PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT--CSD Nominated For Global Call Center Of The Year Award

From: CSD - Aug 30, 2004

PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT
Release date: August 30, 2004
Contact: Erin Casler, CSD Public Relations Department
ecasler@c-s-d.org
(605) 367-5761

CSD NOMINATED FOR GLOBAL CALL CENTER OF THE YEAR AWARD

SIOUX FALLS (August 30, 2004)— The Society of Workforce Planning Professionals (SWPP) has nominated CSD for the Call Center of the Year Award, which will be presented on Tuesday, Sept. 14 in Seattle at the Annual Call Center Exhibition (ACCE).

"The SWPP Board of Advisors was very impressed with the accomplishments of CSD and its operations in general. We felt that CSD's passion for its mission to the deaf and hard of hearing community has distinguished it from other call center providers, and we are proud that CSD is a part of our organization," said Vicki Herrell, executive director of SWPP.

CSD, as well as eight other call centers, will receive a Call Center of the Year Award. The nine winning call centers are sponsored by six international associations. The other attending winners are from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The sponsors of this award include Incoming Call Management Institute (ICMI), CMP Media and ACCE.

As part of the awards ceremony, ACCE will be showing a musical montage of footage submitted by all the nominated organizations. CSD submitted 20 minutes of footage shot at several of its centers nationwide; footage included interviews with Communication Assistants (CAs), Customer Service Representatives (CSRs), Video Relay Interpreters (VRIs), as well as members of senior management.

"We have 20 CSD call centers across the country that fulfills a wide spectrum of communication needs; CSD's call centers are composed of three divisions that work in concert to serve a singular purpose—enabling communication and at the end of the day helping the deaf and hard of hearing community. We would not be receiving this accolade if not for the dedication of our employees in the call centers," said Benjamin Soukup, chief executive officer of CSD.

About CSD – CSD (also known as Communication Service for the Deaf, Inc.) was established in 1975, primarily to provide sign language interpreting services to deaf and hard of hearing adults in South Dakota. Today, CSD employs over 3,000 individuals in offices across the nation, providing a broad continuum of social and human services programs, as well as telecommunications relay services. CSD is a private nonprofit agency dedicated to providing quality services; ensuring public accessibility; and increasing awareness of issues affecting the deaf, hard of hearing and individuals with speech disabilities. For more information, please visit www.c-s-d.org.

About SWPP - The Society of Workforce Planning Professionals (SWPP) is an organization devoted to facilitating education and networking opportunities among workforce planners across all industries. Membership in SWPP is available to all workforce planning professionals and other interested parties from consulting and vendor organizations. Both individual memberships and corporate membership options are available, with full benefits and costs outlined on the organization's website at www.swpp.org.

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