Jeff Buckingham

About Jeff Buckingham

I’m a true believer in outstanding customer service – the foundation of our company’s mission. And I love telecommunications and technology. But when I was a kid, I always dreamed of being a dairy farmer. Luckily for me, running a business is a lot like running a farm: It takes patience and stamina, know the landscape well and help others find their way.An avid tech enthusiast, I started my career in 1983 at Call America, just as the Bell System broke up. I started as the company’s first sales person and eventually became president. But my love of learning how things work started long before that. When I was 15 and my pickup truck got stuck in the mud, I decided to change the entire drive train to four-wheel drive in my parents’ backyard. After a brief stint as a full-time rancher, I founded the “new” Call America in 2001 with my business partner, Cheryl Lovell. And we watched our company grow to 25 employees, serving more than customers on the Central Coast.Cheryl and I partnered again and co-founded Blue Rooster Telecom in 2009. In 2014 we merged Blue Rooster Telecom together with Norcast Telecom Networks to form a new \"Blue\" version of Norcast. In 2016 Norcast joined forces with Digital West, another great local company. In 2021 Digital West joined forces with Astound Broadband. Now, with the growing Astound fiber optic network, I’m able to work with our team to bring tremendous fiber investments to the Central Coast. This is the best of times \"lighting up\" our community with broadband. My community is my home, and I’m a very social creature. I serve my community in a variety of ways that are meaningful and make a difference in my life and, I hope, also in the lives of others. I’m lucky to love what I do and do what I love – solve problems and provide great customer service.

Experience

1. Sr Director, Business Solutions

   Astound Business Solutions Central Coast

   Dec 2016 — Present · San Luis Obispo, CA, US

   I have a passion for serving customers first as well as community and telecom industry leadership. Astound Business Solutions Powered fosters the success of businesses and communities through secure, reliable Internet, on site and hosted telephone systems and cloud technologies. I am based in San Luis Obispo, California, we continuously invest in building our local technology infrastructure and in the people and non-profits of our community. Astound serves commercial and residential clients across the nation and multi-location enterprises. We use these same advanced digital technology solutions to meet the needs of small businesses throughout the Central Coast. We back up our services with outstanding live, US-based customer support, available 24/7/365.

Education

• California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

  Dairy Science, Dairy Farming

  1979 — 1981

• State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill

  AS Dairy Science, Dairy Science

  1976 — 1978

• University of Connecticut

  Animal Science

  1978 — 1979

Skills

• Event Planning
• Business Planning
• Crm
• Team Leadership
• Leadership
• Voip
• Team Building
• Management
• Small Business
• Business
• Social Media
• Public Relations
• Co-Location
• Troubleshooting
• Business Strategy
• Customer Service
• Coaching
• Marketing
• Business Development
• Sales Management
• Direct Sales
• Sip Trunking
• Public Speaking
• Social Networking
• Social Media Marketing
• Negotiation
• Fundraising
• Sales
• Budgets
• Marketing Strategy
• Sales Process
• Contract Negotiation
• Selling
• Start-Ups
• Management Consulting
• Leadership Development
• Clec
• Strategic Planning
• Training
• New Business Development