For Immediate Release
Contact: Laura Withers, 703-351-2087, [email protected]
Arlington, Va. (November 16, 2018)—Kevin Beyer, General Manager of Acira (Chokio, Minn.) powered by Farmers Mutual Telephone Company (Bellingham, Minn.) and Federated Telephone Cooperative (Chokio, Minn.), was elected chairman of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association at the association’s fall board meeting.
Beyer has served on the NTCA Board of Directors for four years. With nearly 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, he has served on many industry boards, including the NECA Average Schedule Task Group Committee, the Pinnacle Marketing Group Board of Directors and multiple positions with the Minnesota Telecom Alliance. Farmers Mutual Telephone Company and Federated Telephone Cooperative, where Beyer has been at the helm for two decades, are both certified NTCA Gig Capable Providers.
The NTCA board also elected Allen R. Hoopes, CEO/chairman of Silver Star Communications (Freedom, Wyo.), as vice chairman and J. Fredrick "Fred" Johnson, Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative (Rainsville, Ala.) as secretary/treasurer. Don Richards of Richards, Elder & Gibson, PLLC (Lubbock, Texas) was re-elected general counsel.
The following NTCA members will serve on the 2019 board:
Central Region
Commercial: Doug Boone, Premier Communications (Sioux Center, Iowa)
Cooperative: Ron Hinds, GRM Networks (Princeton, Mo.)
North Central Region
Commercial: John Klatt, Lakeland Communications Group, LLC (Milltown, Wis.)
Cooperative: Kevin Beyer, Acira (Chokio, Minn.) powered by Farmers Mutual Telephone Company (Bellingham, Minn.) and Federated Telephone Cooperative (Chokio, Minn.)
Northeast Region
Commercial: Mike Grisham, Shawnee Telephone Company (Equality, Ill.)
Cooperative: Barry Adair, Wabash Communications Co-Op. (Louisville, Ill.)
Northwest Region
Commercial: Allen R. Hoopes, Silver Star Communications (Freedom, Wyo.)
Cooperative: Don Bitz, Triangle Telephone Cooperative, Inc. (Havre, Mont.)
Southeast Region
Commercial: H. Keith Oliver, Home Telephone Co. (Moncks Corner, S.C.)
Cooperative: Fred Johnson, Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative (Rainsville, Ala.)
Southwest Region
Commercial: Russell “Rusty” A. Moore, Big Bend Telephone Co. (Alpine, Texas)
Cooperative: Bill Hegmann, Southwest Arkansas Telephone Cooperative, Inc. (Texarkana, Ark.)
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NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association is the premier association representing nearly 850 independent, community-based telecommunications companies that are leading innovation in rural and small-town America. NTCA advocates on behalf of its members in the legislative and regulatory arenas, and it provides training and development; publications and industry events; and an array of employee benefit programs. In an era of transformative technological advancements, regulatory challenges and marketplace competition, NTCA members are leading the technological evolution for rural consumers, delivering robust and high-quality services over future-proof networks that make rural communities vibrant places in which to live and do business. Because of their efforts, rural America is fertile ground for innovation in economic development, e-commerce, health care, agriculture and education, and it contributes billions of dollars to the U.S. economy each year.