Our People
Jeff Buckingham - President
With over 25 years of experience in the telecom industry, Jeff brings extensive knowledge and leadership skills to Blue Rooster Telecom. Jeff began his career in 1983 when he joined Call America - just as the Bell System was broken up. He began as the company's first sales person and led the company to many successful and profitable years as its President.
Jeff transitioned to Vice President / General Manager of GST Call America when he and his partners sold Call America to GST Telecom. He then became VP of New Edge Networks and helped them to build their network in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara Counties.
After a brief stint as a full-time rancher, Jeff and his long-time business partner, Cheryl Lovell, founded the "new" Call America in 2001. The company provided telephone and Internet service to business customers on the Central Coast. Call America grew to 25 employees serving more than 2,000 customers when he left the company in May of 2009.
In September of 2009, Jeff co-founded Blue Rooster Telecom with his business partner Cheryl Lovell. Jeff's passion is with helping customers solve problems they face, and he couldn't wait to get back into the day-to-day telecom business he loves so much.
Jeff has served for 2 years on the national Competitive Telecommunications Association (CompTel) board of directors where he helped to shape the national policy before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Congress, and the White House.
Jeff is also a board member and past President of CALTEL (The California Association of Competitive Telecommunications Providers) CALTEL represents the concerns of telecommunications companies at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Legislature. In 2009 CALTEL presented Jeff with a Champion of Competition award for his contributions to the telecom industry.
Jeff is an active member of the Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa and is a past board member and former Board Chair of the SLO Chamber of Commerce. Jeff also serves on the Cuesta College Foundation Board, the SLO County Farm Bureau Board, and the Farm Supply Company Board.
Jeff is married with 2 children, 2 tortoises, 2 roosters, 4 dogs, 15 cats, 4 horses, 2 bulls, 42 cows and lives “off the grid” on a ranch near Los Osos, CA.
Click here to view Jeff's fun bio.
Cheryl Lovell - Vice President
Cheryl began her career in telecommunications in 1991 with the Central Coast's original Call America. As the company grew to 6 offices and over 200 employees, Cheryl took the position of Director of Administration. She was responsible for managing regulatory compliance, legal affairs, telecom facilities, human resources and interdepartmental projects.
Cheryl then went on to work with New Edge Networks - a carrier that offers wholesale digital subscriber service (DSL) to small and mid-sized communities nationwide. After New Edge, Cheryl joined Wynd Communications as Finance Manager to provide wireless services for the deaf and hard of hearing.
In 2001, Cheryl, and her business partner Jeff Buckingham, reentered the local communication business on the Central Coast and co-founded the second Call America. As Vice President and Founder, Cheryl directed the daily operations of the company including; financial, billing, provisioning, regulatory compliance, and customer service. Under Cheryl’s leadership and management, the company grew to support over 2000 business customers generating over $6.5Million in annual revenues.
Cheryl and Jeff have now embarked on a new adventure, the launch of Blue Rooster Telecom where they are committed to bringing the best in value and quality in telecommunication services to business customers on the Central Coast.
Cheryl lives in San Luis Obispo with her husband Russ. They have two children, Brandon and Spencer.
Bill Schwoerer - Director of Sales
Bill has an unwavering commitment to his customers. He strives for excellence and values performance, integrity and respect in every situation. His sales and management experience is diverse, ranging from the pharmaceutical industry to global agricultural companies. Given the Blue Rooster hands-on philosophy, Bill’s agricultural background makes him a great fit for the Blue Rooster team.
Bill’s excitement for growth in the telecom industry stems from his diverse experience including his recent work at the largest, independently owned seed company in the world, where he grew fiscal sales year over year. He earned an MBA in 2001 from Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida by completing his final three courses at Cal Poly and has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. He is also a founding board member of the Alliance for Pharmaceutical Access, Inc.
In his free time, Bill is an avid sports fan, has coached youth sports and enjoys outdoor activities with his wife, Laura, two sons, Carlson and Bowen, and their sheltie, Shelly, but no farm animals, yet.
Nate Pauley - Account Executive
Nate values building a trusting relationship with customers, and brings a skilled and diverse background to the Blue Rooster Telecom team. His personal philosophy focuses on honor, integrity and dignity, or, as his father called it, the “H.I.D. program,” and he strives to demonstrate this philosophy in all areas of his life.
Nate has 17 years of sales and management experience, which started when he was in high school working on a tobacco farm in his hometown of Versailles, KY. He later worked in the health club industry in Nashville, TN and sold building material for ProBuild before moving to San Luis Obispo in summer 2011. Nate uses his diverse sales experience and agriculture background to connect and understand Blue Rooster Telecom’s customers.
In his free time, he and his fiancée, Natalie, live the “SLO life” by hiking, biking and enjoying the Central Coast.
Jill DeCristofaro – Customer Service, Provisioning Coordinator
Jill brings many years of telecom experience, first with Wynd Communications and later with Call America, to the team at Blue Rooster. As our industry has changed over the years, great customer service has become critically important. Jill is prompt, efficient, and knowledgeable about all the services we offer and most importantly, makes sure that the friendly, personal voice you expect from Blue Rooster is always there.
A huge NASCAR fan, the only thing Jill thinks is missing from her life on the Central Coast is that at least one NASCAR race should be held here!
