A Year In, Two Significant Hires Driving Impactful Change at Gateway Ticketing Systems

Gilbertsville, PA (August 16, 2021) – A year ago, Alicia Huppman was hired as Sr. Manager, Human Resources at Gateway Ticketing Systems®, and Jarrid Vaughn was hired as Sr. Customer Service Manager. Since then, the two have been driving impactful change within and without the organization.

Huppman came to Gateway after more than 20 years working and consulting at small to medium global technology and professional services organizations, as well as ten years of teaching human resources, organizational leadership, business and industrial psychology courses at the college level.

She was hired during the Covid pandemic and immediately tackled the challenge of establishing Gateway’s vaccine and return to work policies. Equally as important, she led the team that launched Gateway’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program which includes reconfirming the organization’s commitment to equitable hiring practices, educational and training opportunities for employees, and webinars for the wider industry.

“Companies that are inclusive are more profitable, more creative, nimbler, and create workplaces where everyone can bring their best, true selves,” says Huppman. “Gateway proved to be welcoming and open to this initiative and we are excited about where we are going with this program.”

Huppman continues: “I’m excited to continue to work on several opportunity areas employees have identified as those they value, including professional development and career pathing, to help Gateway team members reach their full potential. I’m also looking forward to implementing a change management system to help support our internal projects and initiatives, and position our organization and employees for success.”

Jarrid Vaughn came to Gateway from the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden where he worked for 12 years – most recently as the Senior Manager of Visitor Experience and FUN. The Zoo uses Gateway’s Galaxy® Ticketing & Guest Experience solution and Vaughn worked directly with the software and the team at Gateway during his time as a customer.

Vaughn hit the ground running during his first year at Gateway, using the time during the Covid pandemic when business was slower to evaluate the processes and operations of the Customer Support team and identify improvements and efficiencies with the unique eye of someone who used to be a customer.

“I’m incredibly proud of the efficiencies our team has created in such a short amount of time,” says Vaughn. “We’re offering our customers the ability to create a number of requests in a better functioning version of our Support Desk than we’ve ever had before.”

Vaughn continues: “We’re really focused on delivering consistently world-class communication with our customers and we’re working to put the systems in place to be able to deliver that.”

Vaughn has been pivotal in helping grow Gateway’s #TuesdayTalks series, a weekly webinar designed for Galaxy users that dives into a particular feature, function or use case to give them a more in-depth understanding of the solution. He is also playing a large role in planning Gateway’s 2021 Galaxy User Group Meeting in Las Vegas in October, the first large gathering of Galaxy users since the pandemic started.

“We’re proud of the work of all our employees at Gateway,” says Michael Andre, President and CEO of Gateway Ticketing Systems, “particularly during the challenging past year. Witnessing Alicia’s and Jarrid’s contributions to the organization confirms for me that Gateway is consistently working to support our employees with a diverse and equitable culture, support our customers through excellent communication and product features, and lead our industry in both regards.”

About Gateway Ticketing Systems, Inc.

Gateway Ticketing Systems®, Inc. is the world leader in ticketing and guest experience solutions for the attractions industry for 33 years. Their robust Galaxy® solution integrates ticketing, admission control, resource management, group sales, online ticketing sales, retail, food and beverage, membership/pass/donor management, plus reporting and CRM. Gateway also provides strategic consultation, service and support for attractions throughout North America and worldwide. Gateway serves the global community from their headquarters in Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania and offices in Calgary, Canada and central London, as well as through partner resellers across the world. To learn more about Gateway Ticketing Systems, please visit www.gatewayticketing.com.