NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association today announced the election of board officers and the addition of one new director to lead the association in 2026. Ben Foster, president and CEO of ISG Technology and Twin Valley Telephone Inc. (Miltonvale, Kan.), will serve as chair. Ross Petrick, general manager/CEO of Alliance Communications Cooperative Inc. (Garretson, S.D.), will serve as vice chair. Jennifer Prather, CEO of Totelcom Communications LLC (De Leon Texas), was elected secretary/treasurer.
Foster has served on the NTCA board since 2021. He has worked at Twin Valley since 2004, serving as a director, vice president and chief operating officer. He was appointed president and CEO in 2011. Foster also served on the NTCA Board from 2011-2014, helping guide the unification of OPASTCO and NTCA. In addition, he has served on industry advocacy boards for OPASTCO, the Kansas Telecommunications Industry Association, and the Communications Coalition of Kansas. He currently serves on Kansas Fiber Network’s board and is a past chairman. Foster graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.
In addition, Christa Alexander, president and CEO of Arriva (Bay Springs, Miss.), was welcomed as a new board member. Alexander will serve as Southeast Region Commercial Director, replacing H. Keith Oliver.
Jonathan West, CEO of Twin Lakes (Gainesboro, Tenn.), was re-elected to serve as the Southeast Region Cooperative Director. Roxie Jorgenson, board secretary at Matanuska Telecom Association (Palmer, Alaska), was re-elected to serve as the Northwest Region Cooperative Director. Dale Merten, vice president and chief operating officer of ToledoTel (Toledo, Wash.), was re-elected to serve as the Northwest Region Commercial Director.
“I want to congratulate Ben, Ross and Jennifer on their new leadership roles and welcome Christa to the board,” said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield. “I am confident that the NTCA board, guided by the strategic plan we unveiled earlier this year, is well-positioned to lead the association into its next chapter.”