Reliable communications are the lifeblood of every business or organization. It’s such a part of our daily work life that we often don’t even think about it until something goes wrong. While we don’t mind being called “magicians” by our customers, that seamless communication doesn’t happen by magic. There are many people working behind the scenes to ensure your team has reliable, secure, working communication and collaboration tools that fit your specific business needs.
Even though we are a technology company, people still come first. We want to introduce you to some of the team members who work to make the communications part of your job easier.
Meet Linda Cutright. Linda is the Director of Business Development. She interfaces on your behalf through TelNet with providers like ATT and Frontier and our internal teams to make sure our network is fully optimized in order to deliver our services. Over the last 2 years, she has helped to spearhead the T1 Migration team tasked with helping customers who are on end-of-life services with phone companies migrate over to more modern solutions.
When did you start at TelNet?
“My first day was Oct 1, 1999. I was the first salesperson and had all of the back office duties. In my sales capacity, I did outbound sales calls (cold calling) and set up appointments with prospective customers for the sales manager. It humbled me – I had zero sales experience, but this is where I learned to appreciate everything that salespeople do to earn business and learned to appreciate every customer that I helped to bring on board.”
What does the T1 migration mean to you, TelNet, and our customers?
“I am passionate about building relationships and working directly with customers, sellers, and partners; it is very rewarding to see the impact that the T1 migration work has had on all of us – for myself, it has helped me grow and learn.“
“This need to migrate your phone system sounds fairly intimidating to many customers, but I always tell customers that they are in good hands, and it is important to continually reinforce this. In other words, we aren’t just interested in your experience in the beginning – we are here to support you, and you will be amazed at how freeing this technology switch is and may even save some money over the long term.”
Life isn’t all work and no play, Michigan offers us lots of ways to enjoy our free time. What is your favorite Michigan vacation spot?
“It’s a tough choice but Ludington, Michigan is my new favorite vacation spot – beautiful beaches; great/friendly town.”
You are known for going above and beyond for our customers. Your pies are still talked about over the water cooler. Can you share the story about how you became known for pies here at TelNet?
“During the time we were starting up the company, we wanted to find a way to show a new customer just how much we appreciated their business, and we thought – why not bake them a pie!
It was a hit – so many comments came back about this. I even made one for our Ameritech reps; I delivered it to them when they came and met with us about our interconnection.
10 years later, one of the members of that team told me that it was never forgotten. That they had never had an experience like that. That brought smiles to our faces.”
Would you share a pie recipe? Is it yours or maybe passed down from a family member?
“My grandmother, who immigrated to the US, was a great cook – she made everything from scratch. She was unfamiliar with American desserts, but she made an incredible Apple pie – a family favorite. I can’t really share her recipe because my grandmother never used a recipe, lol.
Here is one that I got from two different cookbooks that I have adapted with my own touches; my family likes it, and they say it comes close. 🙂
FYI – the secret is in the all-butter crust (from scratch), and the apples – I only use Golden Delicious.”
Linda’s Favorite Apple Pie Recipe
All Butter Pie Pastry
2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp table salt
1 tablespoon sugar
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), cold, cut into ½ “ cubes, and frozen for 10 minutes.
3 tablespoons sour cream
1/3 cup ice water
Process flour, salt, and sugar together in a food processor until combined. Add butter and pulse until butter is the size of large peas.
Using a fork, mix sour cream and 1/3 cup of ice water in a small bowl until combined. Add half of the sour cream mixture to the flour mixture and pulse for three 1-second pulses. Keep adding the liquid until the dough forms large clumps and no dry flour remains.
Turn dough out on a work surface. Divide dough into 2 balls and flatten each into a 4” disk; wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling.
Apple Pie Filling
4 – 5 lbs of Golden Delicious apples (about 10 medium) peeled, quartered, and cored.
1 tsp kosher salt
¼ cup flour
Zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
½ cup of granulated sugar
¼ cup of light brown sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon
½ tsp of nutmeg
2 tablespoons of cold butter – cut up
Method
Preheat the oven to 400. Place the rack in the center of the oven and preheat a baking sheet.
Put the cut apples in a large bowl. Mix the flour, salt, spices, and lemon juice in a small bowl – add it to the bowl of apples and mix.
Remove one pastry disc from the refrigerator and roll it out between plastic wrap or parchment paper to a 12-inch circle: about 1/8” thick. Drape it over a 9 or 10” pie pan. Press it down; don’t stretch the dough. (If your kitchen is warm – put the pie pan back in the fridge while you roll out the second disc.).
Fill the pie with the apple mixture – taste it to ensure you like the sweetness or spice, and adjust if needed. Dot the top of the apples with butter. Top with the second crust and trim the edges.
Brush the top of the pie with an egg wash; sprinkle with sugar. Cut four or five slits.
Place the pie on the preheated sheet pan and bake for 1 to 1 ¼ hour, or until the crust is brown. Check this after the first 30 minutes and cover with foil if it is browning too fast.
Thanks to Linda for sharing some behind-the-scenes info and her recipe just in time for apple picking season. We are more than cables, cords, and clouds. We believe in the power of connection (and yes, maybe pies and snacks too!) Get to know more about TelNet Worldwide and our work culture. But most of all, we’re proud of the work we do because, at the end of the day, we’re leaving the world a bit more connected than it was before.
