Usherwood Helps Two School Districts Reopen Safely with Odyssey Defender Temperature Kiosks COVID-19 has posed many obstacles for the reopening of educational institutions in 2020. In hopes of creating a safer work environment for teachers and students, schools have begun to implement strict health protocols. Many schools are participating in a hybrid learning model; some students participate in virtual learning and others participate in in-person learning, face masks must always be worn, and there are regularly scheduled cleanings and enhanced disinfection methods. For those schools who are requiring that students and faculty go into the building, it is important they are making it as safe as possible. For that reason, Usherwood released a solution that can help prevent fever-like symptoms from going undetected in your building. As a member of our greater community, it is essential that we make sure our clients are equipped with the safest, newest, and most secure technology always. For this reason, when the world came to the realization that COVID-19 would be an enduring pandemic, Usherwood’s team worked together to build a solution that can allow buildings to feel more comfortable with reopening and re-welcoming visitors. Usherwood’s Odyssey Defender can go in the front of a building to take the temperature anyone who enters via a contactless kiosk. People entering the building will be informed if their temperature is being recognized as normal or elevated. Elevated temperatures are a sign of fever which is a potential symptom of COVID-19. For this reason, using Odyssey Defender is a good preliminary tool to keep COVID-19 from spreading through your building. Usherwood was excited to have received the opportunity to install Odyssey Defender temperature kiosks inside two school districts, General Brown located in Dexter, NY and Carthage, in Carthage, NY. The install in the General Brown district included: (3) Brownville-Glen Park Elementary, (2) Dexter Elementary, (5) General Brown Jr/Sr High School The install for Carthage district included: (3) Black River Elementary, (3) Carthage Elementary, (3) West Carthage Elementary, (5) High School, (5) Middle School A Smooth Install and Simple Solution After working with General Brown and Carthage on the necessary naming, connectivity, and security information to preconfigure the solution, the install then took place. The install was as simple as going on site, unwrapping the kiosk, powering on, and testing to make sure everything was working properly. Kiosks were preconfigured in house so that they would just need to be plugged in and tested on site. No training was necessary for General Brown and Carthage to operate the kiosk but the Usherwood team scheduled some time to stay with the customers after the implementation to assure that the solution is operating as expected. Usherwood also wanted to make sure that the administrators were able to leverage the data in the portal, so that they were able to view real time data. Usherwood’s Experience Working with General Brown and Carthage was an amazing experience for Usherwood’s team. As an organization, Usherwood strives to provide continuous value to new and current clients. Having the ability to create a safer environment for General Brown and Carthage Schools was extremely rewarding. Usherwood looks forward to continue providing these districts with valuable solutions and to aid the community during this global pandemic. To learn more about our Odyssey Defender solution click here!

It is our pleasure to announce Jessica Brown as our Billing Coordinator to the Usherwood team! Jessica will be responsible for billing of equipment orders and service contracts. Jessica comes to Usherwood from Syracuse Haulers Waste Removal, where she was the Roll-Off Billing Coordinator for 7 years. Jessica attended Houghton College where she received her Bachelors of Science in Business Administration. In her spare time, Jessica enjoys swimming, reading, movies, hiking, and hanging out with her husband Adam and dog Jojo.

Lauren Usherwood Earns SCHRM-CP Credentials Congratulations Lauren Usherwood, Director of Human Resources at Usherwood Office Technology. Lauren has earned her certification in SHRM-CP credentials and is now a recognized expert and leader in the HR field. We are so proud of Lauren’s success and continued enthusiasm to build her skill-set and knowledge base, separating herself from others in her profession. We look forward to what Lauren will achieve next!

Penny Exton has completed and passed the 2020 ATSP Specialist Certification from Canon and is now certified! The Association of Technical Service Professionals (ATSP) prepares service personnel to perform at a high level when interacting with customers and when providing service and support on Canon Business Imaging Systems Group products. ATSP helps prepare Canon service personnel to work effectively to reduce unnecessary service expense while maintaining satisfied customers. Congratulations to Penny on earning this achievement! In an ever-changing IT industry, the skills IT professionals need to do their job well are constantly evolving. To maintain the best client support, we at Usherwood invest in our employees to get these certifications to keep our organization at the top of our game. Adding certifications to our business is a critical component of our success.

Mike Glowacki has completed and passed the 2020 ATSP Specialist Certification from Canon and is now certified! The Association of Technical Service Professionals (ATSP) prepares service personnel to perform at a high level when interacting with customers and whenproviding service and support on Canon Business Imaging Systems Group products. ATSP helps prepare Canon service personnel to work effectively to reduce unnecessary service expense while maintaining satisfied customers. Congratulations to Mike on earning this achievement! In an ever-changing IT industry, the skills IT professionals need to do their job well are constantly evolving. To maintain the best client support, we at Usherwood invest in our employees to get these certifications to keep our organization at the top of our game. Adding certifications to our business is a critical component of our success.

Norm LaFever has completed and passed the 2020 ATSP Specialist Certification from Canon and is now certified! The Association of Technical Service Professionals (ATSP) prepares service personnel to perform at a high level when interacting with customers and when providing service and support on Canon Business Imaging Systems Group products. ATSP helps prepare Canon service personnel to work effectively to reduce unnecessary service expense while maintaining satisfied customers. Congratulations to Norm on earning this achievement! In an ever-changing IT industry, the skills IT professionals need to do their job well are constantly evolving. To maintain the best client support, we at Usherwood invest in our employees to get these certifications to keep our organization at the top of our game. Adding certifications to our business is a critical component of our success.

We are proud to announce the 10th anniversary of Jennifer Perrault as Print Specialist at Usherwood’s Managed Services client, The College of Saint Rose. In her 10 years with Usherwood, Jennifer has demonstrated quality of work, loyalty and a strong work ethic. Please join us in congratulating Jennifer on this outstanding achievement.

Please join us in congratulating Carolyn Slocum in her retirement from Usherwood Office Technology. Carolyn, has worked with Usherwood for over 10 years and has been instrumental in our facilities management deployment at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. “Carolyn brought experience to Usherwood and her expertise in the field of managed service and knowledge of the United States Postal Service allowed Usherwood opportunities that would not have existed without her,” says company President, Lou Usherwood. “She has been a catalyst to our growth for the past 10 years,” he added. In recognition of Carolyn’s efforts, Usherwood has retired her jersey as is tradition. She is the first member of our Albany team to receive such an honor and we want to wish Carolyn the best in health and happiness for the future.

Thank you for your many years of loyalty and professionalism representing this company towards our clients. Congratulations on your 5 year milestone! We are proud to have you on our growing and winning team.

It is with great pleasure that we announce the five year anniversary of our Vice President of Sales, Ken Stinson! Ken started with Usherwood in the first week of July 2015 and our company has consistently grown to new levels under his direction and leadership. During his tenure at Usherwood, Ken has mentored the sales teams towards incredible success that has more than doubled sales revenues. “Ken’s professionalism and leadership keep him on the top of his game. He is intelligent, well thought out, and brings an element to Usherwood that has augmented our growth and future abilities,” says company President, Lou Usherwood. Ken is a key member of Usherwood’s Leadership Team and in that capacity, has a large impact on the performance of the company. Usherwood adds, “Ken exudes a confidence that is very rare in our industry and has the ability to instill courage and bravery in our sales team. Hiring Ken has been a game changer for Usherwood Office Technology.” Congratulations, Ken, on this incredible achievement.