News & Events
Paul Bunyan Communications Annual Meeting & Cooperative Celebration Held Wednesday, May 22
The weather cleared just in time for this year's Cooperative Celebration and attracted a crowd of over 5,300 making the event another great success!
The 57th Annual Business Meeting of Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative was held prior to the Open House at 3:30 p.m. The meeting included reports for the 2012 fiscal year and re-election of board director Gary Eklund, District 1 with 1,709 votes to challenger Jerry Schmischney's 539 votes and the election of Glenda Martin, District 6 with 1,566 votes. The capital credit distribution announced at the meeting will include paying out 75% of the unretired capital credits earned in 2000 and 20% of capital credits earned in 2012. The total return this year will be over $2.6 million and checks are expected to be mailed out in early September.
The Cooperative Celebration was open to the public and featured a free walleye dinner prepared by the Bemidji Fire Department Fish Fry Crew and Lueken's Village Foods, door prizes, kids' activities like face painting, balloons, temporary tattoos, storytelling, animals and entertainment from the Headwaters Science Center, United States Tennis Association's Quickstart Tennis, Concordia Language Villages, and special guests from PBS Super Why and Wonder Red. The band The Agates provided the musical entertainment.
Special thanks to the over 130 employees of Paul Bunyan Communications who made the event possible and run as smooth as possible! We would also like to thank the Bemidji Fire Department, Lueken's Village Foods, The Party Store, Lakeland Public Television, Minnesota State Patrol, Bemidji Police Department, Beltrami County Sheriff's Department, Paul Bunyan Transit, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Headwater's Science Center, Port Able John, Bemidji Citizen's Patrol, Bemidji Area Tennis Association, Boy Scouts, Concordia Language Villages, and Raphael's Bakery for all their help.
We look forward to the 2014 Cooperative Celebration!
Paul Bunyan Television Adds Three More Networks in High Definition
Paul Bunyan Communications has added three more networks in high definition to PBTV HD service. The networks added in HD are AMC, Independent Film Channel (IFC), and WE tv.
The channels will appear in the on-screen program guide within the next day or two but customers can reset their set top boxes and they should appear.
AMC HD is on PBTV channel 652. AMC reigns as the only cable network in history to ever win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series three years in a row, as well as the Golden Globe® Award for Best Television Series - Drama for three consecutive years. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, the AMC experience is an uncompromising celebration of great stories.
AMC's original stories include the Emmy® Award-winning dramas Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and
entertaining non-scripted programming such as AMC News. AMC further demonstrates its commitment to
the art of storytelling with curated movie franchises like AMC Hollywood Icon and AMC Complete
Collection.
WE tv HD is on PBTV channel 636. Every kind of family. All kinds of drama. That's life as we know it on WE tv network. WE tv is family 2.0. It's the real, familiar stories that make us say "that could be me!" Featuring celebrity families you just can't miss and personalities you want to know more about like The Braxtons in Braxton Family Values, Joan and Melissa Rivers in Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best? and Shannen Doherty in Shannen Says.
And nothing causes family drama like planning a wedding. Don't miss My Fair Wedding with David Tutera and I Do Over with Diann Valentine. Plus, everyone's favorite original drama queens, Bridezillas.
IFC HD is on PBTV channel 640. IFC creates and champions authentic, original content that is "Always On. Slightly Off." Since 1994, IFC has cultivated television programming that challenges the conventions of storytelling.
Today, IFC continues to embrace content with an indie perspective. Original series--headlined by brand-defining scripted and sketch comedy--air alongside an extraordinary collection of films and cult TV shows. Long and short-form original content inspired by music, web, gaming, animation, news, and culture is available on multiple platforms. IFC provides viewers access to must-see festivals and events around the country, like the Film
Independent's Spirit Awards and SXSW.
"We're excited to have these three networks in high definition as we continue to increase the number of networks available to our PBTV HD subscribers. We now offer close to 70 of the most highly rated networks in high definition and more will be added before the end of the year." said Brian Bissonette, Paul Bunyan Communications Marketing Supervisor.
Eight Networks added to PBTV Everywhere
Eight more networks have been added to content available on the go with PBTV Everywhere.
Programming from NBC Sports Network, A&E, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Golf Channel, History Channel, H2, and Hallmark are all now available with PBTV Everywhere.
PBTV customers can watch programs on their computer, smart phone, or tablet with PBTV Everywhere. It’s free and all you need is an Internet signal: inside your house, at the office, shopping mall, hotel, airport, vacation home, etc. Wired connections and in-home WiFi will provide the best quality.
In addition to these eight new networks, you can listen to Galaxie music and view content from Fox News and Fox Business with PBTV Everywhere. Content from the networks of NBC Universal, Turner, and Viacom are also expected to be added soon.
PBTV customers have access to view PBTV Everywhere content from the networks they receive as part of their regular PBTV service.
*Must subscribe to PBTV service to have access to PBTV Everywhere. Additional subscriptions may be required to view all content listed. Service availability depends upon location, some restrictions may apply.
PBC Offices will be closed Saturday, May 25 and Monday, May 27 for Memorial Holiday
There are 2 office closures in May that we wanted to make you aware of. Both of our offices will be closed two days for the Memorial Day Holiday.
Saturday, May 25 & Monday, May 27
- Both offices are closed to observe the Memorial Day Holiday
As always, 24 hour emergency repair will be available to customers.
Megan Wiens of Grand Rapids Wins Foundation for Rural Service National Scholarship from Paul Bunyan Communications
Paul Bunyan Communications is pleased to announce that Megan Wiens of Grand Rapids is the recipient of a $2,500 college scholarship from Paul Bunyan Communications and the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association's (NTCA) Foundation for Rural Service (FRS).
The FRS scholarship program annually awards $98,000 in scholarships to rural youth across the United States. Out of over 1,100 applications received this year, thirty scholarships were awarded. The goal of the scholarship program is to help further higher education opportunities among rural high school students. Paul Bunyan Communications strongly supports the youth of our community and is thrilled to sponsor this worthy program.
"We are thrilled to offer this program, with the goal of leveling the playing field for rural students who often face financial obstacles in their pursuit of higher education," said Gary Johnson, CEO/General Manager of Paul Bunyan Communications. "The FRS scholarship program enables rural telecommunications providers to show their support of the youth living in the communities they serve. It is a source of tremendous pride for us and for the entire region of northern Minnesota we serve."
Scholarship recipients were selected by an independent team of reviewers from the education field. To be eligible, recipients must be sponsored by a NTCA member system, and must indicate a desire to return to their rural communities once their collegiate studies have been completed.
"It is highly competitive to win a national scholarship like this. Megan is just the second winner of the FRS Scholarship that we've had at Paul Bunyan Communications. That speaks volumes about Megan as a student and person. We're very excited for her!" added Brian Bissonette, Paul Bunyan Communications Marketing Supervisor.
The scholarship program is open to all graduating high school seniors whose family subscribes to local telecommunications service from Paul Bunyan Communications. Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited two-year or four-year college or university, or vocational technical school, and have at least a C-grade point average.
Good Crowd Turns out to Visit Cookie Monster in Grand Rapids May 10th
A good crowd turned out for the Annual Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce's Community Fishing Opener BBQ May 10. Hundreds of kids were there and had a chance to meet Sesame Workshop's Cookie Monster courtesy of Paul Bunyan Communications.
The annual Grand Rapids Fishing Opener BBQ is presented by the Area Business Committee (ABC) of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce and is sponsored in part by Paul Bunyan Communications.
