Sprint Relay Services director wins top honor for corporate, civic leadership

Top Quote Mike Ellis named Sprint Legends Award recipient. End Quote
  • (1888PressRelease) May 12, 2012 - Overland Park, Kansas - Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced that Mike Ellis, Director - Relay Services, has received the Sprint Legends Award, one of the company's highest honors given to select Sprint leaders who significantly contribute to the company, the telecommunications industry and the community.

    "Ellis has become a recognized leader within the company and a high-profile ambassador outside of Sprint in matters related to accessibility, inclusion and diversity," said Dan Hesse, Sprint Chief Executive Officer.

    In October, Ellis testified before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee on his personal experiences with hearing loss and also on Sprint's accessibility leadership, especially for employees and customers who are Deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities.

    Ellis and his team, many of whom are Deaf or hard of hearing, are mobilizing the Relay experience by wirelessly enabling services that were formerly wireline-only. They have introduced industry leading IP and Android apps available through a Sprint Relay ID pack to harness the power of Sprint's 3G and 4G wireless networks.

    Ellis also assembled the industry's first video-based Customer Service team to accommodate the communication needs of wireless customers who are deaf or hard of hearing. He has been an invaluable resource and subject matter expert on an internal council that addresses diversity and accessibility opportunities for Sprint.

    "Receiving this type of recognition for leadership in diversity is a great honor, and I'm humbled by the fact that Sprint has such a diverse employee base with varying perspectives, abilities and disabilities that truly embrace our common principals, ethics and values," Ellis said.

    Sprint Relay Portfolio of Services
    Sprint is the largest and most technologically advanced Telecommunications Relay Service provider in the nation with more than 17 years of experience in providing relay services to persons who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind or have a speech disability to communicate with hearing persons on the phone. Sprint's experience in this field assures Sprint Relay users receive quality service regardless of the type of relay service they are using. Sprint's relay service is available 24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year, with no restrictions on the number of calls placed or call length. For more information, visit www.sprintrelay.com.

    About Sprint Nextel
    Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 52 million customers at the end of 2Q 2011 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation's greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

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