Management of the Cordova Telephone Cooperative has tripled its assets over the past decade and is now worth nearly $50 million, coop members learned during CTC’s annual membership dinner and meeting on March 31.
The information was contained in a letter from CTC General Manager Paul Kelly. References to the letter were made to nearly 200 people in attendance by CTC Board President William Osborn, who said Kelly was unavailable to attend. Kelly’s letter, which was included in their voting packets, outlined many of CTC’s accomplishments in 2016.
Photo by Cinthia Gibbens-Stimson/The Cordova Times
During the meeting, the membership cast ballots for two seats on the CTC board of directors. Osborn retained his seat with 212 votes, while Laurie Phillips, the current board treasurer, received 231 votes, and write-in candidate Tom Bailer received 58 votes.
Osborn referred to Kelly’s letter during his opening remarks to the membership.
“Our manager could not be here tonight, but if you look in the front of your packet you will find a letter that he has written to the members. He mentions some big accomplishments and reasons to be proud of your member-owned cooperative.
“In the last 10 years, CTC has tripled its assets to where it is now worth almost $50 million, and has an annual budget of nearly $15 million. In his letter, he mentions how much money is brought into town by the cooperative. Out of that, CTC alone brought in over $9.3 million to Cordova last year. This is not money that is contributed by our members, but money brought in from outside sources,” Osborn told the audience.
Osborn said that CTC paid out $2.5 million in wages, taxes, and benefits to employees, which supports 18 Cordova families. Additionally, roughly $1 million was paid to local individuals and businesses. CTC also wrote out over $50,000 in checks to Cordova Public Schools, he said.
“These (checks) help support sports, afterschool clubs such as the Tech Club, scholarships, students of the quarter, and more,” Osborn said. “CTC also supported local activities such as the Fourth of July parade, Copper River Nouveau, Safe and Sober, Cordova Cleanup, the Boy and Girl Scouts, and the Veterans’ Dinner. And, we are able to do that while keeping rates low and local revenue only a very small percentage of our income.”
As regulations and people’s modes of communication change, CTC’s network has to adapt along with that, “and that includes our revenue streams. Though some of our revenues are down, we have managed to increase our revenue stream overall to almost $14 million this year, by finding new sources that utilize these new demands,” he said.
Continued improvements and investments in CTC’s infrastructure allows the coop to provide the services the member-owners want and need, he said, such as expanded wireless coverage, increased internet speeds and caps, and world class customer service.
“Our systems are now state of the art and rivals, or even surpasses, what can be found in much of the Lower 48, again – all while keeping rates low, certainly much lower than can be found in other remote parts of the state. Maintaining these complex networks would not be possible without a truly dedicated and professional staff to maintain them and offer support to our customers,” said Osborn. “With the changing regulatory environment, loss of traditional forms of revenue and following the nationwide trend of losing landlines, this all would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of everyone at the cooperative. I think the success of the cooperative speaks for itself, and I would like to thank both management and staff for all that they have done, and continue to do, for the cooperative and its member/owners.”
Roger Casad, CTC assistant accountant, presented the treasurer’s report, and then board members and staff handed out door prizes.
Tables were set up around the gymnasium displaying CTC’s and Cordova Wireless Communications’ cellular and telecommunications technology, including an interactive virtual reality station presented by CWC, live-streaming CTC-TV demonstrations, a slide show of photographs taken by CTC and CWC employees while out working on cell tower sites, and an internet safety education table.
Later in the evening, Osborn announced that Edrea Navarro is this year’s recipient of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association Youth Tour, presented by CTC and the Foundation for Rural Services. The trip is awarded to an outstanding local high school student for the opportunity to learn about rural telecommunications. Navarro will be able to interact with legislative, regulatory and government figures, youth from other rural areas across the country, and to see some of the Washington, D.C.-area’s famous landmarks, he said.
“(CTC’s) awarding of this sponsorship is based upon a hand-written essay about the telecommunications industry that the board of directors then judge,” he said.
CTC also announced winners of the annual photography contest to determine which photo will grace the new telephone directory cover in August. They are Wendy Ranney, first place – front cover; and Loren Banks, second place – back cover, and third place. CTC’s membership determines the winners by popular vote.
Additional photos submissions came from Milo Burcham, Jerry Bendzak, Jeff Buchholz, Dennis Marchant, Bill Howard, Ann Howard, and Charley Pitchford.
Photo by Loren Banks/For The Cordova Times
Photo by Loren Banks/For The Cordova Times
