Meet Mark Burns

In today’s working world, it’s incredibly rare for employees to stay at one company for their entire career. Mark Burns, Senior Director of Technology Administration, shines as an extraordinary example of this dedication and loyalty; he recently celebrated his fifty-year tenure with Spok and its predecessor companies.  

Burns traces his humble beginnings to Mobile Communications Corporation of America (MCCA MobileComm). He worked for a small subsidiary, which was a two-way radio shop called Southern Communications, as a radio installer and maintenance technician over the Mississippi market. Since July 1974, Burns has seen many iterations of his starting company.  

In 1988, Bell South acquired MCCA MobileComm, only to be later acquired by Arch Wireless in the following decade. He remembers when Arch Wireless acquired Pagenet in 2000, merging with Metrocall four years later. The name was eventually changed to USA Mobility, then merging with Amcom Software  to become Spok in 2014.  

During every step of the way, Burns was a true Renaissance man with “15 or 16 job titles that didn’t necessarily equate to responsibilities.” For example, he was a system engineer in the corporate department, eventually becoming a manager of network systems for paging terminals throughout the entire country. This professional experience has led him to his current specialties with site leasing, tower leasing, and telecommunications related to wireless issues.  

“I have a team of 42 employees and the average tenure is probably 30 years. You don’t invest that much time in an organization that you don’t believe in,” Burns says with a warm smile. “It’s really a foundation of great people and we’re incredibly proud of the work that we do. We’re truly a company of winners.”  

Burns explains his fascinating story with an insightful and humble speaking style that draws you further into the conversation. You could listen to him talk for hours and never feel bored because he’s an engaging plethora of knowledge. He’s more than happy to recount his professional history and memorable moments on the job.  

When he left the two-way radio shop to begin his work as a system technician, the voicemail system at MCCA MobileComm died that night. The corporate engineer, who was supposed to train him on his new responsibilities, asked Burns to come to the data center. Burns received a piece of paper with the contact information of the on-call engineer who would help walk him through fixing the machine.  

“My first reaction was ‘Oh my gosh, what?’” Burns recalls with a laugh, “I really hit the ground running. Fortunately, I was able to get everything back online. At that point in my life, I didn’t know the difference between that machine and a Maytag. Within three years, I would become the company expert on that specific piece of equipment.”  

Burns referring to himself as an “expert” almost feels like an understatement, especially considering his widespread impact across the company. It’s no secret that Spok wouldn’t be Spok today without Burns, and senior management is proud to acknowledge his powerful contributions.  

On the day of his 50^th work anniversary, Vince Kelly, CEO of Spok, sent out a dedicated email to express his “heartfelt appreciation” for Burns and highlight his accomplishments, such as facilitating the “successful transition from traditional telephone (POTS/DID/DS1) service to Session Initiated Protocol (SIP).” Many of us dream of having such a profound influence on our workplaces and it’s amazing to see Burns truly live it.  

To help celebrate the 10th anniversary of Spok on July 8, 2024, this interview was conducted as part of a video compilation with other employees about their professional experiences. It has been condensed and edited for clarity.