PHOENIX, July 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Thirty years ago, five CenturyLink Phoenix employees recognized the need to provide in-language customer service to their Spanish-speaking customer base. With the support of the company, they formed the first bilingual telecommunications call center in the United States. Today, “El Centro de CenturyLink” continues the mission of its founders by providing daily, exceptional, in-language customer service to thousands of Spanish-speaking customers across the U.S.

Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090602/DA26511LOGO

On July 21, El Centro will celebrate its 30th anniversary as the longest tenured bilingual call center in the industry. It will mark this milestone with a luncheon at the El Centro headquarters in Phoenix, which will include remarks from local dignitaries and CenturyLink corporate leaders.

“On behalf of CenturyLink, I would like to congratulate our bilingual call center employees for 30 years of service to the Hispanic community,” said Linda Olsen, vice president, consumer and small business sales/service for CenturyLink. “Years ago, we understood the importance of serving the growing Hispanic market, and today, we continue evolve to meet the needs of our bilingual customers through our services we provide, our bilingual call center, as well as continuing our philanthropic efforts.”

Key El Centro Facts

• El Centro de CenturyLink was founded in 1984 by one supervisor and four service representatives.
• El Centro de CenturyLink remains based in Phoenix, and has more than 150 bilingual employees serving the company’s residential Spanish-speaking customer base through marketing, sales and customer service.
• El Centro representatives are committed to serving the needs of their local communities. Throughout the year, the team volunteers at different events, and also collect school supplies, canned food, clothing and monetary donations to support local children and families in need. In addition, El Centro representatives provide holiday gifts to elementary school students as part of their “Adopt-a-School” holiday initiative.
• CenturyLink has been recognized nationally for maintaining diversity in its workforce and attracting talented Hispanic employees. Also, CenturyLink supports cultural organizations, including Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, Hispanic job fairs, Fiestas Patrias and Cinco de Mayo celebrations. In addition, the company supports Latino Heritage celebrations and local nonprofits such as the Cesar Chavez Foundation, Valle Del Sol and Chicanos Por La Causa.

“We at CenturyLink are extremely proud of this milestone and want to express our gratitude to everyone who has contributed to making El Centro what it is today,” said Ken McMahon, CenturyLink’s vice president and general manager for the Phoenix market. “Thirty years later, El Centro remains at the forefront of bilingual customer service call centers, and we continue to focus on serving our customers across the country.”

About CenturyLink
CenturyLink is the third largest telecommunications company in the United States and is recognized as a leader in the network services market by technology industry analyst firms. The company is a global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprise customers. CenturyLink provides data, voice and managed services in local, national and select international markets through its high-quality advanced fiber optic network and multiple data centers for businesses and consumers. The company also offers advanced entertainment services under the CenturyLink® Prism™ TV and DIRECTV brands. Headquartered in Monroe, La., CenturyLink is an S&P 500 company and is included among the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest corporations. For more information, visit www.centurylink.com.