connection The WK&T
January/February 2012
P u b l i s h e d f o r t h e m e m b e r s o f We s t Ke n t u c k y & Te n n e s s e e Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s C o o p e r a t i ve
Internet and Industry High-speed broadband helps businesses connect globally WK&T helps sponsor
WK&T brings high-tech to
Employees share their
Quilt Trail
Yorkville Tech Store
winter recipes
Connection | WK&T Telecommunications Cooperative Vol. 4, No. 1 • Jan/Feb 2012
connection The WK&T
is published by West Kentucky and Tennessee Telecommunications Cooperative, © 2012. It is distributed without charge to all members of the Cooperative.
is your cooperative serving West Kentucky and Northwest Tennessee across more than 15,000 access lines. The company is dedicated to using technology to keep its members connected through local and long distance calling, high-speed Internet, digital television and beyond.
Board of TRUSTEES Tony Goodman President Jerry Holloway Vice President Beverly Taylor Secretary/Treasurer Bob Barnett Jeff Davis Algene Goatley Joe Thompson Delbert Newsome Jerry Stephenson Ricky Littleton Send correspondence and address corrections to: WK&T Telecommunications Cooperative P.O. Box 649 237 North 8th Street Mayfield, Kentucky 42066 Telephone: 877-954-8748 www.wktelecom.coop On the Cover: (l to r) WK&T’s Operations Manager Craig Sullivan, Don Dorris and Michelle Arnett listen as Ben Elder, rotating equipment specialist, describes the work he does at Centrifugal Technologies Inc. (See story beginning on Page 4)
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Working to keep our members secure and informed
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t WK&T most of our products make our members’ lives better. Television entertains you. Telephone lines connect you to family and friends. High-speed Internet service helps with everything from school work to social media. But two of our products go beyond that and can actually help save lives. Our security service — which is available to anyone in the region regardless of their telephone provider — can warn your family in the case of fire, burglary or carbon monoxide. Our premium security kit includes door and window protectors, a motion detector, siren, touch-screen control panel, wireless remote and everything else you need to protect your home. Once you purchase the kit, installation is free and monitoring service is less than $1 per day. We’ll even come out to your home for a free consulation. Along the same lines, WK&T offers Personal Emergency Response Systems which helps users contact emergency services if they fall or are injured. This system, which includes a wall unit and a wristband or pendant, could be the only way for some of our seniors to get help in the event of an accident. Yes, WK&T sells security systems because they are good for business. But we also want our members to be safe. As a local cooperative, we are a part of this community and know how a tragedy can affect our members and their families. Security will be just one of the topics you can expect to see featured in the pages of our magazine this year. In 2012, we will send you the WK&T Connection every two months instead of quarterly. With fiber installation, legislative issues and the ever-changing technology surrounding our industry, we decided we had too much to say to fit into just four magazines a year!
In this issue, you will notice a focus on the Tennessee portion of our service area. We have a feature on the new Gibson County Quilt Trail that WK&T helped sponsor, as well an article about the two ladies who run our Yorkville Technology Store. There is also a feature on how economic developers in Western Kentucky are using broadband to recruit industry to the area, and how existing businesses use broadband to compete and expand their operations. And of course we’ve included some tasty recipes from some of our employees. WK&T has many goals we plan to accomplish in 2012, and I look forward to keeping you updated on our progress.
Trevor Bonnstetter is CEO of WK&T Telecommunications Cooperative
WK&T Telecommunications Cooperative | Connection
Yorkville Technology Store brings high-tech to small town When a big basketball or football game is on television, it is not unusual for a handful of people to gather outside WK&T’s Technology Store in Yorkville, Tenn., to watch the big screens through the storefront window. “We’ve had requests, ‘Can you put some speakers outside so we can hear it?’” Customer Service Representative Susan Walker says laughing. Yorkville may be a small town but — thanks to WK&T — residents have access to a selection of televisions and other gadgets that would make residents of many bigger cities jealous. The store, staffed by Walker and Becky Scott, offers new HD televisions, iPods, iPads, laptops, Amazon Kindles and digital trail cameras among other high tech toys. “People are pleasantly surprised by the selection,” Walker says. The store is in downtown Yorkville, but draws customers from around Gibson and Obion counties. “We’ve had some customers come in from a good ways away,” says Scott. Computer repair has been a big help to the community, according to Walker. She stays busy cleaning hard drives, removing viruses and even replacing laptop screens. Most of the repairs are done on site and usually only take a few days. “It’s been great for this area to have someone close to home,” Walker says. “Everybody likes to shop local.”
At WK&T’s Yorkville Office, Susan Walker (left) and Becky Scott have a combined 22 years of experience in telecommunications.
Fiber Update: Work begins in Wingo, Cunningham, Yorkville
Even as construction crews are finishing up the main line construction in three exchanges of the WK&T service area, other crews are moving forward with construction in three more communities. Craig Sullivan, operations manager for WK&T, says work is nearing completion on fiber lines in the Kentucky exchanges of Fancy Farm and the northern part of Farmington, along with the Puryear exchange in Tennessee. Crews are scheduled to move into these areas to finish the construction phase of the project, which consists of running lines to homes and businesses. After the crews finish, a scheduler will contact members to plan the conversion to the new fiber (Flite) network. “We had hoped to be connecting homes to fiber by now, but the wet weather has
slowed down construction,” Sullivan says. “We were kind of at a stand still with all the rain we had this winter.” Sullivan estimates that WK&T members in these three exchanges could be connected to the fiber-to-the-home network within the next few months. As this phase of WK&T’s fiber project nears completion, other crews have already begun installing fiber main lines in the Kentucky exchanges of Wingo and Cunningham, as well as in Tennessee’s Yorkville exchange. Later this year, crews will begin laying fiber in Sedalia, Folsomdale, Lowes, West Plains, Hardin, Hazel, Lynn Grove and Kirksey in Kentucky. Across the state line in Tennessee, crews will work on main lines in Trimble, Mason Hall, Brazil and
Cottage Grove. Sullivan says WK&T has set an ambitious schedule, but he believes that hard work on everyone’s part (and some luck with the weather) will move the project along. Soon, WK&T will be doubling the number of crews on its fiber-to-the-home construction project. “There’s plenty of work to be done,” he says. “And it will pay off for our members when they discover what fiber can do for their families, their communities and their lives.” January/February 2012 |
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Connection | WK&T Telecommunications Cooperative
Power of Fiber:
Economic Development Fiber gives area a “fighting chance”
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or decades, when a manufacturer looked for a site to build a new plant, the availability of water, sewer and electricity topped its list of required features. Now such companies are also asking if a potential site has broadband. And if economic developers want the company to build locally, the answer had better be yes. “All of these communities are fighting for the same companies,” says Don Dorris, executive director of the Graves Growth Alliance in Mayfield. “It’s a situation where if you don’t have broadband, you don’t stand a chance.” Because of WK&T’s existing broadband and ongoing fiber installation, development projects in Western Kentucky have that chance. “This keeps us in the game,”
Dorris says. “Fiber gives us a fighting chance.” Dorris and Brad Davis, the associate director of community and economic development with the Purchase Area Development District, say companies love Western Kentucky’s location. Shipments are only a day’s drive from most cities in the Southeast, East and Midwest. But over the years, cities and counties have needed more than a good location to bring in industry. “Broadband has become more and more important,” Davis says. “It’s becoming one of those things you have to have. All of those companies need that access.” Dorris says broadband is “critical” for some industries, but even in others where it is not essential it can still make or break
Michelle Arnett, financial controller for Centrifugal Technologies, Inc., discusses the air compressors her company refurbishes with Don Dorris, executive director of the Graves Growth Alliance. 4
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a deal. Most companies, including many that are not necessarily seen as high-tech, use broadband to send and receive orders or share blueprints and other documents. “They have to send a great deal of information in a short amount of time,” Dorris says. At the Hickory Industrial Park north of Mayfield, Centrifugal Technologies, Inc., refurbishes air compressors used in auto factories, textile mills, power plants and other industries around the world. The plant uses WK&T’s broadband to send and receive test results, schematics and large engineering documents to customers. “We’ve gotten to the point where electronic communication is part of our business every day,” says Michelle Arnett, CTI’s financial controller. “It definitely would tie up any kind of dial-up connection.” Fast communications are essential in the industry, she says, because any lag time without a working air compressor hurts her customers’ bottom line. “They’re losing thousands of dollars every minute they’re down,” Arnett says. “It can shut their entire plant down.” Not long ago CTI increased the speed of their WK&T connection and the company is looking forward to even faster service when the fiber project is completed. “It’s definitely going to benefit us as our company grows,” Arnett says. CTI, which has been in business nine years, had its best month ever in December and is one of the few companies adding positions in the current economic climate. Bill Beasley, CEO for the West Kentucky Megasite, says high-speed connectivity is a key requirement he discusses with companies looking to build on the
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WK&T Telecommunications Cooperative | Connection
All of these communities are fighting for the same companies. This keeps us in the game. Fiber gives us a fighting chance.
2,200-acre site. “They always want to know about fiber. They always want to know about broadband,” Beasley says. “When I tell them about West Kentucky and Tennessee Telephone Cooperative and show them what they’re doing and what their plans are long term, they’re always very pleased with what they see.” WK&T’s operations manager Craig Sullivan says WK&T crews are ready to run fiber where it is needed at the Megasite as soon as Beasley lands a tenant. “When they’re ready to connect to our fiber network, we’ll be there for them,” he says. One of the great things about fiber, Davis says, is the way it allows rural areas to compete with big cities. If a company is connected to other businesses by lightning-fast fiber, they may as well be in Mayfield as Nashville or Cincinnati. “It’s helping level the playing field to where you can have the same kind of access anywhere,” Davis explains. WK&T CEO Trevor Bonnstetter said that is exactly what cooperative leaders had in mind when they applied for a federal loan and grant to build a system-wide fiber-to-the-home network. “Our members will have access to a level of service normally only found in high population centers,” he says. “Our fiber network will open opportunities for people to enjoy stable, good paying jobs right here in their rural communities.” Dorris sees an immediate impact from WK&T’s fiber project, but also great potential for the future. “People truly don’t understand how big this is and how much it can help their business,” Dorris says. “I don’t think we’ve even seen what it can do.”
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– Don Dorris, Graves Growth Alliance
READY FOR SHIPMENT—CTI’s Michelle Arnett gives WK&T’s Craig Sullivan a tour of her company’s air compressor refurbishing operation. Like so many other companies, CTI grows increasingly dependent on its high-speed Internet connection to conduct business.
Brad Davis, Associate Director of Community and Economic Development with the Purchase Area Development District, says WK&T’s broadband network is an important tool for him as he promotes big business in the region. January/February 2012 |
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WK&T Telecommunications Cooperative | Connection
Square Miles: Arts club builds quilt trail around Gibson County
Royce Harris (front) president of the Gibson County Visual Arts Association, and Judy Oliver display a quilt square about to be installed at Oliver’s Cotton’s Cafe in Trenton, Tenn. Behind them, Sam Peden and Eddie Harris prepare to hang the board.
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n cold winter nights, people use quilts to keep out the chill and hold on to warmth. But this winter, a group in Gibson County, Tenn., is using quilts to help the community bring in visitors and hold on to its heritage. The Gibson County Visual Arts Association is hanging large, painted quilt squares on buildings in Yorkville, Dyer and other communities to create the Gibson County Quilt Trail. “This county came from a farming community that had to make do,” says Royce Harris, the association’s president. “People quilted because they needed to keep warm.” Now, the designs are being used to highlight Gibson County’s history and draw in visitors to support local businesses. “The ultimate goal of quilt trails is to bring tourists into the area and celebrate the quilting heritage,” Harris explains. With the National Quilt Museum located in nearby Paducah, Ky., Harris says some enthusiasts might make the trip south to Gibson County as the trail grows. Brochures about the trail will be distributed at welcome centers and tourist attractions around the region. Quilt trails like the Appalachian Quilt Trail began around 2001. While East Tennessee had trails, West Tennessee has been slower to jump in. “They just weren’t down here,” Harris says. “I decided we 6 | January/February 2012
needed to get on the ball in West Tennessee.” Her initial plan, which was funded in part by a matching grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission, called for 24 fourfoot squares painted on boards and hung on buildings — from restaurants to barns to senior centers. WK&T sponsored one of the squares, which hangs on its technology store building in Yorkville. “Getting involved with the quilt trail was an easy decision,” says Michael Lee, WK&T’s marketing director. “One of the great things about cooperatives is that we’re local and committed to bettering our communities.” Harris has already gotten requests for at least six more squares and is looking for
more funding. “It just exploded,” she says. She attributes the interest to the squares’ colorful designs that remind locals of days gone by. All of the squares are based on traditional geometric patterns with names like triangle tricks, diamond cross and pinwheels. Harris has received requests for designs incorporating logos or school mascots, but says she’s “sticking to tradition.” Some of the designs do use school colors, however. Throughout the process Harris said she’s learned a lot about quilting, but also a lot about the community around her. “That’s been one of the most rewarding parts of the quilt trail — the people I’ve met,” she says.
WK&T Telecommunications Cooperative | Connection
Winter recipes
WK&T employees serve up hearty dishes Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
Submitted by: Natalie Morgan (Customer Service Manager)
1 6-ounce box of Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice® 3-4 cups of cooked chicken 1 4-ounce jar of pimento 1 16-ounce can of French style green beans, drained 1 small onion, chopped 1 10-ounce can of cream of celery soup 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts 1 1 cup of mayonnaise Salt and Pepper to taste 1/2 cup grated cheese Directions: Cook rice according to package directions. Mix together chicken, pimento, green beans, onion, soup, water chestnuts, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Place in a greased 9”x13” pan. Top with cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Serves 10.
Broccoli Cauliflower Soup Submitted by: Saundra Blythe (Receptionist)
1 pound bag of frozen broccoli (or one fresh head) 1 pound bag of frozen cauliflower (or one fresh head) 1/3 cup of chopped onion 1/2 stick of butter 2 cans of chicken broth 1 can of cream of chicken soup 1 can of cream of celery soup 1 can of cream of broccoli soup 1/2 pound of Velveeta® cheese cubes Directions: Cook veggies in broth and butter for 15 to 20 minutes. When done, coarsely mash with a potato masher. Add the three cans of soup, chopped onion, and Velveeta cheese cubes. Heat on medium to medium-low for 20 to 25 minutes.
Want to be a featured cook? along with three to four recipes, Send your name, address and phone number, free to tie recipes to a specific and you could be chosen as a featured cook. Feel n to: holiday, event or theme. Send your informatio
Sausage Potato Soup Submitted by: Stacey Wray (Accounting Department) 1 or 2 cans of chicken broth 1 can of cream of chicken or cream of celery soup 1 can of cream of potato soup 1 package of Italian sausage 1/2 stick of butter 1 small onion, diced 4-5 medium to large potatoes 1 small can of evaporated milk Parsley flakes Directions: In large crock pot, mix chicken broth and soups. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise, and then cut into thin slices, leaving peels on. Stir potatoes into mixture. Melt butter and sauté onion in butter until semi-clear. Add to crock pot mixture. Brown sausage (drain well) and cut into chunks. Add additional seasoning to taste. Cook on high until potatoes are done (about 3-4 hours) or on low all day. About an hour before serving, stir in parsley flakes and a small can of evaporated milk. Serve with grated cheese and bacon bits.
WK&T Attn: Michael Lee P.O. Box 649 Mayfield, Kentucky 42066 or email to: mlee@wk.net
January/February 2012 | 7
West Kentucky & Tennessee Telecommunications Cooperative 237 N. 8th Street Mayfield, KY 42066
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