Conference Calling Creates Connections for City of McGregor During COVID-19 Crisis

April 3, 2020

The City of McGregor Iowa implemented On Demand Conference Calling from Alpine Communications as a solution to COVID-19 meeting restrictions.

While needing a quick solution for giving the public access to their city council meeting, the City of McGregor turned to Alpine Communications for help.  The Center for Disease Control released COVID-19 guidelines that gatherings must be limited to no more than ten people.  McGregor’s City Clerk, Lynette McManus, sprang into action to find a solution that enabled the public to listen to the meeting.  

Late in the morning of the City Council Meeting, Lynette contacted Alpine Communications to determine if they offered a conference calling service. Broadcasting the City Council Meeting via conference call would enable them to abide by the open meeting rules while staying safe and transparent with the residents.   

Alpine team members Sara Hertrampf and Lori Keppler efficiently created an on-demand conference bridge for the City of McGregor. They took the time to train Lynette on how to manage the conference through Alpine’s web portal, record the City Council meeting for future reference, and test the conference bridge with Lynette and Mayor Lyle Troester. Alpine Communications believes communities thrive with connections, and they were ready to answer the challenge. “We thrive on these types of scenarios. It enables our team to showcase our unique ability to solve customers’ technology challenges quickly and maximize the investments we’ve made in our service offering and network,” noted Hertrampf. 

The City of McGregor was successful that evening in providing the on-demand conference calling number to its residents. When asked about her experience with On-Demand Conference Calling from Alpine Communications, Lynette shared, “It worked as it was supposed to. This is all a new experience for us – so we are still experimenting.  Kudos to Alpine Communications for helping us find a quick answer to the problem.” 

Do you need help with a technology solution during the COVID-19 crisis? Perhaps you have a story to share about a unique way you are using technology. Alpine Communications invites you to share your stories and challenges because we are all in this together.