ICYMI: Volli Employee Spotlight: Ray Howe, Technical Coordinator

Volli Employee Spotlight

Ray Howe ( Technical Coordinator)

Note from Travis:?

I couldn’t have thought of a better human to be our first employee spotlight at Volli.?Ray is a lightning rod for us at the office.?What’s great about Volli is that each piece of this puzzle is crucial and just like a puzzle; without that piece the entire picture would be incomplete.?Ray is also my Hockey buddy as you are about to find out!

– Before working at Volli what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had?

The most unusual and interesting job had to be when I joined the US Navy in November of 82.?November of 83 I reported to the USS Hyman G Rickover (SSN-709) and started my adventure as a Sonar Tech on Fast-Attack Submarines for the next 9 years.?I deployed to the Mediterranean Sea for 5 months and went “up north” to the Ice for 3 months during my time.?Fantastic job and really enjoyed it.?

– How did you first learn about the team at Volli?

Well, simply, Laurie my wife offered me a job here.?She had just been hired the day before as the porting/billing person and John was looking to hire me on as the one and only tech so that he could launch his new company.?So, officially I was the 3rd hire in the creation of this company.

– How do you balance your career at Volli and family?

I take this very seriously.?When it is time to go home, I do not look for work before I go.?Now, if something is breaking that is affecting customers, then yes, that must have priority.?But, if everything is working fine, and all I have is project work, that waits.??

– How has Volli helped you in your career development?

The biggest thing is allowing me to grow into my job over the past 12 years.?I had worked dial-up internet for many years and started with SIP and VOIP in its infancy.?There were plenty of mistakes and plenty of changes made during this time as both the internet and the sip/voip products and procedures changed and advanced.?Keeping up with all the changes has been challenging and at times very stressful.?Volli has allowed me the time and the tools to make sure that we could keep up with the changes as they occurred.?I like that very much.?

Also, now with our relationship with Fortinet, I am going through their training, and it is just outstanding.?

– What can we find you doing on the weekend to relax?

Attending Church on Sunday morning is a priority.?But, after that, it is wide open.?Working around the house is enjoyable, and after that it is just whatever Laurie and I want to do.??

– What has been your favorite project at Volli?

Getting Sips up and running and the improvements over the years and learning more and more about Sips and Digital Voice and what we are doing on our own, that has been my joy for all these years. Now working on our Fortinet Network Operations here at the office is my current most favorite thing going.??

– What is your favorite sport to watch??And why?

Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL)?and pretty much anything Hockey along with Formula 1 car racing.

Got turned onto the CBJ by influences from here and once I took Laurie to one game, we were hooked.?We have been Full Season Ticket Holders now for the last 3 years and watch constantly during the season.?If it is winter and we are home, there is a good chance Hockey is on TV.??

Formula 1 is just intriguing.?The technical aspects and the skill needed for everything involved is just at such a high level.?And to think that 20 cars go around a 3.1 mile long track with 21 turns and the separation of time among all 20 is less than 3 seconds is just incredible.?When you have to measure to a 1000th of a second that is just awesome.?

– What is the favorite part about working for Volli?

Has to be the people.?Yes, we are small, but we are mighty.?All of us are passionate about our jobs, yet we are all fiends as well.?We all are on the same page, and all understand where we are heading.?No campaigning, no politics. Just a very comfortable and exciting atmosphere.??

– What is your proudest moment at Volli?

Wow…?That is tough.?I look for little wins every day, I like that.?But the biggest most proud moment was probably the day that the Fortinet Voice Cloud project started working.?2 years of hard work by a lot of people both here and in Fortinet and now what we are doing with it and the excitement it is generating is just addicting.?I fully plan on us looking back in 5 years and just remembering all the issues and problems and how we overcame every obstacle to make the product that we have now.

– What is your favorite thing to do with your grandkids?

My most favorite thing is to show them how much I love them.?I am not around them as much as I wish, but I keep track of them and know what is going on.??

?– Do you have any pets?

Got one dog, Bret, he is an 11 year old Corgi/Terrier mix.?Imagine a corgi with a terrier tail.?That is pretty much him.?

We also have 4 older cats, Princess (13), Snowy (12) and Bonnie and Bella (11).?And our newest additions are 2 little 12-week-old kittens that are sisters, Jada and Jewlz.?