Don't Forget to Spring Ahead Sunday, March 9th at
2:00am!
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Meet
the Account Specialists
Joelle Armanda
Joelle Marie Armanda (shhh)
Where were you born?
In a hospital - just kidding! I was born in Williamsport, PA
How would you describe yourself with 5 words?
Responsible, Considerate, Fun, Generous, Groovy
How long have you been with CRS Incorporated?
I've been with CRS for about 18 months now.
What are your hobbies or interests?
I love movies, being outdoors, playing pool, being in a
pool, anything that doesn't leave me bored.
If you were not at work, where would you be?
Well, during the week you can usually find me watching
American Idol; on the weekends I'm usually out and about
with friends.
What is your favorite memory of the 2007 Annual User Group
Conference?
EVERYTHING! Meeting so many of the operators I talk to each
day, and putting a face with the name!
If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Periwinkle
What is your most embarrassing story to date?
While in college I colored my hair with cheap hair dye.
My hair turned purple and after a few weeks starting
washing out to grey. I worked 3 jobs and was a full time
student with no time or money to spend; I was also
tutoring middle school math and one of my students asked
why I had grey hair at such a young age. I spent 6 hours
at the hair salon the next day.
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Upcoming Events and
Conferences
CRS
will be attending the following shows and conferences.
Please be sure to stop by our booth and visit! Click here
for a full listing of shows and
conferences we're attending in 2008.
April 9 - 11: LA Association of School
Business Officials Conference
April 30 - May 2: GA Association of
School Personnel Administratiors Conference
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2008 Annual User Group Conference
Recently you should have
received an email regarding the
Benefits of Attending the User
Group Conference. This is THE Annual User
Group Conference that you do not want to miss!
If you have not
registered or would like more information, please visit
www.crs-ivr.com.
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 Dear
Customer,
Welcome to the March
issue of InTouch
Online. March is sure to be a busy
month for everyone; there is St. Patrick's Day,
Easter, Day Light Saving Begins, and everyone's favorite -
Spring Break! We hope you enjoy the last few weeks
of winter, because Spring is just around the corner. |
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Twelve Years and Counting - The Success of
Carmel Clay School District
BY: Corinne Everett, Marketing Coordinator and
Mary Martin, SubFinder Operator
I recently had the opportunity to speak with
Mary Martin, the SubFinder Operator from Carmel
Clay School District. Carmel Clay Schools has
grown with SubFinder for the last 12 years and I
wanted to share their story with you!
(Mary Martin)
Hi Mary! Thank you again for taking the time to
speak with me today.
Thank you for including me and
Carmel Clay Schools (CCS)!
So, how long have you
personally worked with the SubFinder system?
4 years total - 3 years as a
building secretary and 1 year as SubFinder
Coordinator for CCS.
Your school district has been
using the SubFinder system since 1996! What do you
think are some reasons that Carmel Clay has been
such a loyal customer for the past 12 years?
Of course, the initial reason
for using the SubFinder system is its ability to
fill multiple absences quickly and efficiently. In
my former position as an elementary secretary in
another school corporation, one of my duties was to
personally receive the calls from teachers and then
make those late night & early morning calls to find
subs. Even though it was a small corporation, it was
a very difficult task and one I was very happy to
leave behind! The ease of using the SubFinder system
combined with great customer support and
trouble-shooting, not to mention the accuracy and
value of reports, makes it an all-out winner in my
book!
I noticed that Carmel Clay
Schools has consistently upgraded to almost
every version of SubFinder that has been released
since 1996. Why has your district been so persistent
in upgrading the SubFinder system when a new version
is released?
CCS is very pro-active in
pursuing technology and has a good vision when shown
a product's value and merit. As a daily user, I know
that the upgrades mean a smoother running program
and new features that will make tasks easier.
Now, Carmel Clay School is not
only updated to the current SubFinder Version 5.7,
but the district is now utilizing SubFinder as an
ASP solution! What were the deciding factors that
caused your district to switch from SubFinder as a
Box-on-Site solution to SubFinder as an ASP
solution?
I was thrilled when the
decision was made to go with the ASP solution. The
whole idea that maintenance and responsibility for
the physical well-being of the system was not in an
on-site box was huge. Random power surges or outages
of our server do not affect ASP and I do not have to
make anymore late-night trips to re-boot the system!
Our IS department also likes the fact that we are
not using our man hours to troubleshoot problems
with (or maintain) the equipment, software, and
phone lines. It is also a plus that upgrades happen
automatically for us with ASP. Nothing has to be
scheduled and there is no down time.
Your Account Specialist, Todd,
told me that you were at last year's Annual User
Group Conference in Charleston, South Carolina. What
did you take from the conference, and more
importantly, did you have fun?
I'll answer the last question
first - I had a great time at the User Group
Conference in Charleston! I had told my supervisor
that it was really stretching me out of my comfort
zone to travel alone, stay in a hotel alone, and be
with A LOT of strangers! I'm a small-town girl at
heart. The whole experience was a blast. On the
professional side as a relative new-comer to the
Coordinator side of SubFinder, I was able to listen
and learn so much from the presenters and the
informal talks around the tables. It was an
invaluable time of both personal and professional
growth.
Will you be attending the 2008 Annual User
Group Conference in Las Vegas?
Absolutely! Rumor has it that there are greater
advances being made to the system, and I am eager to
learn more about it so I can pass it on to the
building secretaries and improve our fill ratios.
Besides, HELLO, Vegas? Are you kidding me?
I would like to thank "Queen"
Mary Martin (as she is affectionately referred to at
CCS) and Carmel Clay Schools for taking the time to
speak with me AND for being such great customers for
the past 12 years! We look forward to many more
years of growing together! |
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SubFinder and Emergency School Closures
BY: Theresa Bertucci, Account Specialist
Everyone has certainly experienced their share
of bad weather this year. Whether it's a
blizzard or a tropical storm, bad weather
usually means no school. While the students (and
many of your employees) stay home and relax, SubFinder is hard at work filling any
remaining jobs for that day!
There is a simple way to
prevent the system from calling
out during any emergency closure periods, and
all you need is a telephone. Following these
simple instructions will make life a little
easier upon returning to the office.
You will need to have your
Supervisor ID and Universal Password handy. You
can find these codes in the SubFinder Control
Panel under the General System settings.
In the event of an
emergency school closure, simply follow these
steps using any touch tone telephone:
·
Call you school district's main SubFinder
telephone number
·
When the system asks for your PIN, enter the
Supervisor ID
·
The system will then ask you for the password;
enter the Universal Password
·
SubFinder will give you three options:
o
Stop Filling Jobs
o
Shut Down System
o
Exit SubFinder
·
Simply make the appropriate selection using the
keypad on your phone, and then you are done!
Once you have completed
these steps you have either stopped the system
from calling out for the day or you have put the
system in Standby. To get the system back up
running you must do so by calling into the
system again using the same Universal ID and
Password. You cannot take the system out of
Standby via the computer.
If
there are any further questions you may have
about this feature, please feel free to contact
your Account Specialist at 800-782-3463. They
will be more than happy to assist you with any
additional questions or concerns you may have.
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Welcome to the Family
CRS is pleased to
announce the addition of Steve Heidel and
Tracy Perrin!
Steve
Heidel
Programmer
 Steve
is a veteran programmer with a wealth of experience
in IVR applications specific to absence management
and substitute placement. He feels that his past
work experience and his knowledge of the K - 12
market are the perfect fit for CRS, and we couldn't
agree more!
In his free time, Steve is always ready to perfect
his Nintendo® Wii™ skills! He
also believes that it is important to try and
experience as much as you can in life, such as
skydiving, scuba diving, and his current challenge,
a 150 mile bike ride to raise money for MS research!
Tracy Perrin
IT Specialist
 Tracy
joined CRS Incorporated shortly after receiving his
Associates Degree in Networking Technology from the
Pennsylvania College of Technology, and is currently
pursuing his Bachelor's Degree in Web Applications
Development. Needless to say, Tracy is a busy guy
between work and school! He enjoys learning about
ever-changing technology, especially related to
Networking and Web Development. Tracy looks forward
to applying his growing knowledge of technology to
all CRS products and development. When Tracy does
have spare time, he enjoys playing Chess, going to
the movies, and lending a helping hand in the
Williamsport community. |
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