Welcome to Advanced Technical Solutions, LLC

July 2010
In this Issue:

ATS @ Cisco Live!
Biggest Loser Challenge
TMH Road Cruise 5K
Employee Spotlight
How To: Pack Light Geek

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Employee Spotlight

Introducing
Lexie Addyson Cassell
pictured with her dad Travis

ATS welcomes a new little one to our ever-growing family. Lexie Addyson Cassell was born on July 6 at 3:47 pm weighing in at a healthy 8lb, 2oz. Lexie is the new baby girl of ATS Network Engineer & Telephony Expert Travis Cassell and his wife Melissa.
Since his first 'Employee Spotlight' in Nov. 2008, Travis has earned his CCIE (R) Voice Certification, the highest level of professional certification that Cisco provides.
Travis is not only an inspiration to those on the help desk team who are working on their various Cisco certifications, he's also leading the ATS challenge to a healthier lifestyle. Read his story in the adjoining article.

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It used to be that packing light was something only backpackers had to worry about. You know, the hard-core types who, like John Muir, set off with just the clothes on their back, a few tea leaves and a sack of hardtack to last them through a two-week trip.

But with today's baggage fees and carry-on restrictions, packing light isn't just something to keep you unencumbered. With some airlines charging for even the first checked bag, if you can lighten your load down to a carry-on, it'll stop the airlines from lightening your wallet with their endless fees. And by choosing your gadgets smartly, limiting yourself to a carry-on doesn't have to mean limiting your ability to travel in true geek style.

Here's our guide to living large while packing light.

 

Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas was the location of this year's premier education and training event for IT, networking, and communication professionals - Cisco live! The event was held June 27th - July 1st. Advanced Technical Solutions, represented by owners Brian & Gary Sims and Bob Marchi, Sr. Network Engineer, in collaboration with Nuance was demonstrating Cisco's Call Manager 8.0 and Contact Center Enterprise 8.0 with CVP (Cisco Voice Portal). Over 18,000 people both personally and virtually attended Cisco's largest annual event and had the opportunity to experience first hand the voice-command interaction/interface designed by ATS engineers utilizing voice recognition software developed by Nuance Communications.

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A few Advanced Technical Solution employees had an idea that had been weighing heavy on them….literally. They were hoping to gain approval and support to hold an ATS ‘Biggest Loser’ competition. Prepared with arguments to support their idea, they spoke with ATS owners Gary and Brian Sims. The competition kicked off on Monday, June 21st with full support, encouragement and a final prize to award the winner from ATS. Twelve employees have entered the 22 week long competition to get healthy, lose weight, and challenge their co-workers. Keep up with the contestants' progress right here in our monthly newsletter,and by visiting our FACEBOOK page, where you can post encouraging messages to the contestants.
At the end of the competition, we will have an official ‘Biggest Loser’ winner, but the fact is that everyone involved in the competition will have won, including ATS, who gains healthier and happier employees with each pound lost.

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More than Sponsors, We're Competitors! - by Paul Martin
When ATS first got involved as a sponsor of the Thomas Memorial Road Cruise, the employees were given the opportunity to not only volunteer to help with the event, but we could also be a participant in the 5K. As a company we didn’t really discuss it much more than that. In fact, this was the first 5K I had ever ran and I really enjoyed the preparation and race day. After our first adventure with the 5K, much more interest grew at ATS and we had several folks competing. I actually placed 2nd in my age division that second year and I believe my co-worker Josh Stepp also placed. Last year ATS brought home the team event award as well as having a few runners place in their age divisions, which made the event that much more special to us.
We are extremely pleased with the Thomas 5K and all that it has brought to our company. This started out as a sponsorship but now we are actively and competitively participating. In fact, this year we have a few new runners that will be joining the standard team and we hope to have another great finish. We would like to encourage other individuals and corporate groups to get involved, as this has proved a very fun and healthy team building exercise.

Preparing for the 5K, a Personal Journey – Travis Cassell
With having a 21 month old son and a baby girl on the way I decided it was time for me to get in shape and live a healthy lifestyle so I could be active with my kids. I began to look at ways that I could slowly get into shape when I ran across an app for my iPhone called C25K. The app is a running program that starts off with run/walk combinations with the goal that in 9 weeks’ time one should be able to run a 5K. When I started the program I set my goal to be able to participate in the Thomas 5K but this time as a runner. I started the program on May 5th barely able to run for one minute without stopping and upon completion on June 29th I am able to run 30+ minutes without stopping. I plan on attempting to run a 5K on my own before the Thomas Road Cruise. I’ve still got a long way to go to really compete but I’ve never felt better in my life and I plan to continue running. I lost a total of 38 lbs. while on this program and I’m currently participating in ATS’ Biggest Loser contest in hopes to lose a lot more and take home the top prize.

This year’s Thomas Memorial Foundation 29th Annual Road Cruise 5K Run/Walk Fitness Event will be held on Saturday, August 7th. For information on how to register yourself or your corporate team, view the brochure or email Paige Johnson.