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2023 Annual Meeting Recap
2023 Annual Meeting Recap

GBT held its 70th Annual Meeting Wednesday, April 19, 2023, at the GBT Headquarters in Rush Center.  A drive-thru meeting was conducted, with 124 Members receiving an Annual Meeting booklet of 2022 Reports, along with a ballot.   Board member elections were held for District 2 – Ellis, McCracken and District 4 – Alexander, Bazine, Rush Center.   Election Results:  District 2 – Philip Martin; District 4 – Gene Knieling.   All members attending were provided a BBQ meal and door prizes.   Congratulations to the following winners of the Special Drawing Prizes:   Retirement of $250 Capital Credit – Paul Jost, Rush Center Retirement of $250 Capital Credit – Daryl North, Ellis 1 Month Free Internet – Lavern Schneider, Albert 1 Month Free Internet – Terry Seltmann, Rush Center $70 GBT Bill Credit – Joey Bevitt, Rush Center $70 GBT Bill Credit – Clarence Foos, Bazine $70 GBT Bill Credit –Harry & Helen Thorne, Rozel $70 GBT Bill Credit –Corey & Cari Torrez, Rush Center $70 GBT Bill Credit –Brandi Seltmann, Bazine $70 GBT Bill Credit –Hoop & Twila Higgins, McCracken $70 GBT Bill Credit – Don Hanhardt, Albert $70 GBT Bill Credit – Fred Flax, Ransom $70 GBT Bill Credit – Cynthya Billinger, Lewis $70 GBT Bill Credit – Linda Bahr, Otis

GBT Annual Meeting 2023 – Letter from the General Manager
GBT Annual Meeting 2023 – Letter from the General Manager

I am grateful to have this yearly opportunity to connect with our members and share cooperative happenings. It allows GBT representatives to visit and provide members with our successes, challenges, finances, and plans for the future.   For 70 years, all our member-owners have trusted us to connect you to the world. Although we call this an annual meeting, it is really a celebration for you, our member-owners. This year embarks a special celebration as the cooperative not only celebrates its 70th year in business, but also anticipates crossing the finish line on connecting every member with FIBER!!! The Cooperative covers over 3,200 square miles with 1.6 members per mile, so this mark comes with a lot of pride from the GBT team. This kind of accomplishment doesn’t happen without a vision that has covered many decades of sound leadership, planning, and commitment from past and present Board members and employees.   Over the last couple decades, that vision includes investing in fiber; GBT believes a fiber investment is one that keeps the future in mind. A fiber network transforms rural areas by strengthening commerce, advancing education, enabling precision agriculture, and improving healthcare. The GBT Board gave the direction to begin plowing fiber to its members in 2007, and now in 2023, we are 97% complete! GBT has invested over $46 million dollars in fiber to the home builds since the Board directed back in ‘07. In 2022, the rural areas of Garfield and nearly all the Bison exchange were completed, along with the City of St. John. It is our objective to build the rural areas of Burdett, Otis, Utica, and Beeler this year, along with the cities of Larned, Macksville, and Stafford. We can be grateful that our financial position comes at a time when we are on the cusp of a capital expenditure program of more than $15 million in fiber deployment. The cooperative feels very strongly about ensuring our members have a reliable and quality broadband...

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[elfsight_social_share_buttons id="2"]April 2022 | 5 MIN READEMBRACING TECHNOLOGY AFFECTS QUALITY OF LIFE?95%GBT members who have speeds up to 1 Gig! $3.85 MDollars GBT has invested to bring Fiber to our members. $1.7 MDollars in capital credits that were retired $1.7 MDollars GBT donated back to our communities to improve lives and promote the local economy.   As we look back at 2021, it will go down as a transformational year for the Cooperative and industry.  The importance of broadband was brought on by the onset of COVID as many across the country were working, educating, shopping, and participating in wellness from home.  The demand for Internet and usage of the GBT network was the highest the Cooperative had witnessed to date, and it generated many conversations about universal broadband and the billons of Federal dollars earmarked to address unserved and underserved areas across the country.   Where is GBT in comparison to the rest of providers around the country?  We are all exposed to the advertising of the national providers across some medium, so we hear about fast speeds, 5G, fiber, etc.  The truth of the matter is, GBT is very different from those national providers focused on providing a return to their shareholders and with whom they have little to no idea of who their customers are.  GBT is focused on our mission of providing the best user experience to our customers through reliable state-of-the-art communications services.  Our customers are our neighbors, friends, and members who live and play in the same communities we serve and love!  Our network is connecting 95% of the members by state-of-the-art fiber infrastructure that allows them to have speeds up to 1 GIG upload and download.  While big, out-of-state broadband providers are making a big deal about starting to bring fiber to rural communities, GBT first brought fiber to our members in the late 1990’s and connected the first community to fiber-to-the-home in 2008!  Today GBT...

Fiber is the name of the game
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