I recall that Awan bragged he had juice through Rahm…can't recall the sauce yet.
She says her application of technology for personal and political purposes is in stark contrast to the man she defeated in November.
"My predecessor didn't even have an e-mail address," Bean said of Phil Crane. "He was one of the last members of Congress without an e-mail."
The Democrat gets most of her e-mails on her BlackBerry 7290 (www.rim.com), using the hand-held gadget as her phone, e-mail device and calendar.
"I use it to keep up with the multitude of e-mails that I'm getting," Bean said. "The BlackBerry has become my indispensable tool."
She receives between 700 and 1,000 e-mails, most of which come in through her Web site (www.house.gov/bean).
Two schedulers–one in Washington and one in her Illinois office–also wirelessly transmit appointments right to Bean's BlackBerry.
"Her calendar is sent directly to her BlackBerry, regardless of where she is," said Imran Awan, the information technology director for eight Democratic members of Congress. "We also send her PDF documents [to brief her]."
http:// articles. chicagotribune.com/2005-08-27/ business/0508270151_1_e-mails-technology-companies-indispensable-tool
Technology travels to House
August 27, 2005|By Alex L. Goldfayn
Melissa Bean spent a career in the high-tech industry before turning her efforts to politics. So when the Barrington resident was elected to Congress last year to represent the 8th District, Bean knew that technology would travel with her to Washington.
She has worked for Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc. and Mountain View, Calif.-based Synopsis Inc. And in 1995, Bean launched Sales Resources Inc., a sales consultancy aimed at technology companies.