is the global leader in IT service and support benchmarking. With a global database of more than 3,000 benchmarks, MetricNet has the most comprehensive database of IT service and support metrics in the industry, and more than half of the Fortune 500 relies on MetricNet's benchmarks to improve and optimize their performance.

About University of Pittsburgh

Founded in 1787, the University of Pittsburgh is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the United States. Pitt people have defeated polio, unlocked the secrets of DNA, lead the world in organ transplantation, and pioneered TV and heavier-than-air flight, among numerous other accomplishments.

About Robert Half Technology

With more than 100 locations in North America and Europe, Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of technology professionals for initiatives ranging from web development and multiplatform systems integration to network security and technical support. Robert Half Technology offers online job-search services at www.rht.com.

Robert Half Technology has been the premier sponsor for the HDI awards program since 2004. Its sponsorship has given award finalists the opportunity to be honored as leaders within the technical service and support industry, attend the industry's leading conference, understand more about their industry, and network with peers from around the globe.

About HDI

HDI is the professional association and certification body for the technical service and support industry. Facilitating collaboration and networking, HDI hosts acclaimed conferences and events, produces renowned publications and research, and certifies and trains thousands of professionals each year.

HDI also connects solution providers with practitioners through industry partnerships and marketing services. Guided by an international panel of industry experts and practitioners, HDI serves a community of more than 120,000 technical service and support professionals and is the premier resource for best practices and emerging trends. For more information about HDI, visit www.ThinkHDI.com, or call 800.248.5667.

About UBM Tech

UBM Tech is a global media business that provides information, events, training, data services, and marketing solutions for the technology industry. Its media brands and information services inform and inspire decision makers across the entire technology market—engineers and design professionals, software and game developers, solutions providers and integrators, networking and communications executives, and business technology professionals. UBM Tech's industry-leading media brands include EE Times, Interop, Black Hat, InformationWeek, Game Developer Conference, CRN, and DesignCon. The company's information products include research, education, training, and data services that accelerate decision making for technology buyers. UBM Tech also offers a full range of marketing services based on its content and technology market expertise, including custom events, content marketing solutions, community development, and demand generation programs. UBM Tech is a part of UBM (UBM.L), a global provider of media and information services with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion.

Contact: Sarah Wilkerson, (719) 955-8150

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SOURCE HDI