Mid-Rivers annual meeting held

Mid-Rivers Telephone Cooperative, Inc. members met on May 30, 2019 for the Annual Membership Meeting at the Circle Public School in Circle, Montana. Business included electing three members to the cooperative’s board of trustees, informing members of the cooperative’s financial performance and future plans, and awarding ten scholarships to area students.

Candidates for the Mid-Rivers Board of Trustees were Larry Cornelia, Tod Kasten, and Lana Tibbetts from District 4, Dave Rice from District 5, and Craig Johnson and Josh Fuqua from District 6. Trustees Dave Rice and Craig Johnson were re-elected to the board for their respective districts, and Larry Cornelia was elected as Trustee of District 4.

Michael Candelaria, Mid-Rivers’ General Manager/CEO, gave a brief history of Mid-Rivers and the telecommunications industry. He also discussed that Mid-Rivers’ Federal support is now for Broadband, and that Broadband customer counts have surpassed telephone customer counts, making Mid-Rivers a Broadband company. Future plans are focused on efficiently providing Broadband to as many people as possible. Chief Financial Officer Craig Dyk then presented the annual audited financial report for 2018.

Mid-Rivers continued its commitment to supporting students in their academic goals, drawing for $500 scholarships in addition to 27 competitive $1,000 scholarships that were recently awarded. Ten students attending the meeting received $500 scholarships. The winners of this drawing were Courtney Nagle, Lindsay; Ethan Beery, Vida; Trevor Lingle, Baker; Cassie Wagner, Circle; Reice McHenry, Roundup; Emily Kuehn, Glendive; Chelsea Wright, Circle; Trey Bloesser, Savage; Larissa Polette, Glendive; and Chantel Schara, Circle. Drawings for door prizes were also held at the meeting. James & Agnes Sullivan, Roger & Connie Eissinger, Ronald & Kathy Mcfarland, and Keysors Llc each won an iPad, D Bar R Inc. won an Echo Show, and Mary Waller won a Roku TV.

After 40 years of service, Gene Engen retired from the Mid-Rivers Board of Trustees. At the meeting, he was presented with a plaque and monetary service award in honor of his dedication to Mid-Rivers Telephone Cooperative. Gene was first elected to the Mid-Rivers Board of Trustees in 1979.

At the Board of Trustees’ organizational meeting held after the Annual Meeting, Dennis Green was re-elected President, Dane Castleberry was re-elected Vice President, and Dave Rice was elected Secretary-Treasurer.