Far out on US98 and nestled in the sleepy countryside beyond Brooksville might not seem an obvious place to base an IT company leading the way in full turnkey IT solutions.
But that’s where Chuck Wilson and his wife and business partner Terry Weaver decided was an absolutely great place to locate their business: Wilson Technology Group and the business of telecommunications and technology industry design and implementation.
“It was in 2000 and we decided we didn’t want to be city people any more — that’s when we discovered Brooksville,” Wilson said.
Wilson brings a wealth of telecommunications knowledge to the Wilson Technology Group and to the more than 11 counties nearby that include Hernando, Pasco, Citrus, Sumter, Lake, Levy, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Marion and Polk.
Raised in Georgia, he arrived in Florida in the mid 70s and began his telecommunications career with Southern Bell.
“I started right out of high school for Southern Bell in Miami,” Wilson said. I was hired as a technician with the phone company at a time when Miami was really taking off in the early 70s,” he said.
By 1993, he was a highly accomplished designer of voice and data networks and was recruited as a consultant by the University of Miami to provide network design and project management.
“The university wanted me to stay on with them and they gave me an opportunity to finish my science degree, which I did,” said Wilson. “When I graduated, a company in Tampa called Intermedia Communications hired me,” he said.
Intermedia, at that time, was one of the nation’s top independent competitive local exchange carriers and then it was bought out by WorldCom in a huge $3 billion stock deal.
Wilson explained that just a few short years later, when the dot.com bubble was beginning to burst nationwide, he explored setting up his own company and started the process of acquiring the proper accreditations.
“By law, engineers and companies in the telecommunications industry have to have the proper licenses to be able to install cabling, fiber optic networks, computers and hardware,” said Wilson.
Wilson started by obtaining his accreditation, through BICSI, as an RCDD.
BICSI is the professional trade organization (Building Industry Consulting Service International) that supports the advancement of information and communication technology (ICT). It oversees the information, education and knowledge that designers, installers and technicians require governing the fundamental infrastructure for telecommunications and computer automation systems.
RCDD stands for Registered Communications Distribution Designer. Established in 1984, it is the most prestigious of all BICSI credentials.
“If you have an RCDD accreditation, it means you have demonstrated the ability to design, integrate and implement ICT and related infrastructure components across multiple disciplines and applications,” Wilson said.
BICSI established its credential programs to provide a level of quality assurance to the industry and to consumers that an individual has knowledge in designated areas of information and communications technology (ICT) design or installation. Those professional designations are valued internationally and are recognized throughout the ICT industry.
BICSI is headquartered in Tampa, Florida and membership is huge – spanning nearly 90 countries.
In January 2017, Wilson will complete a four-year term on the board of BISCI where he represented the Southeast Region. He will continue to sit on several committees.
Wilson boasts a BISCI Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD), with OSP (Outside Plant) and NTS (Network Transport Systems) specialty credentials. He also holds Electrical Low Voltage licenses for both Florida and Georgia.
Wilson has built his reputation on quality.
“The Wilson Technology Group mission is to get it done right the first time because our name is on it,” Wilson said. With the speed of today’s networks, it’s absolutely vital to get it done properly right from the beginning,” said Wilson.
“It’s all about pride in the work we provide and building a reputation for high-quality solutions,” he said.
“There are many other cabling companies out there but we have managed to become an integrator and we work with our customers closely not just on installing cable but also finding solutions in hardware,” he said.
“I really enjoy the construction side of this industry and gravitate toward designing and installing infrastructure,” he said. “Wilson Technology is not a huge company but the staff I hire are all highly qualified technicians,” he said.
Wilson’s customers include SunTrust, Coca Cola Enterprises, the Greater Hernando Chamber of Commerce, the Hernando County Fair Association, Citrus County Schools, Michael’s Dental, the Nature Coast Humane Society to mention a few.
“Flexibility and ingenuity are two words that I would use to describe this company,” said Diane Minks, VP Corporate Security for Superior Bank. “The honesty and integrity of their entire staff is stellar, and they do an exemplary job of keeping us up to date on the progress of projects,” she said.
In their spare time, Wilson and wife Weaver enjoy golf, canoeing, hiking, motorcycling, and spending time with their pets.
The couple is actively involved in the community and Weaver sits on the Board of the Brooksville Rotary Club and was named Rotarian of the Year in 2010. She is also on the Advisory Board for the Nature Coast Humane Society and VP of Public Relations for the Nature Coast Orators Toastmasters Club.
Contact Wilson Technology Group at 24332 Dorsey Smith Rd. in Brooksville, Florida 34601. Phone: (352) 796-9891 or email at info@wilsontechgroup.com.
For more information about BICSI call 800.242 or +1 813.979.1991. Email: bicsi@bicsi.org.
Wilson Technology Group can be reached at 24332 Dorsey Smith Rd., in Brooksville. Phone:(352) 796-9891.