Cass Cable TV’s Chad Winters Named Winner Of The Lyn Simpson Grassroots Spirit Award and WOW! Selected For ACA PAC Leadership Award
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS, July 29, 2009 – At this year’s Independent Show, the American Cable Association honored both a special individual and company for their steadfast commitment to the trade group and its mission of advancing the interests of small, independent cable operators that are unheralded providers of high-quality voice, video and broadband Internet service in rural communities across the United States.
ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka also announced the results of the group’s annual board elections, which resulted in five current board members retaining their seats for an additional three years.
Each year, ACA presents the Lyn Simpson Grassroots Spirit Award to a company or individual that embodies the passion and commitment that Lyn Simpson brought to the small operator community in her role as an ACA founding member in the early 1990’s. The award recognizes commitment, dedication, sacrifice and significance to independent cable businesses.
This year’s recipient was Chad Winters, manager of TV operations at Cass Cable TV, Inc. in Virginia, Il. The award was presented by ACA Grassroots Manager Caroline M. Persinger at a ceremony attended by hundreds of ACA members.
“It’s an honor to be recognized for my contributions to the grassroots activities,” Winters said. “As an independent operator, we are very fortunate to have the ACA on our side, working on our behalf.”
ACA also presented the ACA PAC Leadership Award, which goes annually to the ACA Member Company that demonstrates awareness of the importance of the ACA PAC to help both Democratic and Republican candidates in the U.S. House and Senate who are concerned about the well-being of independent cable operators and their customers.
This year’s winner was WOW! Internet, Cable and Phone. Harron Communications Chairman and CEO James Bruder, who is also ACA Vice Chairman, presented the award to WOW! President and CEO Colleen Abdoulah.
“We’re blessed to be in this industry. It’s been very good to us and we need to do everything we can to honor and support it in return,” Abdoulah told ACA members.
The awards were presented before hundreds of ACA members in attendance for the 4th Annual Independent Cable Show organized by ACA and the National Cable Television Cooperative, Inc., a Lenexa, Kansas-based nonprofit that purchases programming and equipment for U.S. cable operators. Attendance at this year’s show included at least one representative from 173 ACA member companies, up from 158 member companies the year before.
In other news, ACA also announced that five current board members were each returned to serve new three-year terms based on the results of a private vote by ACA’s membership.
Polka announced that the following individuals had won reelection:
- Allan Block, Chairman of the Board of Block Communications, Inc. (Buckeye Cablevision, OH);
- Doug Fuller, Adviser to NPG Cable (MO);
- John Gdovin, Vice President of Operations of PatriotMedia (Choice Cable, NJ);
- Jim Gleason, President and CEO of NewWave Communications (MO); and
- Terry Nidiffer, Vice President of Product Development of General Communications, Inc. (AK)
“ACA is as successful as it is because of the outstanding men and women who serve on its board with loyalty and dedication year after year. I want to congratulate these industry leaders who just won reelection and who will guide ACA with their wise insight and judgment during the challenging period ahead,” Polka said.
On a related matter, Polka also congratulated NPG Cable in St. Joseph, Mo., for being selected Independent Operator of the Year by the editors of CableFAX Magazine.
NPG’s Chief Operating Officer Bill Severn accepted the award from CableFax editorial director Seth Arenstein on behalf of the entire company, which serves about 100,000 cable subscribers in Arizona, California, and Missouri.
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About the American Cable Association
Based in Pittsburgh, the American Cable Association is a trade organization representing more than 900 smaller and medium-sized, independent cable companies who provide broadband services for more than 7 million cable subscribers primarily located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America. Through active participation in the regulatory and legislative process in Washington, D.C., ACA’s members work together to advance the interests of their customers and ensure the future competitiveness and viability of their business. For more information, visit https://acaconnects.org/