Spirit of the Midwest Awards Reception

1. 2015 Spirit of the Midwest Awards Reception

2. The WICT Touchstones of Leadership form the foundation for all of WICT's initiatives. They serve as our compass along the path of strategic and effective leadership development. We encourage members to leverage the WICT Touchstones as a motivational tool and Chapters to look to the Touchstones as the basis for their local program offerings. KNOW YOURSELF and what you stand for and where you are headed. You must understand who you are before you can decide who you want to be. Take stock of your strengths and weaknesses, and understand your limitations. Set realistic goals for yourself, keeping in mind that a balance between work and life makes for a healthy leader. Maintain your own morals, values and ethics, so you can hold yourself to the high standards you set. Unleash the leader within you, taking control of your career and steering it in the precise direction you want to go. Touchstones

3. Touchstones COMMUNICATE with passion and poise, in writing and in-person.The strongest communicator​s do more than just talk. Aspire to deliver a speech powerful enough to inspire an entire auditorium or to put pen to paper in such a way that others can be rallied into action through the power of your words. Learn to negotiate for the best possible outcomes with both logic and compassion. The ability to do all this will make you a communicator who embodies conviction and passion - qualities a great leader needs to succeed. LISTEN with more than just your ears. Strive to be an active listener who processes what is being conveyed and learn from people through their words. It is by listening with your heart, as well as your head, that you will build lasting relationships strengthening your cohort and helping others around you to grow along the way.

4. Touchstones CONNECT to your peers, your industry, and everything around you.You cannot move forward without a keen understanding of your network – the people you work with and the industry you work in. Immerse yourself in the economics and business practices that affect your company, clients, and colleagues. Keep your ear to the ground. Be aware of your competition and gain the upper hand. Build a support system for yourself and those within your community. Great leaders get connected and stay connected, using every ounce of information to their advantage. BE A CATALYST and set the wheels of change in motion.Progress is never made by standing still or by relying on the same old ideas. As a leader you must push the envelope to transform our industry with innovative concepts that are bigger and better than ever before. Take initiative. Raise the bar. Demand equality on all fronts and embrace diversity. Above all, never accept less respect than you offer others, because change can only take hold if it is grounded in respect.

5. Touchstones BE FEARLESS and confident in your convictions as you take risks and bring others along.To be a great leader, look fear in the eye and turn it to your advantage as the force driving you into uncharted territory. Use the adrenaline to keep climbing the corporate ladder. Don't surrender or retreat. Commit to your vision and believe in it above everything else. Others will sense your conviction and be willing to follow - without fear. ​ INSPIRE and others will follow.Rally those around you to support your vision. Be a mentor, a guide, and a role model - one who learns from what she teaches. Help those around you achieve their full potential with a helping hand that paves the way for future leaders. Be dynamic and strong, and you will inspire others to embrace your vision as the one they want to be part of, and the one they choose to follow.

6. SCTE Welcome – Andy ParrotVP Technical Ops and Training, EngineeringSuddenlink Andy currently serves as Suddenlink’s vice president of technical operations while also volunteering much of his time to the SCTE and their mission in providing professional development, certifications, standards, and information. Andy is the Chairman of the Professional Development Committee, on the Board of Directors for the Gateway Chapter, and was the past Co-Chairman of the 2010 Chapter Leadership Conference. He is a columnist for Broadband Library and has contributed to several other industry trade articles and is a diamond award judge for Broadband Technology Report. Andy’s primary focus is to ensure an excellent customer experience from Suddenlink’s maintenance, service, and fulfillment activities across all lines of business. Andy is the recipient of the 2012 SCTE Learning & Development Award and was named as Multichannel News’ top 40 executives under 40 for 2012.

7. WICT develops women leaders who transform our industry. We partner with cable and telecommunications industry leaders to provide leadership programs and services, and challenge these companies to create professional advancement opportunities for women. We create bold, self-empowered leaders through advocacy and leadership training.

8. Emcee – Pete AbelSVP Corporate Communications Suddenlink Since 2003, Pete Abel has led the corporate communications function at the company known today as Suddenlink. Mr. Abel and his staff – in conjunction with colleagues in corporate and regional offices – manage trade, national and local media relations; community relations, employee communications, and certain aspects of the company’s government relations. Prior to Suddenlink, Mr. Abel was a Senior Vice President and Senior Partner at Fleishman-Hillard, an Omnicom company and one of the world’s largest public affairs agencies. There, he consulted with organizations as diverse as Procter & Gamble, Monsanto, Johnson & Johnson, Anheuser-Busch, Dell and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For those and other clients, Mr. Abel managed teams of up to 30 professionals, who contributed to projects that spanned a range of disciplines, from marketing to crisis management. Mr. Abel started his career in 1985 as a freelance reporter, and later as a full-time staff writer for the (St. Louis) County Star-Journal, covering municipal politics and local businesses.

9. Spirit of the Midwest Winners • Rising Leader: Lisa Shea Manager, Corporate Communications Suddenlink • Spirit of the Midwest: Melissa Morris VP, General Manager Charter Communications • Woman in Technology: Andrea Wegley Account Director ARRIS

10. Rising Leader: Lisa Shea This award recognizes an industry woman, considered a newcomer to the industry, who has demonstrated her own personal leadership style and has become accomplished in both her job and in her working knowledge of the cable and/or telecommunications industry.

11. Lisa has a combination of traits that have contributed to her success.  Among them:  She actively and effectively builds bridges with her peers in other departments and at other companies.  And she remains remarkably calm under pressure.  These traits – combined with her many professional skills – have made her an invaluable asset to the Suddenlink team and her WICT colleagues.  I cannot imagine anyone more deserving of recognition as a WICT Midwest Rising Leader. ~ Pete Abel SVP Corporate Communications Suddenlink

13. Lisa Shea was promoted this year to Manager of Corporate Communications at Suddenlink.  In her relatively brief time with us, Lisa has quickly advanced in her responsibilities from work as a temporary contract employee to a full-time position as a Coordinator then Supervisor and now to Manager.  She very quickly established a network of contacts that have helped perform work with less supervision than most people.  She always has shown an ability to manage several projects at once and steps up to volunteer for new assignments.  More recently she has helped to significantly grow Suddenlink’s new social media program, supervising a new employee for that function.  Always looking to grow professionally, when she has a spare moment she immerses herself in Suddenlink online training courses.  Lisa also quickly got involved in WICT and at a very early stage in her career became the lead Communications person for Suddenlink’s Chapter and then for WICT Midwest.  As such, she is a board member for both groups.  She also recently was chosen to participate in the 2015 WICT Rising Leader program.  For these and other reasons, Lisa appears to be the perfect candidate for recognition as a WICT Midwest Rising Leader. ~ Gene Regan Senior Director, Corporate Communications Suddenlink

15. Lisa is a dedicated and passionate leader both for WICT and Suddenlink.  She’s made so many meaningful contributions as a board member of the WICT Midwest Chapter and is deeply committed to improving our impact within our membership and beyond.  Lisa is a tremendous asset to our Suddenlink Communications team and I’ve enjoyed seeing her grow as a leader in her team! ~ Pamela Hermann VP of Business Intelligence Suddenlink

17. Lisa is invaluable when working in a group, as she has an innate ability to capture everyone’s input and calmly navigate to consensus. ~ Jen Beery Senior Director, HR Suddenlink

19. Spirit of the Midwest: Melissa Morris This award recognizes an industry woman who has made significant contributions to the cable and telecommunications industry throughout her career, serves as a mentor and role model to others, exhibits leadership qualities that have made a difference in her organization, is a risk taker and groundbreaker, and inspires others. This woman is highly regarded by her peers and teammates for career accomplishments and quality work-life balance.

20. Where to start…Melissa is the most caring, loving and courageous person that I have ever met. She always wants to help others before thinking of herself.  Melissa is not only a great leader at Charter Communications, but she is an even better wife, friend, mother and grandmother (we have to call her Nana) than I could have ever wished or dreamed of having as my best friend.  Congratulations Melissa on winning the WICT-Spirit of the Midwest Award. Well deserved.  I couldn’t be more proud of you Melissa…even if you are a Packer fan. ~ Jeffery Morris Fiber Design Engineer Charter Communications

22. Melissa has a rare quality about her not often seen in management but always found in great leaders.  Melissa has the business acumen required to excel in her role as VP/GM.  She fully understands her role and each of the components that make it up and how they interrelate.  She drives for results and keeps her team engaged and driving toward one of her favorite catch phrases: continuous improvement.  She can hold her own and truly much better than that, when working cross functionally across the entire organization.  She is a solid business person.  The extra that Melissa also possesses is a deep set desire to do what’s right for the employees and the customers.  Melissa often states that if we do all we can as leaders to take care of the employees who then take care of the customers, the numbers will take care of themselves.  This is not just a business phrase of the day for Melissa – she lives this out in everything we work on.  Through this approach to business she brings out the best of her team.  ~ Jim Arpin Director, Human Resources Charter Communications

24. When we are working on forecasts and budgets, I always like to give Melissa a hard time about nickel and diming accounts to find opportunities, but it is that attention to every detail that makes her excel at what she does. She pushes the team to look at all opportunities to drive change in the business and that has allowed our KMA to consistently be near the top of every operating metric in the company. Melissa is an exceptional leader and it is an honor to work for her. ~ Joe Lange Director, Field Business Planning Charter Communications

26. Melissa is a high energy, results driven leader. She consistently ranks #1 in our region and the company in key operating metrics. Like a true leader, she’s an advocate for her team and looks for continuous improvement . She is a pleasure to work with and is incredibly deserving of this award. Congratulations Melissa! ~ Lisa Washa Regional Vice President Charter Communications

28. Melissa leads with passion for her cause and with dedication to our employees and customers. She pushes her team to deliver high-performance results, but never loses sight of reality. I’ve learned a lot from Melissa and I appreciate working with her. Her humble nature and competitive spirit are motivating. ~ Jeffrey Gehrig Senior Director, Regional Business Planning Charter Communications

29. Woman in Technology: Andrea Wegley This award recognizes an industry woman serving in a technical position who has contributed significantly to her organization as well as the cable and telecommunications industry. In addition to her technical expertise, she is a valued team member who is committed to supporting and motivating others.

31. Andrea’s passion around women in technology and Tech it Out initiatives is contagious.  She is one of the most fearless and bold leaders within our industry, and is very deserving of this award.  Congratulations Andrea on your well-deserved recognition.  I am honored to have you as a peer and friend.  ~ Chandni Thakrar-Ochoa VP Technology Integration Suddenlink

33. A fearless advocate for her customers, Andrea drives our organizations to deliver great results. Her enthusiasm and passion are contagious and she inspires her peers, subordinates and managers to higher and higher levels of performance. Her ability to deal with change, learn on the job, and take ownership of her career is something we all admire and ascribe to. ~ Bryant Isaacs General Manager, Assurance Solutions ARRIS

35. There is no stronger customer advocate than Andrea.  At ARRIS, we strive to achieve strategic partnerships and serve as true, trusted advisors to the customers we serve.  She has mastered that challenge better than anyone.  It has been said that you get what you settle for…Andrea has never settled. ~ Sadie Huene Account Director ARRIS

36. The Value of WICT Know Yourself, this is one of the first things I think of when I am reminiscing about my WICT experience. I started my journey off with self-doubt. But, I have come to a place where I am comfortable with my strengths and weaknesses. Plus, I am proud and confident with the leader I have become and the decisions and directions I choose. ~ Jill Arbet VP Marketing Suddenlink

37. The Value of WICT Connect is the touchstone that resonates with me… being new to the area, WICT has been an immediate connection for me to an amazing group of professional women.  The Midwest WICT Chapter has  made me feel like a valued member of a very special community from day one.  ~ Jen Beery Senior Director, HR Suddenlink

38. The Value of WICT Inspire and others will follow – the past 6 months or so I have reached out to several members of my leadership team and sprinkled them with guidance, recommendations, listened and expressed to them to do the same with their direct reports. I now hear them encouraging, coaching and sharing positive comments with their direct reports. The domino effect has been interesting and fun to observe and the results in the department have impacted morale in a very positive way. ~ Denise Farley Senior Director, Revenue Asset Recovery Mediacom

39. The Value of WICT My favorite WICT touchstone is Know Yourself.  WICT has given me the opportunity to meet some amazing and talented women.  By networking I have been able to stretch and grow professionally and personally.  These contacts and programs have given me greater insight to myself and my goals and provided tools on how to get there. ~ Julie Potthast Manager, Programming Suddenlink

40. The Value of WICT I love the WICT touchstone of KNOW YOURSELF.  I think to be able to fully develop the other touchstones, you need to start with taking a look at yourself.  Carl Jung said, “Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart.  Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”  And to me that is just what this touchstone represents. ~ Tara Anderson Manager, HR Suddenlink

41. The Value of WICT I love the first WICT Touchstone, ‘KNOW YOURSELF and what you stand for and where you are headed.’ I spent years trying to be what I thought others wanted me to be. Once I took time to examine my interests, my talents, and what I wanted to achieve, I was able to set personal and professional goals, and practical plans for achieving them. ~ Lisa Shea Manager Corporate Communications Suddenlink

42. The Value of WICT “INSPIRE and others will follow”  WICT has inspired me in my leadership path and allowed me to help others through mentoring and encouraging my team to reach their full potential.  I know that encouraging others to reach their potential helps us all to succeed.  ~ Rena Godley Manager Data Analysis Suddenlink

43. The Value of WICT I’m so glad COMMUNICATE is one of WICT’s Touchstones of Leadership. It actually gets to the heart of so many of the other ones—Connect, Listen, Be a Catalyst, Inspire. Throughout my career, I’ve seen that effective communication is the element that makes all the difference in the success of a project, a team and a leader. ~ Sally West Senior Director, Business Intelligence Suddenlink

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