February 2011 Newsletter
2011 Quadax Partners Dinner
On the characteristically cold evening of January thirteenth, there was a warm celebration of another successful year for Quadax and of a few of the people who have made that success possible. This was the eleventh annual Partners' Dinner, attended by Quadax executives, Partners, and selected guests, including Tom Kish, recently retired from his position as CEO, EDI Services.
Tom Kish has been particularly proud of the part he played in championing the development of the Partner program, which commends those employees performing at an exemplary level and meeting certain eligibility criteria that include, among other factors, years of service and contributions to the company's profitability. So it was fitting that this first Partner event following his retirement featured a tribute to Tom noting the innovations identified with him and a litany of individuals who have been part of the shared history of Tom Kish and Quadax.
Quadax history has been marked by continual growth: our client base, our product offerings, our geographic scope have all expanded. Our most important corporate attribute, however, continues to be the dedicated people that comprise the Quadax family. Twenty years ago, the family was much smaller than the now more than 500 individuals working to further our mission.
It was twenty years ago that Chuck Parker and Linda Millheim joined the Quadax family. Chuck has been and continues to be an integral part of processing and development, while Linda manages the client support teams that serve the southern Ohio region and stretch into Kentucky and Indiana. It is a pleasure to honor Chuck and Linda for their milestone anniversaries with the company.
It’s been thirty years since Hank Termeer joined the Quadax family after leaving Ohio Medicaid (they haven’t been the same since). While honoring Hank for his anniversary and his achievements, John Leskiw (President) noted that Hank has become synonymous with EDI and we are all grateful for the excellence with which he serves the company and our clients.
Together, Hank, Linda, and Chuck anchor the Columbus office, but there is hardly any corner of the organization that is not impacted by their dedication and creativity. Each of them represents the best aspects of a Partner in Quadax terms, going “above and beyond” in everything they do.
This year, two additional individuals have joined the ranks of Quadax Partners: Bob Dickson and Mike Daugstrup.
Bob Dickson, a manager in our Network Services group, has handled critical infrastructure projects effectively and efficiently for eleven years. Gene Calai (Vice President) officially welcomed Bob to partnership, noting “weekend and off-hours projects are commonplace to Bob, as are his travels between our many offices and the Expedient datacenter, making sure equipment remains functional.” Gene cited our laptop encryption project as one example of the many high-profile, low-recognition projects Bob typically manages. Handling everything from wiring to workstation configuration to software license compliance, there’s no doubt about it: “Bob keeps us working.”
Bob Dickson
Mike Daugstrup currently oversees a network of Account Representatives, Account Managers, and Regional Account Managers who directly support our EDI client base. In his role as Senior Manager, Service, he is building on the foundation he built in his previous role heading the Xpeditor Implementation Team (XIT), when he brought to life the vision Tony Petras had to standardize and improve the many processes involved in implementing new Xpeditor accounts. In his remarks officially welcoming Mike to partnership, Tony Petras (Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, EDI Services) said, “Mike engineered systems and methods that provided clear and effective communication to all levels. His ‘installation board’ became the impetus for a significantly improved revenue forecast, as the deadlines he established for key benchmarks were met, time-after-time.” Since assuming leadership of the support organization, Mike has developed new reporting methodologies that are producing dividends in the form of accountability, revenue production, and most importantly, responsiveness to customer needs.
Mike Daugstrup
Another highlight of this annual event is applauding those individuals whose contributions during the prior year made a particularly significant impact. Receiving special recognition for outstanding effort in 2010 were Phil Conard and Chuck Parker.
While Phil Conard (Vice President) ably and admirably manages many vital processes each and every day, it was his calm yet extraordinary leadership in the face of a series of unfortunate events that earned him particular honor this year. Phil’s diligent research and decisive action to establish priorities and muster forces from multiple teams provided the means to mitigate harm and formulate cost-effective solutions to minimize future risk in two important areas of business.
Chuck Parker (Systems Manager), who, as noted earlier, has just celebrated twenty years with Quadax, has seen many industry changes through the years, and with them, many systems come and go. But our core mainframe system for claim processing long seemed immovable. Chuck took on the project to reengineer the process, streamlining and improving operations all along the way. The effort required to effect these changes was monumental, but our enhanced capabilities will reap rewards for years to come.
“Change” remains the key word in this industry and our marketplace, and continued success will hinge on our ability to adapt, ahead of the curve, to many challenges ahead. While the complexity must not be minimized, the strength of our innovation and dedication, based on that displayed by the people commended at this event, cannot be overstated. This, then, can be our confidence and our continued motivation toward achievement of the goals set before us in the coming year, for the benefit of our clients and our own Quadax family.