We listen first.
Understanding how an organization works is part of designing the right solution.
Our Story
Heartland Relay exists because people kept asking for our help.
We did not set out to build another technology company. One recommendation led to another. One solved problem became another long-term relationship. Eventually, giving those organizations a company to call simply made sense.
Founded
May 26, 2015
Built on a partnership that began at MCI in 1995.
How It Began
Some companies begin with a business plan.
Heartland Relay began with people who needed help.
For years, Bill McClelland and Chris Heidelbauer found themselves receiving the same kinds of calls: a business whose communications system was not meeting its needs, a church struggling with unreliable technology, or an individual trying to make sense of tools that had become part of everyday life.
The conversations often began with a familiar sentence:
“Someone told me I should call you.”
Those calls became projects. Those projects became relationships. On May 26, 2015, Heartland Relay was officially founded.
Heartland Relay was not created because Bill and Chris wanted to build another technology company. It exists because people kept asking for their help.
A Partnership Since 1995
Different backgrounds. A shared approach.
Chris Heidelbauer and Bill McClelland met while working at MCI in 1995.
Bill brought 21 years of Army communications experience. Chris brought an electrical engineering education from Iowa State University with an emphasis in communications. Together, they developed a practical engineering approach centered on understanding the problem before proposing the solution.
Their work continued through MCI, MCI WorldCom, URRelay and GetConnectivity. Along the way, they helped develop communications technologies serving people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and gained experience supporting complex, carrier-grade systems.
More than thirty years later, Bill and Chris still begin the same way: by listening.
The Name
Why Heartland Relay?
Heartland reflects where we live, work and serve organizations throughout the American heartland.
Relay reflects an important part of our history and the possibility that we may one day again contribute to relay communications for people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.
Together, the name connects our location, our experience and the work that has been meaningful throughout our careers.
Our Responsibility
Technology should not become another full-time job.
Our customers are experts in their own professions. They should not have to become experts in networks, phone systems, cybersecurity or physical security just to make sound decisions.
Our job is to understand the options, explain them clearly and recommend the solution we would choose if we were responsible for the organization ourselves.
How We Work
Respect is part of good engineering.
Many organizations come to us after being disappointed, overwhelmed or simply too busy to sort through every technology decision themselves.
We respect what exists.
We do not assume everything must be replaced. We preserve useful investments whenever practical.
We work with others.
Good projects depend on communication among customers, contractors, technicians and other trades.
We stay involved.
Installation is not the end of the relationship. Support and accountability matter long afterward.
No Judgment
Every system has a story.
Networks grow. Equipment is added. Temporary solutions become permanent. Budgets change, priorities shift and the people responsible for technology do the best they can with the time and resources available.
We are not there to criticize how an organization arrived at its current situation. We are there to understand it and help determine the best way forward.
Sometimes that means replacing a system. Sometimes it means reorganizing, repairing or improving what is already there. The right answer is the one that solves the problem reliably, economically and responsibly.
We do not believe every problem requires new technology.
We believe every problem deserves thoughtful engineering.Supporting What Matters
Technology should support your mission—not become your mission.
A church should be able to focus on ministry. A medical practice should be able to focus on patients. A manufacturer should be able to focus on production. A business owner should be able to focus on serving customers.
Our work is successful when technology becomes something an organization can rely on instead of something its people have to worry about.
Our goal
Clear decisions, dependable systems and confidence
in what comes next.
The Work Continues
Thirty years later, the reason remains the same.
Chris and Bill still enjoy solving the kinds of problems that brought them together in the first place. The technology has changed dramatically. The reason they do the work has not.
Every conversation is another opportunity to help someone communicate more effectively, protect what matters and make technology work the way it should.
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