Meet our employee spotlight of the month: Ian Marquard, one of Vision Net’s Network Operations (NOC) Technicians, who continues to thrive in the world of tech that changes daily.

What is your position at Vision Net and what do you do?

NOC Tier 2 technician – We monitor the network for Vision Net and their customers.

How long have you worked at Vision Net?

Almost 11 years with a short hiatus in 2019.

What made you choose Vision Net?

A few folks I was in college with worked here and they loved it.

What 3 words describe Vision Net?

Teamwork, communication, and more teamwork.

What is your favorite Vision Net perk?

The people I work with. They make coming to work every day enjoyable!

What is your favorite thing you have learned at Vision Net?

The inner workings of the internet. How the backbone of the internet actually works.

What challenges do you enjoy at Vision Net?

Waking up and getting to work every day.

Are there any projects you have worked on that you’re proud of?

I am currently working on the training procedures for new hires.

What do you enjoy most about being a part of the Vision Net team?

The people I work with.

If you could add one thing to the Vision Net office, what would it be?

More NOC employees.

What advice do you have for prospective Vision Net candidates?

Have a good sense of humor and be quick on your toes. You never know what you will be doing from minute to minute.

What is something people would never guess you do in your role?

Take phone calls….

What is the greatest innovation you have seen in your lifetime?

When I was born we had black and white TVs and only corded phones. When I started internet support it was DSL and dial up.

What is your favorite movie?

The Princess Bride

What is your favorite food?

Garlic Chicken from Maple Gardens!

Do you have any talents or hobbies?

A bit of everything but mostly hanging out with friends and watching movies.

How do you define success?

Being happy in both your professional and personal life.

Meet our employee spotlight of the month: Tobias Martinez, one of Vision Net’s Network Technicians, who continues to hit challenges head-on to ensure our clients have what they need when they need it.

What is your position at Vision net and what do you do?

Network operations center technician. I notify customers and technicians of on-going or future network related events that could impact services for customers.

How long have you worked at Vision Net?

2 Years, going on 3.

What made you choose Vision Net?

It was in association with Montana Advanced Information Networks.

What 3 words describe Vision Net?

Teamwork, Passion, Insightful.

What is your favorite Vision Net perk?

Steady hours and health benefits.

What is your favorite thing you have learned at Vision Net?

Tel-communications lingo and associated jargon.

What challenges do you enjoy at Vision Net?

Not knowing what you are walking into each day, as every day could be completely different from the last.

Are there any projects you have worked on that you are proud of?

Assisting Business Development with customers quickly and effectively; providing insights into the process to better serve our customers.

What do you enjoy most about being a part of the Vision Net team?

Being surrounded by knowledgeable people who are always willing to pass down knowledge to those who seek it.

If you could add one thing to the Vision Net office, what would it be?

A pool table.

What advice do you have for prospective Vision Net candidates?

Be prepared to learn a lot about the organization and associated work related to the business. You will play a part in a larger team where we work together to bring an excellent customer experience.

What is something people would never guess you do in your role?

A lot of level one work and troubleshooting, as well as working with End-users.

With the changes in technology, how has your job changed? Or What is the greatest innovation you have seen in your lifetime?

Shrinking of transistors to ridiculously small sizes, which allow for everyone to own a computer that they can carry with them in their pockets.

What is your favorite movie?

Spider-Man films or any of the Star Wars films.

What is your favorite food?

No preference, but Poutine has secretly become a close favorite of mine.

Do you have any talents or hobbies?

My talent would have to be my ability to quickly adapt and learn new things. My Hobby would be many of things, but I do enjoy a good game or two.

How do you define success?

Success if not defined by your monetary success, you are as successful as you want yourself to be. If you are happy with the conditions and the hand you are dealt, then you are successful; it does not matter whom could disagree with your success. Happiness is success, do not be distracted by other things, make a goal achieve it and live in bliss.

We are pleased to welcome Wesley Bennett to the Vision Net team. Wesley comes to us from the frozen north in Alaska. He did a four year stint in the Navy before returning home to continue on his career path in electronics, even owning his own business for a while. After reconnecting with an old friend after many years apart, Wesley ended up in a committed relationship and made the move down to the lower 48 in November of ‘21. 

What made you choose Vision Net? 

After seeing the initial job posting, I did my due diligence and learned about the company's history, which gave me some good vibes that I had at one of my last jobs with Telco. With my military background and my experience, I saw an opportunity to expand my base knowledge as well as my individual technical skills. 

What are some of the responsibilities you have in your role? 

 Learning/knowing how to act in an independent manner to resolve issues that arise within the NOC and the company as a whole, while, also, recognizing the importance of working in a team-oriented environment.   

What is an exciting aspect of your role? 

The breadth of knowledge and expertise of the team and being able to absorb as much of that information as possible. 

What is your favorite movie? 

The Phantom by Simon Wincer, which is based on the screenplay by the same name, by Jeffery Boam. 

What is your favorite food? 

Most Asian-Pacific dishes of any variety. 

What is your favorite thing about living in Great Falls? 

It gives me a lot of similar vibes and feelings as my hometown of Anchorage, AK.....minus the dramatic rise in crime. 

Do you have any talents or hobbies? 

Since ‘15 I have been delving into my creative passion of Glass-working ranging anywhere from small glass trinkets, functional glassware, and working my way towards personalized glass orders and scientific pieces. I also have a deep love and passion for firearms and the study of ballistics in general. 

We are pleased to welcome Matt Little to the Vision Net team. Matt comes from a small farming town in Ohio, called Republic. It’s about 40 minutes Southwest of Sandusky, he spent most of his entire life there and said he will definitely miss going to Lake Erie. Matt currently hold an associates degree in Systems and Networking Support and his Bachelors in Electronics is almost complete.

What made you choose Vision Net?

I’ve been in IT for a significant portion of my life in one capacity or another. As far as industries go, I’ve done IT for helpdesk and hardware support for 2 colleges in Ohio, and most recently, I’ve done service desk work for Firelands Regional Medical Center in Sandusky, OH. I’ve never worked for a telecom company, so I welcome the challenge.

What are some of the responsibilities you have in your role?

My role is to provide end-user support for internal employees at Vision Net. I will provide general help with Windows PC’s, laptops and phones. I will also set up new devices, as well as support software that we use in day-to-day life, including printers.

What is an exciting aspect of your role?

Working for a telecom company is a new experience for me so not sure what to expect. I like that it will be an opportunity to advance my knowledge in IT and learn more about Networking as well.

What is your favorite movie?

My favorite movie changes quite often. Usually Marvel movies are my go-to. However, my favorite TV show is “The 100.”

What is your favorite food?

Pizza and Chinese food, of course.

What is your favorite thing about living in Great Falls?

I’m new to Montana so this is going to be an interesting year. Once I get the opportunity, Great Falls has plenty of places for me to explore and plenty for me to do.

Do you have any talents or hobbies?

In my spare time I play a lot of “World of Warcraft” and participate in Amateur radio, I love electronics and music. And I love to take road trips.

2022 is here, and so is our first first Employee Spotlight interview. Diego Montalvo, one of Vision Net’s Network Technicians, who continues to learn new things in the year he has been with Vision Net. Bringing customer service and experience in the tech field makes him stand out among our clients.

What is your position at Vision Net and what do you do? 

I am a Tier 1 NOC Technician and I work the overnight shift monitoring all our systems and calling out alarms all around Montana and other states! Everyone else can sleep peacefully knowing we are watching for them! 

How long have you worked at Vision Net? 

I have been with Vision Net for 13 months. 

What made you choose Vision Net? 

I was given the opportunity to use my 15 years of customer service skills and was able to turn my hobby of tinkering with computers into a career.  

What 3 words describe Vision Net? 

Adaptive, Modern, Growing. 

What is your favorite Vision Net perk? 

Vision Net has had several meals to celebrate many holidays or just to gather with the rest of the Vision Net team! Many of my past jobs only gave us lunch for working on Christmas day.   

What is your favorite thing you have learned at Vision Net? 

I have learned to better manage my home network to better link devices in my home to each other. I am slowly improving my “home lab” set up. 

What challenges do you enjoy at Vision Net? 

No shift is ever the same, there is always something new and we find new ways to help our customers. 

Are there any projects you have worked on that you’re proud of? 

I have not helped with any major projects yet but look forward to the opportunity. 

What do you enjoy most about being a part of the Vision Net team? 

Everyone is really friendly and willing to teach me what they can! There is lots of experience in all departments within the company. 

If you could add one thing to the Vision Net office, what would it be? 

The running joke in the NOC is we need to get a pinball machine in the breakroom. As a gamer I would have to agree with that! 

What advice do you have for prospective Vision Net candidates? 

We are actively hiring for the NOC! We are willing to teach and this is a great group to learn from!   

What is something people would never guess you do in your role? 

Assisting with supporting all Montana 911 centers. Not something people think of often, but it is a vital part of supporting our community. 

With the changes in technology, how has your job changed? Or What is the greatest innovation you have seen in your lifetime? 

Technology is evolving all around us, I look forward to what VR can offer. It is slowly becoming mainstream and will eventually change the way we communicate and interact across the world.  

What is your favorite movie? 

Having worked at a movie theater I have many favorites, a top one has to be Lion King, the 1994 version.      

What is your favorite food? 

Mexican Food which sadly is hard to find up here! In Arizona it was everywhere and some were open 24/7! 

Do you have any talents or hobbies? 

I have recently started 3D Printing and it has very quickly taken over my hobby room!  I have a few printed items on my desk if anyone has never seen a 3d printed item! 

How do you define success? 

To me success means making a positive impact in someone’s life. That may be through a job well done, learning from them, teaching them, or just helping them in some way.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvXP1SzYc1E&t=42s

We are thrilled to welcome Ashley Kennedy to the Vision Net team! She recently started working in our Billings office as an Order and Records Associate.

Ashley grew up on a dairy farm outside of Billings and went to school in Shepherd. She went to college for a year or so after high school but wasn't sure what she wanted to major in. Years later, she decided on a business degree because it would give her the most options in the job market, so she went back to MSU Billings. Ashley took classes part-time online while working full time and eventually got associate degrees in Business and Human Resources and a bachelor's in business.

1. What made you choose Vision Net?

I chose Vision Net because I was looking for a change. Vision Net offered an excellent opportunity to work for a company that values their employees, which is demonstrated by the staff's dedication and years of employment.

2. What are some of the responsibilities you have in your role?

I have only been with the company for a few weeks, so I am still training and learning about the different terminology, acronyms, and responsibilities. So far, I have been getting familiar with circuits and the various aspects that goes along with them. I have also been training on the process for accounts payable and invoices.

3. What is an exciting aspect of your role?

The most exciting aspect has been the opportunity to learn about an industry that I have little to no knowledge about. I love to learn new things, so I think it is a great opportunity.

4. What is your favorite movie?

My favorite movie would have to be Dirty Dancing because I have probably watched it over a thousand times since I was a kid, but I also love horror movies.

5. What is your favorite food?

I don't really have one favorite food, but there are several family recipes that I could not live without.

6. What is your favorite thing about living in Billings?

My favorite thing about living in Billings is that most of my family is here. I also love that Billings tends to get a lot of concerts.

7. Do you have any talents or hobbies?

I played the trumpet in junior high and high school, but I haven't played it since. I also like to read and learn different craft projects.

LouVon is a 27-year-old Native American woman. She is from the crow reservation and spent most of her life living on both the reservation and in Lawrence, Kansas. Doll told us she had her son pretty early in life, so she put college on hold and worked odd jobs for a while until signing up for the army national guard. After receiving an honorable discharge from the military she decided to go back to school. Currently, she is attending Great Falls College MSU and her major is accounting.

What made you choose Vision Net?

I wanted to do an internship during my time in school and with help from the school’s accounting director, Kerry Dolan, I was able to apply for Vision Net. I knew I would be the first accounting intern they would have and Vision Net’s mission statement really stuck out to me. In regards to wanting to hire trustworthy, smart, and dependable people I wanted to see those values play out in a real-world scenario and I wanted to prove I could be held to those same standards.

What are some of the responsibilities you have as a Vision Net Accounting Intern?

My main responsibilities as an intern are to watch, learn, and then practice hands-on under supervision. I have learned more about invoicing and how to do check deposits as well as account reconciliation.

What is an exciting aspect of your internship?

Right now the most exciting aspect for me is the simple fact that I get to learn more about accounting and so far this internship has shown me many sides to the accounting world. I love the fact that there are so many areas to accounting that you don’t have to stick to one permanent task and because I love numbers and organization so much I felt excited every time I got to watch someone do their normal day-to-day routines and how organized they kept their paperwork because it made the rest of their jobs easier to handle and get through.

What is your favorite movie?

My favorite movie is actually a Disney one called “Spirited Away”. I have always loved that movie ever since I was a child.

What is your favorite food?

I think my favorite food has to be the food my grandparents would cook for me when I was younger and my favorite dish they would make is dried deer meat soup.

What is your favorite thing about living in Great Falls?

My favorite thing about living in Great Falls is that it’s the perfect distance from my hometown. I’m far enough away so that I can take care of myself but I’m close enough to go home when I miss family.

Do you have any talents or hobbies?

I don’t know if I have any real talents or hobbies but I do enjoy drawing, I enjoy hiking in the summer, and I love survival-based video games. I don’t know if this counts as a talent but I love organization, to the point that people think I’m joking until they see my organizational skills which always has them in complete shock.

Thank you, LouVon! We are happy to have you as part of the Vision Net team.