GST GM Kinney-Mantione Mourned

The agent community is mourning the loss of one of its star performers. Susan Gayle Kinney-Mantione, 45, former general manager of master agency Global Systems Telecom, in Coconut Creek, Fla., died April 14, losing her battle with a long-term illness.

According to the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, she is survived by her partner of 13 years, Mary Jo Kinney-Mantione of Wilton Manors, Fla.; her mother and four sisters. She is predeceased by her father.

Paul Silicato, vice president for GST, told PHONE+ Kinney-Mantione had been ill for some time and earlier this year had taken a leave of absence, and last month, left the company.

She joined GST from Cable & Wireless and served initially as GST’s sales manager. Silicato and partner Mark Solomon, GST president, named her general manager of the company in 2006. As GM, she oversaw sales and operations, including agent management and the company’s migration to RPM.

“She was a self-starter,” said Solomon. “Paul and I trusted her with our company.”

“She built a great team; we won’t skip a beat, but we will sorely miss her,” Silicato said, describing Kinney-Mantione as an outgoing, gregarious person. “She had a warm sense about her.”

Her enthusiasm for life and work was evident to GST’s agents. Joe Fanara, president of One Smart Mover, one of GST’s largest agents, told PHONE+ he and his subdealers are reeling from the news of her death. “She became like a friend; she was always there for us,” he said, noting that he interacted with her daily, sometimes in late hours of the night to serve mutual customer needs.

Fanara, a 30-year veteran of the telecom industry, said he has known a lot of agent managers over the years, and Kinney-Mantione was in the top 1 percent. “Most can’t hold a candle anywhere near her,” he said. “She made a lot of customers and agents very happy.”

Kinney-Mantione, was born May 3, 1963, in Saginaw, Mich. She was a 1981 graduate of Carmel High School in Carmel, Ind. She received a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, April 18, at the Kalis-McIntee Funeral & Cremation Center, 2505 N. Dixie Highway., Wilton Manors. To share online condolences, visit www.kalismcintee.com. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made to a charity of your choice.