Representing the best of SONIFI
Meet the Signature Award winners
Each year, SONIFI Solutions, Inc. recognizes the best qualities among employees with our Signature Awards. Anyone in the company can nominate an employee with outstanding contributions to supporting our customers and each other.
There are six awards that represent a commitment to the company’s values, celebrating both the small and significant things employees do every day to reflect who SONIFI is and what we believe in.
Here are the winners of SONIFI’s 2023 Signature Awards:
Todd Frankenhoff
Senior Director of Sales Engineering
Winner of the Challenge & Curiosity Award
for unwavering dedication to learning, problem solving, improving, evolving, exploring new ideas, and always asking what else is possible
“I started at SONIFI in 1998 to implement products in engineering,” Todd says. “My whole life, I’ve been drawn to architecture, and engineering, and economics; I was a business and accounting major, but I’ve also always liked TVs and tinkering with technology, and I get to use it all in my sales engineering role now.
“Our team understands the technical side plus the customer side, and we see things from multiple angles. We’re able to talk with hotels about what solutions can best fit their needs, and also consult with SONIFI’s product development for where we could go next.
“That’s what’s exciting, seeing people take ideas and make them work. I’ve been here so many years, I’ve gotten to see how technology and the industries we serve progress, and influence where we go from here. Even if we don’t know exactly what new things will look like in our future, that potential of what could be drives all of us.
“It’s special at SONIFI, having the right people with the right mindset and knowledge and commitment to forward-thinking ideas. We’re always thinking of what we can do today, and what could be next—that’s what keeps me here, and keeps me going.”
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Award nomination excerpts from James Kindopp, Senior Sales Engineer:
Todd is a true team player not just for our sales engineering team, but for SONIFI as a whole. He is constantly learning and sharing insights about new advances in technology, all the technical aspects of SONIFI products, and the needs of both hospitality and healthcare segments.
He consults on product development, explains features to customers in a way they understand, supports our team with unwavering dedication, and offers his expertise in making sure we’re proposing the best solutions for our customers.
Todd consistently goes above and beyond his role to answer customer questions and help identify the best way to overcome challenges.
Again and again, he steps up to do what needs to be done—even if it falls outside of his normal job responsibilities, from volunteering to help purchase and install new technology for our corporate office, to assisting other teams at the company in testing out new products and processes.
Todd makes sure he, our team, and our company are always putting the best foot forward and finding innovative answers to difficult technical questions.
Troy Hofer
Implementation Services Director
Winner of the Collaboration Award
for demonstrating leadership in creating environments that celebrate creative ideas, communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and collective success
Nomination excerpts from Joan Jackson, Senior Salesforce Engineer:
We recently had a large company project to link our CRM system with our ERP system to help streamline processes for deployment managers overseeing installation projects for our customers.
Troy Hofer’s contributions to the success of this project cannot be overstated.
Troy helped the team understand how deployment managers use the systems and what crucial functionality the integration must include. His input allowed us to write detailed requirements and design new functionality that allowed the systems to talk to each other.
After collaborating on design decisions, Troy then spent many hours testing each piece of the new interfaces multiple times to make sure they not only work correctly, but also give users in both systems the best experience.
With the excellent and invaluable perspectives Troy brought as a critical member of the project team, the integration of the two systems has successfully gone live throughout SONIFI. Troy also provided detailed training for deployment managers so they could all benefit from the new features.
Troy’s dedication to the success of SONIFI makes him a consistently great resource and valuable partner to teams throughout our company.
Reed McBrayer
Network Architect
Winner of the Customer Enrichment Award
for enhancing customer interactions and employee experiences, improving satisfaction, and continually exceeding expectations
“SONIFI revolves around making our customers happy, and the growth of our internet services is a big part of that,” Reed says. “My role involves having a deep understanding of the technology in our internet networks, and exploring how they can be more efficient.
“My team continuously reviews our best practices guidelines to make sure they are up to industry and brand standards. We also create the training and automation post-testing with these technologies to make sure the onboarding and support continues to meet the needs of our customers. We strive very hard internally to build the learning network, experience, documentation, and tools to help our teams succeed at providing a great experience and making our customers successful.
“SONIFI’s network architecture team provides a unique experience in the field because we work with much more than just networking technology. We’re often also doing system administration, teaching, and computer automations. These things are an exciting learning experience that we can share with others and use to improve our customers’ guest internet experiences.”
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Award nomination excerpts from Patrick Regan, Senior Network Architect:
Reed shows extraordinary dedication to his work every day, but he went far above and beyond to help a particular hospitality customer with their internet services.
Reed spent weeks gathering data and troubleshooting with various other vendors to resolve issues the property was experiencing.
He asked all the right questions and learned about various parts of the solution, which in turn has helped improve our overall product offerings.
When remote troubleshooting was entirely exhausted, Reed hopped on a plane to meet with all the vendors involved on site at the property, and collaborated to find a resolution that works for everybody.
Reed’s months-long commitment to solving the issue for this customer is a shining example of living out the values of SONIFI.
Scott Petersen
Senior Product Manager
Winner of the Financial Star Award
for exceptional work and consistently reliable insights that positively impact SONIFI’s stewardship, business results, and financial performance
Nomination excerpts from Carey Feller, Senior Director of Strategic Accounts:
Scott is always looking for the most cost-effective way to do things. He is willing to dig into any situation, looking at it from all angles, and providing data analytics and reporting to our teams and clients.
Time and again, Scott quickly assesses costs associated with projects and communicates that to push for efficiencies from both internal and external resources.
He works tirelessly to reduce the manual time and effort required to keep certain products up-to-date with various upgrades and updates.
He recently collaborated with a hardware partner and global brand client to find solutions that make maintaining products easier and more streamlined for our staff—saving time and money—and ultimately reducing operating expenses.
Brian Keeble
Field Service Supervisor, Eastern Region
Winner of the Leadership Award
for actions and demeanor that inspire others with enthusiasm, motivation, and drive to build toward the success of others and SONIFI
Nomination excerpts from Curtis Potter, Vice President of Field Operations:
Brian Keeble is a caring leader and an advocate for our customers, setting an excellent example for others.
Brian works side-by-side with his team to provide training, support, and feedback. He also takes the time to explain how networks and equipment work, including training installation partners and on-site staff he works with on projects.
He is very engaged with both his colleagues and our SONIFI customers, building trust and providing an inclusive environment where everyone can excel.
Brian is a great listener and asks questions to better understand situations and information being shared; when issues arise, he takes a collaborative approach to problem-solving, while delegating and following up to achieve resolution.
Brian takes care of our customers, investing time to stay close to project progress and steer things in the right direction. When projects are completed, our customers are happy and have nothing but great things to say about Brian and his team.
Barry Hyronimus
Business Director of Architecture & Systems Operations
Winner of the SONIFI Champion Award
for being a fierce supporter and passionate advocate of SONIFI by helping colleagues, customers, and our company succeed
Nomination excerpts from Bill Murphy, Systems Administrator:
Barry’s ability to motivate and inspire others—with a clear vision, strong work ethic, and genuine dedication to SONIFI’s goals—has helped us achieve remarkable results.
He stays up-to-date with the latest technology advancements and has a deep understanding of relevant technologies. This insight allows us to stay agile and resilient in an ever-evolving market. And we’re able to leverage his expertise to drive innovation that improves our products, services, processes, efficiency, and productivity—while maintaining the highest standards of quality.
His guidance in implementing new technologies has transformed our operations, and his unwavering commitment to excellence has earned him respect and admiration.
Barry prioritizes understanding our customers and their needs. He analyzes complex situations, identifies key priorities, and formulates well-thought-out strategies. He then sets clear goals and provides guidance and support for our team to accomplish them.
Barry fosters a cooperative and inclusive work environment, valuing teamwork, communication, trust, new perspectives, growth and development, and strong relationships.
A forward-thinking mindset, technological expertise, and exceptional leadership make Barry an invaluable asset to our organization, and our continued drive toward innovation and excellence.