Lunch, Learn, and Laugh

By Amy Oldham
April 12, 2023

This blog’s title perfectly summarizes the 2023 edition of the TeleLink User Group Meeting (TUGM)! We have the most amazing customers in the world, and there’s nothing better than getting to be with them in person for the user group. And that’s exactly what we did last week in Nashville. What a great time to catch up with veteran attendees and introduce many newcomers to this annual revenue assurance, reporting, and mediation educational event.

We welcomed the first delegate to the conference on Tuesday, April 4th at the beautiful Music City Center. Before Equinox CEO and founder Byron Middendorf shared the conference’s opening remarks, we had breakfast. It’s more than a meal for us...we relish the opportunity to sit at a table and catch up on each other’s lives—our children, parents, hobbies, vacations, and what we’ve been doing since we last saw each other. It’s a great time to reminisce, laugh, and incorporate first-time attendees into the Equinox family.

This year’s group included representatives from many different sectors of telecom and service providers located all over the US. A large percentage of repeat attendees were joined by other delegates from their organization who had not previously participated in one of our user groups. The Equinox team was well represented, with stakeholders from every division of the company in attendance. As has become tradition, we captured a group photo and documented the event’s highlights in a photo gallery you can view.

We are thrilled for the amazing turnout at TUGM 2023

The day kicked off with great conversations at breakfast

Byron loves meeting customers in person during the conference

Byron provides opening remarks for the conference

The agenda was designed to elicit questions and discussion throughout

Amy thanks Ernest for the exceptional support he provides all customers

Equinox is delighted to have SOMOS participate this year

Everyone loved having EIS developers at the TUGM to answer questions

Christi talks with Stacey and Amber before training

Education is an important aspect of the user group

David is a great emcee for TUGM and always enjoys talking with customers

Equinox loves the opportunity to interact with customers at TUGM

We had a great turnout for bowling at Pinewood Social

Every lane was in use at the networking dinner

Rich (far right) graciously shared a case study during TUGM

Simeon and Chris helped keep score at the alley

It was wonderful to have Jeff and Chris join us this year

Stakeholders from every Equinox department are on hand for TUGM

TUGM allows customers to meet every member of the Equinox team

TeleLink expert Eric fielded questions as he led sessions

We are grateful to Midco for sharing their OM insights with the group

Many thanks to Randy for sparking discussion throughout the event

We can't wait to see you again next year!

This year’s agenda focused on the all-new TeleLink 11 platform, with multiple speakers from the sales, support, training, and development teams facilitating sessions. Their topics were designed to build on each other, starting with the foundational aspects of TeleLink 11, explaining the behind-the-scenes functionality, demonstrating the blazing fast new interface and improved user experience, and providing practical and best practice applications for the newest product innovations. The interactions and discussion during every presentation really underscored the topics’ usefulness and benefit. The agenda reserved time for other industry experts as well. A special thanks to Rich Ashenfelter for providing a case study, along with Andi Livingston, Patrick Miller, and Bob McGrath for sharing their experiences on a customer panel. We also appreciate SOMOS representatives Ryan Karnas and Daniyal Khan for their contributions and comments during the entire event as well.

After Tuesday’s educational sessions wrapped, we headed out for a networking dinner at Pinewood Social. The TUGM contingent took over the six-lane vintage reclaimed bowling alley (from the Bowl O’Rama in Indiana). With perfect weather, delicious food, lively conversation, and the bonds of friendship strengthened, the evening was amazing indeed!

By customer request, we prepared for TUGM with an introductory TeleLink webinar before the meeting in Nashville. If you missed it or need to share it with your teammates, catch the recording of the March 21 ‘TeleLink 101: System Overview and Introduction’ training at: www.equinoxis.com/login.php. Look under the TeleLink Training Videos heading. On that same website, you can access the new TeleLink 11 documentation and tutorials. As always, if you need help, please:

Email Support@Equinoxis.com with questions, compliments, or issues. You can also reach them by calling (615) 612-1225 Monday-Friday from 7:30 to 5:00 (Central).
Schedule individualized online training or a system review by contacting Training@Equinoxis.com.

A heartfelt thanks to every customer and employee whose questions, comments, and wish list suggestions contributed to the conference’s success and enlightened the Equinox team. We’ve already begun planning for TUGM 2024 and can’t wait to see you at that one! Expect a save-the-date announcement this fall, and in the meantime, we’d love to see you for the Protector User Group Meeting this fall (September 11-12, 2023).

About the Author

Amy Oldham is the Director, Corporate Communications at Equinox Information Systems, where she creates and maintains the company’s technical documentation and all other customer-facing publications. Amy is also responsible for the company’s newsletter, email campaigns, press releases, and social media presence. When not writing, Amy enjoys spending time with her family, playing tennis, attending Dave Matthews Band concerts, and swimming.
To learn more about Equinox, its products, and staff, visit www.equinoxis.com or call (615) 612-1200.