About Us
AmeriCall Communications, Inc. was born out of necessity in 2003. When Ushman Communications, the premier telecom provider in Central Illinois for nearly 35 years, left the marketplace, it also left a large void in the community for a quality telecom provider and numerous employees without employment. Included in the ensuing employee lay-offs were: Gene Dinardo, who had 22 years of experience in the service department, Melanie Patton, who had 16 years of experience in operations and accounting, and Joe Ushman, who had 20 years of experience in the sales and marketing facets of the business. These three individuals recognized the industry’s demand and organized AmeriCall Communications, Inc. to fill the void. The company was formed with a strong emphasis on providing excellent service and to continually surpass customer expectations.
The Leadership Team
As one of three founding partners to AmeriCall Communications, Inc. Mr. Dinardo carries substantial experience in excess of 34 years of telecommunication design and installation. His leadership qualities and senior experience make him a perfect fit to ensure that our technical teams are providing integrity based and timely construction of all our clients’ projects. Mr. Dinardo’s entrepreneurial skill sets are highly utilized here at AmeriCall Communications, Inc. as well as the Walnut Hills Business Partners and Oak Lane Business Partners where he maintains part ownership. Mr. Dinardo is active in AmeriCall Communications’ membership with NECA. He is also an active member of the Roman Cultural Society and a Member of IBEW Local 193
As one of three founding partners to AmeriCall Communications, Inc. Ms. Melanie Patton contributes well over 25 years of experience in the Financial and IT divisions of the company. Ms. Patton has an extensive education in Accounting, Programming (COBOL, Clipper, Fortran, etc…) and Financial Administration. As Corporate Secretary to Ushman Communications in the past and now Co-Owner of AmeriCall Communications, Ms. Patton continues to maintain Operations Management of the company with an extremely high level of skill sets. She was named as one of the Springfield Business Journal’s 40 Under 40.
Aside from Ms. Patton’s professional abilities, Her interests include the NRA, USCCA, Genealogy and Historical Societies both local and national, skydiving, and in addition set a new women’s record for largest Bull Shark caught in the Key West fishing tournament. Ms. Patton also supports numerous local and national charities including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, American Lung Association, MDA, SPARC, Sojourn Shelter, Make A Wish Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and various veterans organizations.
As one of three founding partners to AmeriCall Communications, Inc., Mr. Joe Ushman brings no less than 33 years of experience within the telecommunications industry. With extensive understanding of the local and bordering market place, Mr. Ushman utilizes his many skill sets in Marketing and Business Development to keep his finger directly on the pulse of our clients’ needs. In addition to his telecommunications experience, Mr. Ushman served with the United States Army. Only 18 months after his enlistment date of November 1965, Mr. Ushman made rank of Sergeant E-5 proving his leadership qualities very early in his career. Mr. Ushman is also currently active in several associations including sitting on the Board of Crime Stoppers since 1998 (Former President), Multiple committees Chamber of Commerce (Springfield), Oakridge Neighborhood Committee and Oakridge Cemetery Foundation to name a few.
With over 26 years of telecommunication product purchasing and front office management, Ms. Felton brings a strong and reliable presence to the daily inner operations of AmeriCall Communications, Inc. With abundant experience in marketing, retail and purchasing she carries a unique insight to the telecommunications industry above and beyond most others in her position, thus making her a key member of AmeriCall Communications Leadership Team. Her knowledge base of telecommunication products alone, gives our project management and construction teams the confidence to know they are providing the latest technology and most cost effective solutions for our client’s needs. Ms. Felton has fostered and maintained several relationships with nationwide suppliers to ensure the best pricing for our customers daily. Ms. Felton continues to be the cornerstone of the inner office operations here at AmeriCall Communications, Inc.
Mobile: 217.494.1182
Leading our project management team, Ms. Nikki Baptist has repeatedly proven the validity behind her organizational skills in conjunction with her seasoned forecasting ability to provide true time management and success of all projects assigned to the project management team. Ms. Baptist has extensive project management experience in the coordination of multiple industry projects to include pharmaceutical, real-estate and of course telecommunications. Earning a BA in Communications from UIS set the foundation for Ms. Baptist to have managed nearly 1M dollars in telecommunication projects in just the last 2 years with AmeriCall Communications, Inc. Dedicated to her professional success and the success of others in the community, Ms. Baptist maintains her role as Ambassador to the Chamber of Commerce in Springfield.
The Technical Team
Skilled installation/maintenance technicians are an invaluable part of our industry. At AmeriCALL we employ only the best, most qualified technicians to ensure each and every job is completed to the highest standards every time. Not only are they members of IBEW Local 193, but they are also manufacturer-trained and certified to be experts in their field. This is why we are able to provide expert solutions for even the most difficult challenges. You may be able to purchase the products we sell from another company, but you will not find a technical team that can surpass ours – at the end of the day, that makes all the difference.