TELE U WHATTELE U WHATCOOPERATIVE NEWS AND INFORMATION JANUARY 2014

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WINTER CARAVANWINTER CARAVANTuesday, January 21

Doors Open at 5:00 pmBemidji High School

Commons

Tickets are $7 each and include dinner, program, and autograph session. Tickets areavailable at Paul Bunyan Broadcasting located at 5th Street and Beltrami Avenue.

JOIN US FOR THE 54TH ANNUAL WINTER CARAVAN!

Sponsored in part by

TELE U WHAT© 2014 Paul Bunyan Communica ons

Published by Paul Bunyan RuralTelephone Coopera veAn Equal Opportunity Employer

email: info@paulbunyan.netonline: paulbunyan.net

BEMIDJI1831 Anne St. NWBemidji, MN 56601Phone (218) 444.1234Toll Free (888) 586.3100Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 6:00 pmSaturday 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Paul Bunyan NetMonday - Friday 8:00 am - 7:00 pmSaturday 8:00 am - 4:30 pmNOTE: No walk-in customers a er 6:00 pm, phone support only

GRAND RAPIDSGrand Square1220 S. Pokegama Ave.Grand Rapids, MN 55744Phone (218) 999.1234Toll Free (888) 586.3100Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 6:00 pmSaturday 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

BOARD OF DIRECTORSPresident Kathy Peterson, District 3Inger-Wirt, Squaw Lake

Vice President Jim Tarbell, District 4Cohasset, Deer River, Grand Rapids

Secretary Gary Eklund, District 1Blackduck, Kelliher, Northome, Big Falls

Treasurer Tim Hins, District 9Cass Lake , Puposky, Turtle River

Randy Frisk, District 5Becida, Bemidji, Laporte, Itasca State Park, Lake George, Park Rapids

Glenda Mar n, District 6Ponemah, Red Lake

Bruce Campbell, District 7Bemidji, Solway

Jim Su on, District 8City of Bemidji

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 27BEMIDJI, MN1831 Anne St. NW

Bemidji, MN 56601

After Hours Repair(800) 475.8309

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We may be looking for you! Listed below are people who haven’t received capital credit checks. If you are on this list, or know someone who is, please call us at 218.444.1234 or 888.586.3100 and ask for Karen G.

Capital Credit Checks

Hendricks CherylHenry CarrieHense RuthHensrud RobertHerr Lynne eHicks JanetHigh Jack & JonnaHill Corey & TamiHill LisaHogenson MichaelHohenstein Steven & AngelHollenhorst BradleyHolmstrom ErikHolstein MarianHolzinger RobertHoodie LoriHookom Beulah VHorn ChicHoule Anderson ReneeHoward RichardHower TrevorHowe Zane Diaz SarahHower KariHoyum Nils & PederHudec’s Resort Hudec DonHuderle LesieHughes JennieHughes MargaretHunt EucebiaHunt FrankHuseby JayIrwin PeggyIverson SusanJackson SusanJackson Thomas EJarvi TeresaJarvis MikeJasper Consul ng Inc Jon R TollefsonJaycox BerdieJenson BrianJesse RossJessen HeatherJingco KathrynJohns Linda KJohnson ClarindaJohnson JenniferJohnson MaryJohnson Ryan JJohnson Ryan & CrystalJohnson Tyler MitchelJuarez Clariss & RichardJudy’s Quilts & Cra sJunc on Barber Shop Vern Di yJust SamKB Professionals IncKacena SarahKalstad TabathaKane TerriKasell TinaKathe Winfried & SharonKee Michael DKeers WilliamLeith LindaKeller Jay & BarbaraKelly’s DaycareKern K RobertKe EngineeringKhon YuliyaKiefer StephenKifer RobertKimball LeonardKindred Jennifer LKing MaryKing RebeccaKingbird JimKirchen KarenKiser RustyKjoberg KevinKlein Richard JKlein SusanKleinschmidt Christopher & Ka eKlopstein LeonardKnauss BobKnutson PamelaKoehn Be yKohlhoff CoryKollitz R RKondos DonnaKoosmann Dus n VKostal PaulKostka MichelleKringen DerekKroeplin TanyaKuck Cliff ordKukowski Angel MKujava Joshua & AndreaLaDeaux JenniferLafontaine CraigLafriniere GregLafromboise AnthonyLajeunesse Julia MLajeunesse KarlaLambert ChadLancaster JeremyLarson DorisLarson Elizabeth AnnLarson Jeff reyLa erell DarinLauderbaugh AmieLavallie Rodney

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Smith Raymond JSmith Suzanne CSnyder Rachel MSorenson Jeff reySorlie SonjaSpears Timothy CSpielbauer BrianSportsmans Discount Liquor Dennis & Ellen RossenStaniger AnthonySteinkopf StaceyStem MinistriesStenberg VirgilStone LyleStrickland Kimberly GStruve CarolSullivan DennisSundrud OmarSundseth Irvin & CoraSunnarborg JoshSura Cassandra MSvalen JasonSzafranski Kris Cholvin DanielT&M Marine - Gene RodgersTajie HarrisTanem RandiTaylor Eunice HTaylor GeorgeTe ZachTeigland GaryTeltech Cellular - Dan WalbergThe Franklin NorthThompson Forrest KThompson MeredithThorson OrenTischer (McCartney) MaureenTollefson NaomiTo en Jeff Schuldt BarbTracy Wendessa & AndrewTrego Ma hewTrent JessieTro Beth DTroxel Starr & JedUlrich DavidUptown Caff eVan Vleet Kim & HowardVandersteeg Elizabeth AnnVendi o RoseVe leson Wya Videos to GoViking Automa c Sprinkler CoVogt Elizabeth & Ma hewWadman LonWaggoner RyanWagner AmyWagner Ma hew CWahl ShaneWahlstrom KariWaller William JrWalsh JudithWanek DavidWardien JasonWarner-Coltom SandraWarner ShelbyWarren Jennifer LWarrington Sco Washington ShannonWaybenais MichelleWeinzierl ToddWeiss MillieWelch CharlesWelle RyanWentworth NicholasWermager AWest BrendaWest Peter WWheeler Erik Lavalley Jessie MWhite JessicaWhite Ken & DonnaWhite Pine Resort Rebecca HummelWhite TanyaWhitefeather AlanWhitefeather AnitaWhitmore LauraWhi er CharlesWhi ngton JaimeWhi ngton Ka eWieland JoshWigton Lee AWilcowski Emory & Dann’elWilcox DebraWill AliceWilliams AlysonWillis Jeff reyWilson Andrew WWilson Darrell JrWilson DavidWilson MarieWilson SylviaWomack Kristofer JWood MikeWoodland KimWorkman MarilynWortzel AlanWright BonnieZardo MyrtleZeglis Tim & JennyZeiher RobertZeller GertrudeZimmermann MarkusZolotorow Mary

PleaseRecycleYour Old

PhoneBooks

Minnesota law requires old telephone directories to be

transferred to a recycling facility when discarded; and prohibits the books from being placed in solid waste or in any other type

of disposal facility.

You may recycle old books with your normal paper or bring

them to our Bemidji and Grand Rapids offices and place them in

the recycling bins there.

INTERNETSPEEDINCREASEPaul Bunyan Communica ons has increased Broadband In-ternet speeds to members, doubling the current speeds of service off ered with no increase to the monthly service rate. In addi on, higher speeds up to 150 Mbps are also now avail-able.

Broadband Internet in rural areas is certainly a hot poli cal topic right now atthe state and na onal level. The areas served by our coopera ve have hadaccess to high speed Internet as early as 1998 and as we con nue to improveon the region’s largest all fi ber op c network we’ve been able to increase thelevel of service to our members. Just four years ago we increased Internetspeeds for customers with no rate increase and now we’re doing it again. Itrefl ects our coopera ve’s commitment to bring the latest in technology to ourservice areas as soon as we possibly can. We know it’s important to keep ourcommuni es compe ve in the local, state, na onal, and global marketplace.

“ There are few loca ons in the United States where speeds up to 150 Mbps are available. We are very proud to con nue to put our members and communi es at the forefront in ge ng the most advanced Broadband Internet speeds available.”

- Brian Bissone e, PBC Marke ng Supervisor

Since the late 1990s, Paul Bunyan Communica ons has been installing fi ber op cs that makes it feasible to deliver higher speed broadband Internet along with advanced television services including high-defi ni on, whole-home DVR, PBTV Everywhere and Video on Demand. In that process, over $100 million has been invested in the coopera ve’s service area through upgrades and expansion.

We are a local coopera ve and are commi ed to providing the very best communica on services to our members, regardless of their loca on. The State of Minnesota has set the goal to have Broadband Internet speeds of at least 10 Mbps downloads and 5 Mbps uploads by 2015. Not only have we reached this level of service two years in advance, but the speeds we are now providing are two to four mes faster than the goals set. There is no digital divide in our area, the services we provide meet and in most cases exceed those of the biggest ci es in the country.

Paul Bunyan Communica ons recognized early on the importance of having Broadband Internet access. We were the fi rst high speed Internet provider in nearly all of the areas we serve and con nue to upgrade the service to provide even higher Internet speeds.

In theCommunity

Paul Bunyan Communica ons recently made a dona on to the Grace House in Grand Rapids. Pictured is PBC Account Execu ve John Weber and Sherry Shadley, Execu ve Director – Grace House of Itasca County

Grace House is Itasca County’s only homeless shelter. Grace House provides tem-porary shelter; individualized case management; and referrals to health and human services that help more than 200 guests move from crisis to stable housing each year. The mission of Grace House is: “To provide safe, temporary shelter to individuals who are experiencing homelessness and connect them to community resources.”

Grace House ofItasca County

WASHINGTON DCHOW TO WIN A FREE TRIP TO

High School Juniors are encouraged to com-pete for a chance to attend the 2014 Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. from May 31 - June 4, with all expenses paid by Paul Bunyan Communications.

The trip features a comprehensive overview of the telecommunications industry, including careers in telecom, the critical role telecom-munications plays in rural America, and how legislative and regulatory decisions affect the industry. The tour allows youth to meet with members of Congress who represent rural constituents. They also participate in educational sessions about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Students visit some of the nation’s most historic sites, including the Vietnam, Korean and World War II memorials, the Supreme Court, the

Send Essays byFriday, March 21st to:Paul Bunyan CommunicationsAttn: Youth Tour Essay1831 Anne St. NWBemidji, MN 56601

MOREINFOwww.frs.org

Smithsonian Museums, Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.

The Foundation for Rural Service is dedicated to informing and to improving the quality of life throughout rural America. Each year, it organizes the Youth Tour, designed to educate rural youth about the telecommunications industry and the federal political process.

Students interested in attending the Youth Tour need to submit a short essay, no more than 500 words in length, on why they would like to attend the Youth Tour. Students must be a junior in high school and their parent/guardian must be a Cooperative member from one of the Paul Bunyan Communications service exchanges.

2 0 1 4

Paul Bunyan Communica ons is commi ed to the communi es we serve and provides over $40,000 annually in scholarships to local students within our service territory. We also off er local students the chance to apply for one statewide industry scholarship and one na onal industry scholarship. If you are a current high school senior or a student at one of the local post-secondary ins tu ons, you can apply to win a Paul Bunyan Commu-nica ons Scholarship!

HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPSEach year, our coopera ve provides at least 2, $500 schol-arships to 11 area high schools within or near our service territory. The applica on process, winners, and distribu on of funds are handled by each high school independent of Paul Bunyan Communica ons.

Paul Bunyan Communica ons Scholarships are available at Bemidji, Bigfork, Blackduck, Cass Lake, Deer River, Grand Rapids, Kelliher, Laporte, Northome, Park Rapids, Red Lake, and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley.

To apply for the Paul Bunyan Communica ons Scholarship at one of these high schools, please speak to the high school counselor or career service offi ce.

MINNESOTA TELECOM ALLIANCEPaul Bunyan Communica ons par cipates in the MTA’s scholarship program which awards fi ve $2,000 scholarships to Minnesota high school seniors each year.

The applica on for 2014 can be downloaded at www.mnta.org under MTA Founda on. A telecom alliance panel reviews each applica on and selects the fi nalists based on appli-cants’ grades, academic achievements and extra-curricular ac vi es. Preference to receive the scholarships is given to students who have an interest in telecommunica ons tech-nology and rural communi es.

FOUNDATION FOR RURAL SERVICEPaul Bunyan Communica ons par cipates in the Founda on for Rural Service (FRS) scholar-

ship program which awards 30 $2,500 scholarships to high school seniors throughout the country each year.

Applica ons can also be downloaded from www.frs.org under Youth Programs. Completed applica ons should be sent directly to FRS, postmarked no later than March 3, 2014. Applica ons postmarked to FRS a er this date will NOT be accepted.

Please note the applicant or their parent/legal guardian must be a member of Paul Bunyan Communica ons (PBC) Coop-era ve to apply through PBC and that a signature of a PBC employee is required to be considered eligible.

POST SECONDARY SCHOLARSHIPSIn addi on to High School Scholarships, Paul Bunyan Commu-nica ons provides scholarship opportuni es to the following post secondary ins tu ons: Bemidji State University, North-west Technical College, Itasca Community College, Red Lake Na on College, and Oak Hills Chris an College.

There are several scholarships totaling over $20,000 annually available to stu-dents a ending Bemidji State University that are current members of Paul Bunyan Communica ons or a parent/legal guard-ian is a member. Applica ons are available in the BSU Admissions Offi ce.

One $500 scholarship is awarded annually to a NTC student that is a current member or who has a parent/legal guardian that is a member of Paul Bunyan Communica- ons. Applica ons are available in the

NTC Admissions offi ce or online at www.NTCmn.edu under scholarships.

One $500 scholarship is awarded annually at each of these post-secondary ins tu ons to a student that is a current

member or who has a parent/legal guardian that is a mem-ber of Paul Bunyan Communica ons. To apply for the Paul Bunyan Communica ons Scholarship at one of these post-secondary ins tu ons, speak to the Admissions or Career

Service offi ce at the school you a end.

2014 SCHOLARSHIPS