We’re back on the road! In this series, we’re traveling the country to tell the stories of our unique Cox locations. After putting a visit to the auction lanes at Manheim Atlanta in the rearview, our second stop of 2024 takes us to Las Vegas, NV.
As someone who is a bit of an introvert, going to Las Vegas was never at the top of my travel list: the flashing lights, the nonstop action, the crowds — it all sounded overwhelming.
But what many of us outsiders imagine as the entirety of this city is only a 4.2-mile stretch of it — what we know as the Las Vegas Strip.
Recently, my colleague, Ajia Robinson, and I had the chance to fly out to this desert oasis. Although our hotel was on the Strip, we immediately ditched the tourist traps and got to know the real Vegas through the eyes of Cox Communications employees who call this city home.
“The community pride the city has gets lost in what built the town, but Vegas loves being a local city,” said Jill Stradley, a strategic accounts specialist for Cox Business who grew up in the area. “I know Reno has the official title of the ‘Biggest Little City in the World,’ but Vegas cares so much, and it’s so important to us that we are a local city. We take a lot of pride in that.”
During our trip, we discovered a tight-knit community beyond the flashing lights and bustling casinos — a place that locals love not just for its glitz, but for its heart.
Making a new home in Las Vegas
One of the first details we noticed when we arrived at the Cox Communications office on 1700 Vegas Drive were the conference rooms plaques — all named after iconic casinos and hotels: Treasure Island, MGM Grand, Hard Rock and so on.
Michele Bohnen, one of our hosts, gave us a tour and introduced us to different departments. As we met folks around the office, we realized it’s true what they say about Las Vegas: it’s a community of transplants. We met people from all over, including Colorado, California, Hawaii — even Kansas, in Michele’s case.
People come to Las Vegas for different reasons, but what truly keeps Cox employees here is the blend of career opportunities and the quality of life the city offers.
Rosalyn “Roz” Rucker, director of inbound sales, told us she never thought she’d leave San Diego. But when her now-husband got a job opportunity in Las Vegas, they agreed to give it a trial period. Roz, who was already working at Cox in California, put in for a transfer and was able to continue growing within the company from a different office address.
“This is probably where I grew the most, both personally and professionally, just because we didn’t have a community so we had to build our own,” she said, “Now this is home for us, and our family has migrated here.”
Chris Kholousi, director of customer retention, also made the decision to move to Las Vegas from Southern California with his now-wife. They didn’t expect to stay longer than a couple of years, but they love it.
“You can experience a lot of different things, and you make what you want of it,” he said. “And that’s the thing that I love most about Vegas.”
Chris and Roz work together as leaders to create camaraderie across their respective teams — and find moments to have fun at work, too. There’s always something going on in the office: people are making friendship bracelets, crafting vision boards to decorate their workspaces, walking around and handing out flowers for Mother’s Day.
“Roz and I think about the experience we deliver from the second someone wakes up in the morning and says, ‘I have to go to work,’” Chris said. “We want people to bring their whole person to work every day. We just want you to feel comfortable and invited.”
#VegasStrong
Although many folks aren’t born-and-raised Las Vegans, we did see a couple of them during our visit. One of them is Stephanie Stallworth, director of public affairs at Cox Communications and our resident expert on all things Las Vegas.
Stephanie, who has been at Cox for more than 25 years, graduated from Clark High School and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). She’s incredibly passionate about her hometown, which made her the perfect tour guide to help us see the sights off the Strip.
A local favorite, AREA15, is an immersive entertainment complex offering art installations (including Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart) as well as VR experiences, axe throwing and a flight simulator.
We stopped at the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign that marks the southern end of the Strip. We also drove through the Pinball Hall of Fame, Allegiant Stadium, the Mob Museum, the Neon Museum and the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, where Stephanie is an active board member.
In downtown, we drove through Fremont Street — the second most famous street in the Las Vegas Valley — and the Las Vegas Arts District, with its colorful murals. One mural in particular was in remembrance for those who were killed in the Oct. 1, 2017 deadly mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Stephanie told us her daughter was a survivor from that event, and showed us her wristband that says #VegasStrong on one side, and “Cox” on the other side.
The Las Vegas community came together to build a healing garden in the aftermath of the tragedy, which opened to the public only days later on Oct. 6, 2017 — thanks to the help of hundreds of volunteers brought the plan to life.
Every September, Cox volunteers help plant new trees and clean up the memorial areas so that the garden is pristine by the time that survivors and friends and family of those who were lost visit on the anniversary.
Cox’s mark in the Las Vegas community
It’s impossible to miss the name Cox throughout the landscape of the Las Vegas Valley — the Cox Pavilion at UNLV; the Cox billboard on one of the giant screens at Allegiant Stadium. But Cox’s impact on this area runs deeper.
Ajia and I got to see it for ourselves throughout our trip. We spent one morning at Opportunity Village, a local organization and longtime Cox partner that has been dedicated to empowering people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to thrive.
One of the group’s most impactful programs is its vocational training on its four campuses. During our tour, we got a peek at the “buffet” of options, so to speak: from shredding services to making cookies to packaging cutlery for hotels and casinos.
“The benefit from these experiences and business lines is employment opportunities for people who also have a diagnosis,” said Chuck Neuwohner, chief program officer at Opportunity Village. “One of the most important tools for self advocacy and being empowered comes with [having] a paycheck.”
Cox’s Opportunity Village associates help with cleaning and rehabilitating remotes, as well as sorting cables and recyclable materials for reuse — amplifying our company’s impact toward environmental sustainability.
“Cox supports us in such a large way, and we’re very grateful for the work opportunities and jobs,” said Malcolm McCollum, director of operations at Opportunity Village.
The James M. Cox Foundation donated $300,000 in 2017 to expand wage-paying, vocational jobs. And in 2024, the foundation also donated $200,000 toward the expansion of the organization’s inclusive and affordable residential community concept.
Giving back isn’t just in our company’s DNA — it’s deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of our people.
Take Janet Uthman, for example. The longtime telecom and cable executive moved to Las Vegas in 2022 when she joined Cox Communications as the region’s market vice president. And she didn’t miss a beat in getting involved with local initiatives.
One of the projects that’s near and dear to her is the revitalization of an area in North Las Vegas with a history of gang violence. Janet’s support and connections as a Cox leader was instrumental in the opening of the Donna Street Community Center, founded by Robert Strawder, a local middle school teacher who’s adamant about giving back to the community where he grew up.
“I'm dedicating my life to helping families and kids that grew up in the projects like me with no parents, drugs, murder, gangs — all of the stuff that I’ve experienced,” said Robert, who was the Clark County School District’s New Educator of the Year of 2023.
Cox Communications all donated equipment and technology to the center, which opened its doors in February 2024. During our visit, Janet and Robert gave us a tour of the facilities, which include a podcast room, computer lab and library.
“This is my purpose,” Janet told us. “Cox is more than just a job; it allows me to realize my purpose, which is helping communities and uplifting others.”
A farewell evening on the Strip
Although it became a running joke during our visit that the locals rarely set foot on the Strip, the team encouraged us to check a couple of cool spots in the evenings, including the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens exhibit, which changes seasonally. Next door, at Caesars Palace, we snagged a reservation at Amalfi by Bobby Flay to get a taste of the celebrity chef craze that’s taken over the town.
We also stepped inside one of the newest attractions, the Sphere, which opened at the end of 2023. During this experience, you not only watch a 50-minute multisensory film on the world’s largest hi-definition screen, but you have pre-show interactive experiences, from holographic art installations to the opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with a robot.
Before we called it a night, we ascended to the top of the 550-foot High Roller ferris wheel for one final glimpse of the Strip in all its glittering glory. On one side, the Sphere’s exterior LED display lit up the sky; on the other, the Bellagio’s musical fountain show was in full display. But as stunning as the view was, it’s the people we met and the stories we shared beyond the bright lights that will stay with us long after the night has ended.
