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RioTell

Our President, Karin Williams, was interviewed on Texas Business Radio recently.  Timely way to celebrate our 19 years in business.

RioTel Expands ARK Program with “ARK Serve” and “ARK Hire”

Spring, Texas, June 10, 2016:  RioTel is expanding their Acts of RioTel Kindness (ARK) Holiday giving program to make a year-round impact with 2 new programs. The ARK Holiday Program, established in 2011, supports their employees’ generous impulses to help others during the holiday season by providing them with the cash to do so more easily. ARK Holiday is a “pay-it-forward” style bonus giving program for employees. RioTel also makes several group donations to selected charities that are nominated and chosen by the employees in December each year. According to RioTel President, Karin Williams, “We have enjoyed the ARK program so much during the holidays, but after 5 years, we felt there was more that could be done beyond financial assistance to help charities in our communities. I wanted to look for ways to make an impact that would last longer than the holiday season.” So Williams put on her problem-solving business hat and rolled out 2 additional programs for 2016: ARK Serve and ARK Hire.

ARK Serve is a new benefit for RioTel employees that designates paid service days for employees to support local charities with acts of service, or what they like to call Acts of RioTel Kindness, or ARK. Michele Ramirez, RioTel’s People and Program Manager, coordinates with charities and employees for specific service opportunities, and stated, “We are building relationships with charities in our communities whose mission is to help people in crisis. We coordinate teams to assist them with whatever they need each quarter. It is a nice break to get out of the office, while helping those in need. We practice servant leadership and we are excited about how this program supports that vision.” RioTel’s first service day is scheduled for June, at a homeless shelter for women and children.

ARK Hire is a community partnership that connects philanthropic-minded small businesses with charities who are helping people in crisis, many who are in need of employment to help them through a tough transition. As Williams stated, “There are many wonderful charities helping people in crisis with counseling, food, housing, child care, and job-related skills training and assistance. My goal was simply to make the connections to the small business community in the Houston area who can provide jobs in flexible and supportive work environments to help give them a ‘hand-up’ to employment.” Williams stated that she first searched for a program like this to participate in, but when she came up empty-handed, she decided to create one, so ARK Hire was born. As an entrepreneur, she is also evaluating building specific businesses, whose focus is to fund these charities, while providing employment opportunities for those who are joining or returning to the work force after an extended absence. She hopes to see the program expand to other cities after learning from the Houston pilot program.

For more information on ARK Serve contact:
Michele Ramirez,
People and Program Manager
RioTel
281-485-8666 ext. 113
michele.ramirez@riotel.co
http://www.riotel.co

For more information on ARK Hire contact:
Karin Williams,
President and CEO
RioTel
281-485-8666 ext. 103
karin.williams@riotel.co
http://www.riotel.co

 

RioTel Employees Help Others in Need through A.R.K. Individual Giving Program

Houston, Texas, December 30, 2013:   RioTel helped the holidays shine brighter for others less fortunate through their Acts of RioTel Kindness (A.R.K.) program.  Initially launched during the holiday season of 2011, RioTel’s annual A.R.K. program includes two types of giving, individual and group.  The individual giving program provides a cash donation to RioTel employees and contractors with a “pay it forward” message so they can bless others with their gift.  The group giving program involves a gift to a company selected family, group, or organization in need.

The individual giving program was kicked off at the company’s Christmas party held at the Asian City Restaurant in Humble on December 6, 2013.  RioTel’s President, Karin Williams, expressed her appreciation to employees for all of their hard work during the year and restated the company’s mission and the spirit behind the A.R.K. program:  to share the company’s success with others less fortunate.   Williams handed out cash bonuses with instructions to “Pay it Forward” to someone in need.

Since the party, employees have posted their stories on the company’s blog about where their gifts went.  Williams shared, “The stories are really touching and always reinforce why I love this program.”  According to the blog, two employees had family or friends who lost their homes in fires and their A.R.K. contributions went to help them recover.  Other employees helped families around them with large medical expenses, while others had charities or churches that were important to them that they blessed.  Williams stated, “Our employees have such big hearts.”

ARK Image

 

For more information contact:
Michele Ramirez
RioTel
281-485-8666, ext. 113
michele.ramirez@riotel.co
www.RioTel.co

RioTel Assists Local Family in Time for Christmas

Houston, Texas, December 30, 2013:   RioTel helped the holidays shine brighter for a family in need through their Acts of RioTel Kindness (A.R.K.) program.  Initially launched during the holiday season of 2011, RioTel’s annual A.R.K. program includes two types of giving, individual and group.  The individual giving program provides a cash donation to RioTel employees and contractors with a “pay it forward” message so they can bless others with their gift.  The group giving program involves a gift to a company selected family, group, or organization in need.

The A.R.K. group program helped a local Houston area family, through RioTel’s participation in KSBJ’s Annual Giving Tree Program.  RioTel employees selected a family in need identified by the Humble Area Assistance Ministries, (HAAM), whose offices are located just a few miles from the new RioTel office location.  According to RioTel President Karin Williams; “This year, we moved the company headquarters to Houston, and it seemed fitting that we should help our new neighbors, so a HAAM-identified family in need was a great choice.”

After selecting the charity, Williams decided to delegate most of the program details to other company leaders to execute the spirit of the program.  In fitting fashion, Williams selected Michele Ramirez, Manager of Quality and Project Administration, to lead the effort to plan and execute this year’s program.  Sherard Tate, Director of Technical Services, designed a new logo for the A.R.K. campaign, and delivered the gifts.

Williams stated, “I was delighted with the way they turned this into a fun holiday project where everyone had a hand in it.”  Ramirez divided employees into 3 teams: Kringle, Rudolph, and Holiday Cheer, led by 3 of the company’s newest employees.  According to Ramirez, “I thought allowing our new employees to lead and organize the giving would help them feel more a part of the company and our culture.”  The holiday teams selected a family in need, purchased a bike for one of the children, a gift card for clothing from Kohl’s, and a general VISA gift card to help this family.

After teams selected the family and purchased the gifts, Sherard Tate stepped in to deliver the gifts to HAAM.  Although he didn’t drive a sleigh over, he remarked, “It was like Santa’s workshop… People were packing up groceries and gifts for delivery.  The HAAM staff members were so appreciative!”

BIKE HAAM Group

 

For more information contact:
Michele Ramirez
Manager, Quality and Project Administration
RioTel
281-485-8666, ext. 113
michele.ramirez@riotel.co
www.RioTel.co

RioTel Sends Hundreds of Bookmarks to Children in Jackson, NC

Houston, Texas, December 19, 2013:   RioTel helped the holidays shine brighter for the children at Central Elementary in Jackson, NC through their Acts of RioTel Kindness (A.R.K.) program.  Initially launched during the holiday season of 2011, RioTel’s annual A.R.K. program includes two types of giving; individual and group.  Central Elementary was the recipient of RioTel’s 2012 A.R.K. group gift, and books were sent to a classroom of First Graders learning to read.  The children responded with hand-made thank you cards that RioTel posted around the office last year.  According to Karin Williams, RioTel President, “I learned about this school and their needs through my daughter, Kaylie Williams, who began teaching at the school last year.”  After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 2012, the younger Williams joined Teach for America where she was placed in Eastern North Carolina to teach first grade at Central Elementary.

Although RioTel selected a local charity for their 2013 group donation, they decided to remember the children of Central Elementary again by sending them custom-designed bookmarks to further encourage their reading journey.  Williams remarked, “Teach for America’s mission has become near and dear to my heart as I’ve learned so much about their initiative through my daughter’s work.  They work to ensure that kids growing up in poverty get an excellent education.  This school year, Kaylie moved from the classroom to become a Reading Recovery Specialist for the school, so the bookmarks seemed to be a fitting tribute to her work and mission.  We enjoyed designing these around the Dr. Seuss reading theme that Kaylie references in the classroom frequently.”  RioTel also shared the bookmarks with employees who have reading-age children and relatives.

Bookmarks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information contact:
Karin Williams
President
RioTel
281-485-8666, ext. 103
karin.williams@riotel.co
www.RioTel.co

Telecom Engineering, Provisioning and Project Management Provider Launches Crisp New Look

Houston, Texas, February 29, 2012: In the world of telecom, events sometimes move faster than the speed of light. RioTel was founded in 1999 and has grown very quickly to become a critical engineering partner to some of the telecom giants of the world, helping them build their networks.

According to President and CEO, Karin Williams; “I’m not sure when we began that I had envisioned the real growth we would experience – or the size of the projects we would be managing. The hardest thing to do is carve out time from the client projects to work on a project of our own.”

“But we finally realized that the time is now. We needed to take a bold step in terms of explaining our services and our place in the market in order to sustain our remarkable growth curve. After completing the re-branding, we intend to keep our new look updated.”

The re-branding was a group project with input and participation from all departments and many of the employees over the 3-month process. The results will be launched at a special event next week in the RioTel Skybox at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Dubbed The RioTel Roundup, the event will bring together clients and industry friends who have been instrumental in RioTel’s growth and will surely be an important part of its future.

Of the transition, Williams said; “In consulting, the people are everything as it’s all about the client experience. We have a great team, a group of professionals who work hard to exceed our clients’ expectations, but who also know how to have fun with them too. I wanted our branding to reflect that spirit, culture, and professionalism, and I think it now does.

 

For more information contact:
Erin Osbourne, SPHR
HR/Office Manager
RioTel
281-485-8666 X 106
?Erin.Osbourne@RioTel.co
www.RioTel.co

 

RioTel Inaugurates A. R. K. in Time for the Holidays

Houston, Texas, December 16, 2011: In answer to a real need to do “something of substance” to help people less fortunate during the holiday season, RioTel has a new initiative, Acts of RioTel Kindness (A.R.K.). The program allows RioTel to help their employees act on their generous impulses by providing them with the cash to do so more easily.

According to RioTel President, Karin Williams; “Everyone wants to do something to help and bring a smile to someone who needs it during the holidays, but sometimes employees are feeling the pinch of holiday expenses, which makes it more difficult to act. So we decided we could help by giving each employee an extra bonus, and a request that they “pay it forward” to help someone in need. They get to reach out in a meaningful way and know that they are really able to make a difference. The recipients get that little extra boost that can really make a difference in their lives and touch them in a special way during this season of giving.”

The A.R.K. program was a great success with employees who were pleasantly surprised with their new “project” but delighted to pick their lucky recipients. They came back to work sharing very touching stories of meaningful encounters on the company’s blog.

According to RioTel HR Manager, Erin Osbourne; ” RioTel employees made this Christmas merrier with Acts of RioTel Kindness – the stories were amazing. From donating to the local food bank to helping friends or family members struggling with health or financial concerns, to donating to a complete stranger whose story touched them. We are so happy with the results and plan to grow our contributions to A.R.K. as our company grows and prospers.”

 

For more information contact:
Erin Osbourne, SPHR
HR/Office Manager
RioTel
281-485-8666 X 106
Erin.Osbourne@RioTel.co
www.RioTel.co