From the Top with CEO Patrick Grace

As you will read in the latest OEC Fiber Subscriber Story on page 6, our OEC and OEC Fiber teams have been working hard to end the drought in the 'internet deserts' of rural central Oklahoma. As a result, OEC Fiber is one of the first co-op led, broadband subsidiaries in the nation to reach 25,000 subscribers, and we've only been offering internet services since February 2019.

To what can we attribute our success? Besides having over 200 employees dedicated to not only providing reliable electricity but also reliable broadband, we’re bringing a product inside the home that is the best currently available. We are making it possible for rural members to have better internet service than those living in metropolitan areas. The product speaks for itself, and we’re providing it at an affordable price.

As a co-op, our belief for the last 85 years is to treat each member as an individual who deserves our best. We’ve been able to provide hundreds of jobs locally, impacting families right here in our community. It's another way we're investing in our local economy.

We first approached this endeavor in 2017, and I couldn’t have imagined we would be where we are today. The number of subscribers signing up for OEC Fiber services who have it available to them is much higher than expected when we began dreaming about this a few short years ago. This means we’re reaching more people and improving the quality of life for our members, subscribers, neighbors and friends.

While we’re not the only ones running fiber to the home, we do believe we have the best, builtfrom-scratch, high quality product. We continue to develop and stay on the cutting edge of what we’re offering — ensuring we are following our mission of offering innovative programs, like internet, phone and TV services.

As we step into 2022 — marking 85 years of service for OEC — we continue to keep our focus on improving our reliability and service to you. We wish you well for the year ahead.

CEO Patrick Grace