Mike Tirrell of Westfield has joined Myers Information Systems as their new Chief Operating Officer. (Photo submitted)
WESTFIELD – A city business is playing a role in bringing educational programming to students during this time of distance learning.
Myers Information Systems Inc. Chief Operating Officer Michael Tirrell said the Westfield-based company’s software is being used to bring the WORLD Channel into homes for free through WGBH and PBS stations.
The WORLD Channel is subscription based and not normally carried by all PBS stations, however, a five-hour block of educational programming geared for children in grades 6-12 via the WORLD channel will be aired on PBS in response to the COVID19 pandemic.
The WORLD programming is now available Monday – Friday from 12-5 p.m. locally on WBGY World.
ProTrack, Myers’ flagship product, provides programming, integration, ad sales and scheduling, reconciliation, billing and accounts receivable services for tv and radio stations. ProTrack, is installed at all PBS member stations in the US
ProLink, another Myers product, links the PBS interconnection system to all PBS member station ProTrack installations and provides program metadata and program schedule information from PBS
Tirrell said as part of the response to COVID19, Myers is working with PBS and WGBH to enable the WORLD schedule to be delivered to all PBS member stations in the U.S. so that they can take advantage of this “At Home Learning Education Collaborative.”
Myers moved to Westfield in July 2019 and has invested heavily in security and infrastructure at its building at 110 Elm St., which was built in 1860. Tirrell said Whip City Fiber helped greatly in this endeavor.
The building, which was used as a bar/restaurant, was converted to a fully ADA compliant office building that can house 40+ full-time employees.
Upgrades in security and infrastructure have allowed Myers’ employees to work completely remotely during this pandemic. Myers’ 25 employees have been working remotely since March 16 while still providing the same level of service their clients have come to expect, said Tirrell.
