JUST-US 2006 Attendees
Leveraged the Power of Shared User Experiences
More than 450 attendees were on hand at the JUST-US 2006 Annual Conference, April 23-26, at the Fairmont Dallas. Attendees experienced four days of targeted education on Siemens Communications products, user experiences and took part in numerous networking opportunities.
Sunday, April 23
Due to the location of the 2006 conference, just 20 minutes from the national Siemens Training Center (STC), attendees had an opportunity to participate in Pre-Conference Workshops through the day on Sunday at this state-of-the-art facility. During a lunch break at the STC, participants shared experiences and insight during Birds of a Feather sessions while they ate.
The conference officially kicked off with a welcome keynote session on Sunday evening featuring JUST-US 2005-2006 President Deborah Carter, JUST-US Conference Chair Sue Evert, and Mark Straton, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Siemens Communications. Mark presented his very own “Top 10 Reasons You Came to Dallas” and amused the audience with his humor.
Monday, April 24
The first full day of the conference included a number of keynote sessions, including presentations from Siemens executives. The first keynote came from President and CEO Berndt Baumgartl, who gave the JUST-US audience a hearty welcome and told a little about himself. In addition, Berndt also talked about the future for Siemens Communications, and then turned it over John LaNave, Senior Vice President, Office of the President, Enterprise Networks Division who spoke mergers and partnerships.
Finally Al Baker, Vice President, Enterprise Line Management, Enterprise Division of Siemens Communications gave a presentation on making ProCenter a better product for call centers.
On Monday afternoon, Siemens Communications held the Customer Panel hosted by Tim Grimes, Vice President of Regional Sales in the Enterprise Networks Division at Siemens Communications. The panel was comprised of Stephen Campbell of Beckman Coulter, Ken Lobenstein of Continuum and Robert Sellers of Citizens Property Insurance.
Once again, a highlight of the JUST-US Annual Conference was the Tricks of the Trade Sessions. This year the session split into two sections, HiPath 4000 and Legacy 9006, in order to make the most of this opportunity for users. Customers asked questions of one another and shared valuable information on these systems.
Tuesday, April 25
JUST-US welcomed Leon K. Woo of Enterasys Networks, who presented an industry keynote on security when deploying VoIP, discussing the architectural approach to resolving the next wave of secure IP telephony challenges.
Randall Munson, CSP, presented a motivational keynote presentation “The Serious Business of Humor,” in which he displayed an array of humorous slides and combined his presentation with magic illusion. In addition, Munson instructed attendees on how to successfully incorporate humor into their lives and workplace.
JUST-US Annual Business Meeting
Tuesday’s JUST-US Annual Business Meeting, Deborah Carter introduced the current 2005-2006 Board of Directors and gave special thanks to all the event sponsors. JUST-US Executive Director Kevin Gerhard shared the users group’s successes and accomplishments from 2005 and the goals for 2006 and 2007. Deborah took the stage and thanked all the year’s volunteers.
She then presented the Terry Gunter Award to Bob Russell for his long-term service and volunteer spirit to JUST-US. Deborah presented the John Oliphant Award to Darlene Robinson of Siemens for her tireless efforts to develop rich content to JUST-US.
The results of the 2006 Board of Directors election were also announced at the meeting. The JUST-US 2006-2007 Board of Directors include the following members:
- Mike Gladish, AAA-East Central, President
- Deborah Carter, TransUnion Corporation, Immediate Past President
- Mary Ellen Shultz, American Red Cross
- Sue Evert, FiServ Corporation
- Susie Fjelstad, Nebraska Furniture Mart
- Elwyn Hull, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
- Jean-Pierre Ignart, Beckman Coulter
- Ryan Colbert, Rissman, Barrett, et al
- Ken Daniel, Branch Banking & Trust, Co.
- Alina Urdaneta, Executive Siemens Liaison
- Kevin Gerhard, Executive Director
Tuesday Evening Mexican Networking Fiesta
Sponsored by Siemens & Verizon Business
Attendees took an opportunity to unwind at the Fairmont Dallas’ Venetian Ballroom at the Mexican fiesta-inspired Tuesday evening reception. With a backdrop of Mexican building façades, bright flowers and a few sombreros, attendees enjoyed a fajita-making station, expansive buffet and Latin music provided by the DJ.
John VanderMeulen and Cheryl Rowley won the “Best Dressed Award” for their festive attire.
Product & Services Showcase
In addition to the educational sessions and keynotes, the JUST-US conference once again included a Products & Services Showcase featuring 31 exhibitors, filling a combined 4800 square feet of space!
The Exhibit Hall Grand Opening and Welcome Reception typically kicks off the Annual Conference, and this year was no exception. Attendees enjoyed the start of the conference week by reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones, as well as mingling with vendors and presenters, exchanging ideas and discussing new products.
Several exhibitors participated in the Second Annual Passport to Prizes program, in which attendees visited the participating companies in order to have their game card, received in their registration bag, stamped. Once their card was complete, it was included in a raffle drawing on the last day of the Product & Services Showcase. John Dawson of Alltel took home the grand prize from Siemens!
Participating vendors included:
Siemens Communications - Grand Prize
1Call, A Division of AMTELCO
AOTMP
Bluecoat Systems, Inc.
Comview Co-Nexus, Inc.
Enterasys
G3 Technology Partners
IQ Services
Congratulations to all Passport to Prizes winners: Jeanne Burnet, Life Way; Glen Crasta, Marriott EFCU; Bob Vennare, Bayer Corp.; Linda Kenny, ISTA; Milton Webb, Greater Baltimore Medical Center; Hector Nazario, Schulte Rethzabel ; Pete Jasie, MITRE; Arnold Solomon, Southern Company; Andre Jones, Columbia University; John Dawson, Alltel.
Thank You to JUST-US Sponsors…
One of the reasons that the JUST-US Annual Conference was such a success was because of the generous sponsorships from:
Siemens Enterprise Networks - PLATINUM SPONSOR
Enterasys Networks - GOLD SPONSOR
Verizon Business - GOLD SPONSOR
NICE Systems - BRONZE SPONSOR
Siemens Resale Services Group - BRONZE SPONSOR
Still Want More JUST-US 2006 Annual Conference?
View the presentations here, in PDF format.
View the photo gallery.
Interested in Volunteering?
If you are interested in volunteering to help plan or be involved in any way during the 2007 Annual Conference and/or are interested in presenting a session, please contact JUST-US Headquarters.
Looking to Exhibit in 2007?
Please email JUST-US Headquarters to express your interest in exhibiting. Information will be communicated to you as it is made available.
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