Mike was recognized for his many accomplishments, both personally and professionally. In 2003, Mike became Charlton's Director of Information Technology, only four years after graduating and joining Charlton as a Systems Administrator.

Mike's incredible energy and zest for life extends far beyond his work life. Over the years, Mike has expanded his interests to include awesome salsa making, a title-winning midget car racing career, touring and performing with several blues bands all over the U.S., and a burgeoning professional photography business.

Congratulations, Mike! To see the Loras College official announcement of Mike's Distinguished Young Alumni Award, please click here.

For the one-year period ending October 2008, Charlton ranked number 9 in domestic outbound, number 14 in domestic inbound, and number 17 in global combined. (Last year, the company's rank was number 18 in domestic outbound, number 18 in domestic inbound, and number 24 in global combined.)

On receiving news of the new ranking, Chairman John Dragisic observed: "This ranking validates the progress our Company made in carrying out our business plan during a challenging period. It also is recognition of the strength of our relationship with our clients, and an indication of the critical role we play in their sales and marketing programs.

We operate our centers in a shared environment; that is we run both inbound and outbound at the same time. Charlton's agents receive training in both inbound and outbound. We believe that continued exposure to outbound makes our agents better inbound salespersons, a fact that is confirmed by the conversion metrics. We also believe that providing universal agents for our clients results in lower costs and a superior value proposition."

This ranking was earned by our talented managers and employees who deliver high quality services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."

The SRO is comprised of executives of sales and marketing companies and service providers. Its objectives are to align business interests with consumer needs, to provide a better customer experience, and to minimize the need for further burdensome regulations.

The SRO Committee has been meeting since April 2006 to develop compliance standards and an accreditation process for contact centers. The standards were finalized, and the first course to train and accredit SRO auditors was offered, in September 2008. Charlton retained the services of one of the accredited Auditors. After reviewing Charlton's procedures, programs and controls, the Auditor recommended that Charlton receive accreditation. The SRO Committee and the full board of the ATA approved this recommendation.

Upon receiving the formal accreditation certificate at the ATA Annual Conference on October 7, 2008, Charlton's Director of Compliance, Mick Bennett, observed: "It was a real honor to be selected as the first teleservices firm in the United States to go through the rigorous process and to pass the test. We made a conscious decision five years ago to embrace compliance and to turn it into a core competency. We believe the accreditation demonstrates that the value of our focus on high quality and consumer friendly services.

On behalf of our management team, we want to thank our employees for their commitment to putting the customer first and maintaining the highest industry standards. We also want to commend the ATA for its leadership and foresight in establishing the SRO. We have no doubt that it marks a significant and positive inflection point in the way our industry operates."

Comcast/360 CRM conducts a robust program of outbound quality call monitoring to guarantee that the highest standards are being maintained. The monitoring program evaluates sales technique, product knowledge, professionalism, listening skills, tele-personality and legal compliance.

Charlton, which established its internal quality assurance program in 2002, is committed to deliver the best possible customer experience on every call. These awards, along with Charlton's ongoing commitment to compliance, should provide assurance to clients who outsource work to Charlton.

The Court Reporting Compliance award recognizes vendor's ability to report project data daily to COURT, on both a timely and accurate basis.

Upon receiving these awards, Charlton's Chairman John Dragisic, remarked, "These awards are a reflection of the performance of the entire Charlton team because we consider ourselves as part of our client's staff. Daily, we strive to live by our Company's mission statement, "Partnering to Connect Clients and Customers". Our Company takes great pride in delivering the best quality, service and performance to our clients. These awards are evidence that our commitment to clients is paying off."

For the one-year period ending October 2007, Charlton ranked number 18 in domestic outbound, number 18 in domestic inbound, and number 24 in global combined. (Last year, the company's rank was number 13 in domestic outbound, number 18 in domestic inbound, and number 24 in global combined.)

On receiving news of the new ranking, Chairman John Dragisic observed: "This ranking validates the progress our Company made in balancing our business during the past twelve months. It also is recognition of the quality of our services and the high level of client satisfaction, which are critical to our firm's long term success.

We consider our inbound and outbound business segments to be complementary and mutually reinforcing. Charlton's agents receive training in both inbound and outbound from day one. As a result, they know how to sell in both inbound and outbound campaigns, and how to handle customer service questions on inbound calls.

This ranking was earned by our talented managers and employees who deliver high quality services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."

"While this award recognizes our Account Managers and their commitment to providing clients with top-flight campaign management, it really is a reflection on our entire administrative team" said Charlton Chairman, John Dragisic. "Account management is a total team effort. Campaign programming, timely and accurate reporting, technical and IT reliability, precise order entry and a variety of other tasks all contribute to the comprehensive account management product. If any one of these falls short, we as a Company would fail to meet our clients' needs. By working together as a close-knit team, we more often than not exceed our clients' expectations."

Dragisic added, "The approach that works for us is to view our role as being on our clients' staff. We have a responsibility to hit whatever budget numbers and key performance measures established in their annual forecasts. Our mindset is that we have a seat at the table of their sales, marketing or customer service department, and that we have the responsibility to deliver results. Our company's mission statement is, 'Partnering To Connect Clients and Customers'. At Charlton, we take that to heart and live and breathe it every day".

For the one-year period ending October 2006, Charlton ranked number 13 in domestic outbound, number 18 in domestic inbound, and number 24 in global combined. (Last year, the company's rank was number 19 in domestic outbound, number 26 in domestic inbound, and number 27 in global combined.)

On receiving news of the new ranking, Chairman John Dragisic observed: "This ranking validates the tremendous growth that Charlton has been experiencing over the past few years. It is also a very positive statement as to the quality of our services and indicates a high level of client satisfaction, which is most important to our firm.

We consider our inbound and outbound business segments to be complementary. Charlton is a sales-driven company; our agents have been trained to sell on outbound calls, and to sell and to handle customer service questions on inbound calls. We are able to transfer agents from outbound to inbound, and vice-versa, thereby facilitating employment of a blended operational strategy.

This ranking would not have been possible without our many dedicated and talented employees who deliver high quality services to our clients day in and day out.”

The Comcast/360 CRM award recognizes achievement in the areas of sales technique, product knowledge, professionalism, listening skills, tele-personality and legal compliance.

"We are very excited to receive recognition that our Company-wide effort that is paying big dividends for our clients," said Charlton Chairman John Dragisic. "For years we’ve worked tirelessly to change the public’s perception of telemarketing by assuring a first-class customer experience. This ultimately benefits our clients by building good will through every customer contact, including sales and customer service. With millions of customer contacts on a yearly basis, we are uniquely positioned to positively affect the customers’ perception of their broadband provider.”

Dragisic continued, "Often, the Charlton agent is the first contact that customers have with our client. We understand the absolute necessity to start the client/customer relationship off on the best possible foot. Our agents and management staff have always demonstrated the highest commitment to quality. It’s wonderful to see Comcast acknowledge our agents’ day-in, day-out achievement."

The system will give clients real-time visibility into Charlton’s ACD, thereby allowing them to maintain full control over pre-routing and post-routing call decisions, and to achieve dynamic inter-center load balancing. It also will facilitate a more intelligent hand-off by extending the power of client routing engines to Charlton’s own call centers. As a result, it will appear as if both sides are on the same system and operating under the rules.

With these features, clients will be able to use their own technology investment to gain access to Charlton’s ACD. For example, clients that have Cisco Unified IP Contact Center Enterprise (formerly Cisco IPCC) and Cisco Unified Intelligent Contact Management Enterprise (formerly Cisco ICM and Geotel ICR) will use their Peripheral Gateway for connectivity to Charlton. Charlton will provide an open interface to enable the two systems to “talk the same language.”

Charlton furthermore will be able to integrate seamlessly with other Avaya systems and most other ACD systems as well. The platform will support industry-standard APIs used by every major ACD maker, thereby allowing interoperability with TSAPI, JTAPI, DLG and CMAPI. Most other ACD manufacturers have already developed and tested robust integrations with Avaya systems.

To implement this solution, Charlton’s clients must assume the following responsibilities:

• Purchase and implement a Cisco IPCC/UIPCC Enterprise or ICM/UICM Enterprise (or comparable solution), including Peripheral Gateway (or comparable interface) for Charlton’s Avaya ACD, including Professional Services (scripting, etc.) on the Cisco side.
• For other ACS, provide an alternative platform for integration with Avaya Communication Manager 3.1 running Call Center Elite 3.1 and Application Enablement Services Server 3.0.
• Specify the API requirements (type and quantity).

Charlton will provide the AES 3.0 platform, the API (CVLAN) licenses, and the Professional Services required on its end.

In commenting on the new technology, John Dragisic, Charlton Chairman, said: "Our team devoted a lot of time to developing a RFP and to reviewing the various proposals. We selected Avaya because it provided all of the features we need to provide top quality inbound services. Inasmuch as Charlton now derives 60% of its revenues from inbound operations, we believe the new technology will allow us to continue to grow and diversify our business."

Ms. Clark has served as Director of Human Resources for Charlton since 2001. She graduated from Amherst College (BA cum laude), and holds a JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also is active in the community, serving as Vice Chairperson of the Wisconsin Women’s Council, Board President of the Preschool of the Arts, and Board Secretary of the Highlands Neighborhood Association.

Upon hearing the announcement, John Dragisic, Chairman of Charlton, said: "Jane is a leader in our Company and in the community. She knows her field, and gets along with all parties. She also knows when and how to defend the Company’s interests, and how important it is to have progressive and inclusionary employee policies and procedures. It gives me great personal pleasure to see her accomplishments acknowledged.”

Mr. Payden has had an impressive career in inbound operations. Prior to joining Charlton, he served as Director of Customer Service with Comcast Cable in Seattle, WA, and executive positions with two top-ranked teleservices companies. He has a B.B.A from The University of Iowa.

In confirming the hiring, John Dragisic, President, said: "Our Strategic Plan called for us to generate 50% of our revenues from inbound clients by the year 2008. We are well along with this objective, and Jeff's drive and experience will allow us to deliver higher performance and quality to inbound clients. In addition, his personal philosophy and attention to detail align nicely with our own Core Values and Mission Statement. We are really excited to welcome Jeff to the Charlton team."

For the one-year period ending October 2005, Charlton ranked number 19 in domestic outbound, number 26 in domestic inbound, and number 27 in global combined. (Last year, the company's rank was number 19 in domestic outbound, number 41 in domestic inbound, and number 38 in global combined.)

On receiving news of the new ranking, President John Dragisic observed: "This ranking provides us with a positive and timely feedback regarding the performance and quality of our services.

While we expect inbound will play an increasing role in our business, we consider inbound and outbound segments to be complementary. Charlton is a sales-driven company; our agents have been trained to sell, both on inbound and outbound calls. In addition, our operating software makes it easy to transfer agents from outbound to inbound, and vice-versa, thereby facilitating employment of a blended operational strategy.

This ranking would not have been possible without our many employees who manage and deliver high quality services to our clients."

In announcing the realignment, John Dragisic commented, "We believe the promotions of Patrick Whaley and Robin Forstrom will better align our resources with opportunities present today in markets that we presently serve as well as those in which we would like to expand our presence.

Patrick Whaley's new title will be Director of Outbound Sales and Marketing. Pat's experience and approach have consistently provided the added value our customers seek from their teleservices partner. We believe this expanded area of responsibility will set the stage for continued growth of our firm within cable television.

Robin Forstrom will be assuming additional sales and service responsibilities as well, expanding beyond phone services to include all services offered by our firm. This becomes critical as the technology makes it possible to sell multiple services on every telephone call. Her new Title will be Director of Sales and Service.

Please join me in wishing these talented executives well."

On receiving news of the new ranking, President John Dragisic observed: "This ranking gives us particular pleasure. We only started to provide inbound services at the end of CY 2003, and, quite frankly, we were surprised that our volume was sufficient to break into the Top 50 List. It demonstrates that we are doing a pretty good job handling base line and overflow inbound sales calls.

We expect inbound will play an increasing role in our business, both because we want to diversify our book of work and because astute clients recognize that we are a logical choice for their inbound sales queue. We want to thank our inbound clients for this vote of confidence. We also want to recognize the many Charlton employees who put in extra hours to learn to learn how to deliver the same high quality services to which our outbound clients are accustomed."

President John Dragisic read the following citation at the award ceremony, which took place on March 9, 2005:

Customer Interaction Solutions magazine just published its most recent ranking of the Top 50 Outbound Teleservices Agencies. For the one-year period ending October 2004, the magazine ranked Charlton number nineteen, rising from number twenty-six the previous year. The ranking is determined by the number of outbound minutes each agency was billed by its long distance vendors.

On receiving news of the new ranking, President John Dragisic observed: "This ranking demonstrates that our clients like to work with telemarketing partners like Charlton who are able to deliver the highest quality services. We have worked hard to get to this point, and are looking forward to using our new technology to continue to improve our performance and quality."

John Dragisic, President, said: "We are excited with the Whitewater facility. It is a college community with extremely attractive demographics and motivated workforce. The center will open with an initial capacity of 72 workstations and 15 training stations, but it can be readily expanded to 170 workstations. We expect the new center to be up and running before the end of January 2005."

"We also selected a new contact management system for our business. The new platform, which will be fully installed by August 2005, will allow us to raise the quality of our inbound and outbound services. It is built on a VoIP platform, which will allow us to integrate contact operations in all three centers, and has a new digital recording system. Because inbound and outbound systems are so closely tied together, we will be able to provide an enhanced level of business services for our clients, and to offer a new variety of business metrics and insights."

"We really believe that our clients and employees will be delighted with the new facility and technology"

Charlton is pleased to announce that Tom Ottenweller has been named Director of Client Services.

Mr. Ottenweller comes to Charlton with a wealth of experience in cable television. His most recent position was Sales Manager for Comcast of Colorado. Tom previously had increasingly senior positions with Broadband Interactive, Ameritech New Media, TCI, and Group W Cable of Chicago. He received a B.A. degree from Western Illinois University in 1983.

John Dragisic, President, observed: "Tom's hiring will fill a real need in our organization. His first hand experience in cable sales and marketing will provide insight into the needs of our clients. We hope that he will use this to take our client services to the next level. Tom also shares our Company's passion for direct marketing. We thus take great pride in welcoming Tom to the Charlton team."

Customer Interaction Solutions magazine just published its most recent ranking of the Top 50 Outbound Teleservices Agencies. For the one-year period ending October 2003, Charlton ranked number twenty-six, rising from number twenty- nine the previous year. The ranking is determined by the number of outbound minutes each agency was billed by its long distance vendors.

On receiving news of the new ranking, President John Dragisic observed: "This ranking demonstrates that in this new regulatory environment, an increasing number of our clients seek out telemarketing partners like Charlton who deliver high quality services that meet or exceed regulatory standards. We continue to work hard to improve our performance and the quality of our services, and, in so doing, we add more value for our clients. We want our clients to know that they can count on Charlton to protect their interests, comply with industry regulations, and surpass their performance goals."

Charlton is pleased to announce Robin Forstrom has joined the Company as Director of Digital Phone Sales and Services.

Ms. Forstrom has had a distinguished impressive career in marketing and operations. Prior to joining Charlton, she served as Vice President-General Manager of Operations for Charter Communication's Greenville, SC, cable television franchise. Her experience includes a rapid rise in sales and marketing responsibilities for several cable companies in the Southeast Region. In addition, she is President of the Greater Southeast Cable Association and Membership Chairperson of the Carolina Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing. Ms. Forstrom graduated Cum Laude from Southwest Texas State University.

In discussing the hiring, John Dragisic, President, said: "Our Strategic Plan calls for development of telephony markets. Robin has the required drive and experience, and her personal philosophy and marketing approach align nicely with our own Core Values and Mission Statement. We are really excited by this newest addition to the Charlton team."

John Dragisic, President of Charlton, announced that the Company has upgraded its technology and systems to provide inbound calling services. Dragisic said, "We believe there is a ready market in our existing client base for inbound services. Our Agents are familiar with the products and services offered by our clients, and we already have connectivity to the third-party billing systems used in the cable, Internet, and telephony industries."

"Furthermore, recent changes in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act require sellers and telemarketers to deliver a prerecorded message when they do not deliver an outbound call to Agents within two seconds. The pre-recorded message must contain only the seller's name, telephone number and notification that the call is for "telemarketing purposes." The regulations also require the telephone number stated in the message be one that a consumer can use during normal business hours to ask not to be called again. With its new inbound service, Charlton will be able to answer those calls on behalf of its clients."

"We want our clients and colleagues to know that they can count on Charlton to provide the highest quality contact management services they need to run their business. We continue to adhere to our strategic plan, improving performance, the quality of our services, and diversifying the markets we serve. We want to thank our clients and colleagues for making this possible."

Customer Interaction Solutions magazine just published its most recent ranking of the Top 50 Outbound Teleservices Agencies. For the one-year priod ending October 2002, Charlton ranked number twenty nine, rising from number thirty four the previous year. The ranking is determined by the number of outbound minutes each agency was billed by its long distance vendors.

John Dragisic, President, was delighted with the news: "This ranking demonstrates that our clients continue to choose telemarketing partners who deliver high quality services. We continue to run our business in accordance with our strategic plan, improving performance, the quality of our services, and the diversification of the markets we serve. We also have invested considerable effort to ensure we comply with all regulatory and legal requirements, including the new Telemarketing Sales Rule recently adopted by the Federal Trade Commission. We want our clients and colleagues to know that they can count on Charlton to protect their interests and to meet their performance goals."

John Dragisic, President of Charlton, announced the promotion of Michael Adams to Director of Information Systems. Dragisic said: "Mike Adams' title has changed to Director of Information Systems. Mike assumed responsibilities for the Information Systems Department on an interim basis in September. Since that time, his performance has been exemplary and impressive. Mike always has been willing to do whatever it takes to get each assignment done on time and under budget. He is a great team player and coach, especially for those colleagues who are not technically savvy. He is bright and aggressive, and not afraid to ask for help when he does not have all of the answers. He also has built an impressive team. In short, he is a great asset for Charlton. I am sure you will join me in congratulating Mike, and doing whatever you can to assist him in his new responsibilities."

Charlton is pleased to announce Jeff Yozamp has been promoted to Director of Operations.

In announcing the changes, John Dragisic, President, said: "We are especially pleased to be associated with highly-qualified executives, particularly at a time when the telemarketing industry is poised to play an even larger role in how American corporations connect with their customers."

Jeff Yozamp has been with Charlton as Operations Manager Eau Claire since 1998. For the previous 15 years, he was employed by Foot Locker Corporation, the last seven as District Manager. He has a degree in Business Management and Economics from the University of Minnesota-Morris.

The other principal officers of the Company include:

• Michael Adams, Director of Information Systems
• Mick Bennett, Director of Compliance and Process
• Jane Clark, Director of Human Resources
• Janet Ingold, Chief Financial Officer
• Todd Miller, Director of Programming

Customer Interaction Solutions magazine just published its most recent ranking of the Top 50 Outbound Teleservices Agencies. For the one-year period ending October 2001, Charlton ranked number thirty four, rising from number forty-two the previous year. The ranking is determined by the number of outbound minutes each agency was billed by its long distance vendors.

John Dragisic, President, was delighted with the news: "This ranking demonstrates that our clients like the high quality services we provide. We embrace growth because it provides career improvement opportunities for our staff, but growth for its own sake is not our highest priority. We continue to run our business in accordance with our strategic plan, improving performance, the quality of our services, and the diversification of the markets we serve. We want to thank our clients and colleagues for allowing us to climb up the ranking."

Charlton was added to the list of Dane County's "Next 100 Area Companies" by Greater Madison In Business magazine, ranked as the 196th largest company. The ranking is determined by each company's previous year's revenues. The magazine also ranked Charlton fifth in revenue growth rate.

"We have over 900 employees in the State of Wisconsin, and much of the credit should be attributed to their effort on behalf of and dedication to our clients," said John Dragisic, President of Charlton. "Our company seeks to provide a positive and fulfilling work environment, and offers an excellent benefit program. We set our compensation levels to attract employees who are interested in a stable and rewarding career path. We consider this ranking as further indication that we are on the right track."

Charlton announces its latest expansion and improvement in its technology. The firm successfully completed expansion of its Eau Claire performance center, adding 34 workstations, bringing its company-wide total to 241. Charlton also installed the latest release of its predictive dialer software, setting the stage to add new digital recorders and improve the quality of its remote client monitoring services.

"Our IT staff prepared well for this undertaking," commented John Dragisic, Charlton President. "Over a three-day period, they installed new stations, changed operating system software, and provided for future improvements in technology. Each phase was completed on time and under budget. This most recent expansion will permit us to continue to meet the growing needs of our ever larger list of clients."

With over 900 employees and a Fortune 100 client base, Charlton is committed to continuous improvements in the quality and effectiveness of its telemarketing services.

Charlton announces another capacity expansion. The company successfully completed expansion of its Eau Claire and Monroe performance centers, adding 47 workstations and raising its overall capacity from 160 workstations to 207 workstations.

John Dragisic, Charlton's President, said "Our Information Systems colleagues did a tremendous job over a three-day period to complete a most complicated expansion and renovation program. Not only did they complete each portion on schedule, they did it without losing a billable hour. Our sales plan calls for a series of incremental market penetrations. This latest expansion and renovation will allow us to continue to meet the needs of our new and existing clients."

Charlton is pleased to announce its name has been added to the prestigious list of Top 50 Outbound Teleservices Agencies, prepared each year by Customer Interaction Solutions magazine. Ranked number forty-two for the one-year period ending October 2000, the company was not listed last year. The ranking is determined by the number of outbound minutes each agency was billed by its long distance vendors.

John Dragisic, President, was delighted with the news: "This ranking is further indication that we are on the right track. While growth for its own sake is not our highest priority, it is very positive feedback. We are running our business in accordance with our strategic plan, and are diversifying our clientele, both by market and within markets. We want to thank both our clients and colleagues for making the ranking possible."