contact centers were named finalists and asked tocompete at the conference the first week in June in Toronto

contact centers were named finalists and asked tocompete at the conference the first week in June in Toronto, Canada.Based oncombined scores from a panel of judges and conference delegate votes, ACCENT’sNew Albany contact center received the bronze medal for Best Contact Center,250 agents or more, in the Americas.Accepting the award on the center’sbehalf was general manager, Brett Arnold, who also shared the center’s bestpractices with conference delegates. Additionally, ACCENT New Albany programmanager, Carol Larson, was awarded the bronze medal for Best Supervisor afterher presentation, and Cindy Hicks, a people services manager at ACCENT’sFarmington, Mo. location, was named Runner Up for Best HR Support Professionalin the Americas.Though not asked to present at the conference, ACCENT’s Farmington contactcenter was highly commended by Contact Center World in several categoriesincluding Best Contact Center, 250 agents or more; Best Community Spirit; andBest Customer Service Agent honoring three-year employee Donna Plummer, whohas since been promoted to a trainer.”This is indeed a great honor for ACCENT,” said Kevin Foley, ACCENT’spresident and CEO. Through ACCENT’s suite of data analytics, direct marketing, contactmanagement, and fulfillment services the company delivers high quality,integrated marketing solutions that grow valuable client and customerrelationships.Founded in 1993 and owned by MDC Partners, Inc., ACCENTemploys more than 3,000 people in 10 U.S.

ARLINGTON, Va., June 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American TruckingAssociations (ATA) applauds the leaders of the U.S. House Transportation andInfrastructure Committee and its Highways and Transit Subcommittee for itsdraft of a comprehensive transportation and infrastructure plan for thefuture.”This proposal sends a strong signal that reform and expansion of the federaltransportation program is essential. Timely authorization of the bill iscritical to ensure continuity of funding for important highway infrastructureprojects,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves.The Surface Transportation Authorization Act (STAA) embraces many of ATA’spriorities. It requires recipients of federal funds to meet performancestandards related to safety, infrastructure condition, congestion reductionand emissions, and recognizes the economic role of freight transportation byestablishing a Freight Improvement Program that dedicates money to theNational Highway System (NHS). The bill includes new programs which couldaddress highway freight bottlenecks identified by ATA as significant barriersto freight mobility and emphasizes maintenance of NHS highways and bridges.ATA commends the Committee for recognizing that tolling and public-privatepartnerships should be utilized responsibly. ATA is concerned about theproposal to expand congestion pricing and cautions against redirecting moneyfrom highways to fund non-highway projects.

The nation depends on highways formobility, and 80 percent of communities rely exclusively on highways for theirfreight needs. Further diversion of Highway Trust Fund revenue to non-highwayprojects cannot be justified.ATA looks forward to working with the Committee to identify tools necessaryfor states to meet emissions and carbon reduction targets. “We believe thatsignificant environmental progress can be made by enacting a national 65 mphspeed limit for all vehicles and governing the speed of all heavy-duty trucksat 65 mph,” said Graves. “Also, allowing the safe operation of moreproductive, environmentally friendly trucks will go a long way to reducecarbon emissions.”ATA strongly supports many improvements to federal motor carrier safetyprogram, including a national clearinghouse for drug and alcohol test results;funding for state employer notification systems that meet federal standards;creation of a safety proficiency exam for new carriers entering the industry;the creation of a national registry of certified medical examiners; newpenalties for States without primary safety belt and ignition interlock laws;and streamlining of several safety grant programs. ATA looks forward toworking with the Committee to ensure that electronic logging proposals willpromote real safety gains and be operationally sound and economically viable.ATA appreciates the Committee’s efforts to establish a Uniform PermittingProgram for hazardous materials transporters. Unfortunately, other hazmattransportation proposals are unlikely to improve safety.

In particular, ATAopposes banning the transportation of flammable liquids in piping under a tanktruck. ATA looks forward to discussing with the Committee a number of hazmattransportation program reforms that will improve safety and productivity.The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade associationfor the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups,industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state truckingassociations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type ofmotor carrier in the United States.SOURCEAmerican Trucking AssociationsClayton Boyce of American Trucking Associations, +1-703-838-7902. NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former Merrill Lynch executive Winthrop Smith on Friday denied approaching Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis with two other former Merrill executives to discuss buying back all or part of the bank. Crisis in CreditSmith said he dined about two months ago in Charlotte, North Carolina, with Lewis, former Merrill CEO Dan Tully and former Merrill private client chief Launny Steffens.He said they discussed Bank of America’s January 1 acquisition of Merrill broadly, as well as U.S. government restrictions facing Bank of America after it received $45 billion in government money.”We just had a very nice lunch with him,” Smith, a son of one of Merrill’s co-founders, said. “We got the impression he’s very committed to making (the acquisition) work.”The meeting was also attended by Dan Sontag, head of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s global wealth management business.The trio had discussed buying back some or all of their old company, the Financial Times reported on Friday.”A lot of Merrill Lynch (employees) would like to see that happen but I don’t see that as a reality,” Smith said.Bank of America declined to comment on the Financial Times report.(Reporting by Elinor Comlay in New York and Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by Brian Moss) Crisis in Credit.

(Reuters) – Chief executives of some banks that received federal money, including Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Regions Financial Corp (RF.N), used company jets for their personal use, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website. LONDON (Reuters) – Research in Motion (RIM.TO) (RIMM.O) officials do their best not to laugh when asked if they fear the rise of a Blackberry-killer, some theoretical device that does everything its coveted e-mail phone does, only better. FranceBut Blackberry’s biggest threat may come from itself. As the company’s latest quarterly results suggest, there is a gulf between its pricey corporate phones and price-sensitive consumer models that are cutting into margins.When a loyal Research in Motion (RIM) customer such as a corporate IT manager discovers he’s paying more than twice the price at work that his the 16-year-old daughter is paying at retail, he feels ripped off. That in a nutshell is the crisis RIM faces.Of course, RIM’s crown jewel remain its corporate business.