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Thursday, July 30th 2020
Call to Order...............................................................Jeanette Hoff
Invocation......................................................Pastor Chris Lenning
Introductions............................................................. Jeanette Hoff
Reading of Meeting Notice and Proof of Mailing
Approval of Minutes
Nominating Committee Report
Director Election Results...........................................Alicia Brenna
Proposed By-Law Changes
Audit Report............................................................... Jon Lee, CPA
President’s & CEO/GM Report Jeanette Hoff & Shane Hart
Unfinished Business Jeanette Hoff
New Business
Adjournment


President - District 4

Wayne
Director - District 1A

Tim
Director - District 5

Vice
- District

Terry
Director - District 2B

Director - District 6

Secretary/Treasurer - District 1B

Marlyn
Director - District 3


The 68th Annual Meeting of Reservation Telephone Cooperative was held on Thursday, June 13, 2019 at the 4 Bears Event Center, New Town, ND. The meal was provided by the 4 Bears Event Center staff and registration was held from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sadie Bone performed the national anthem on saxophone and then Brooke Mogen sang the national anthem.
President Jeanette Hoff called the meeting to order. Pastor Jonathan Starks gave the invocation.
President Hoff appointed Human Resources Manager Gretchen Edwards as Recording Secretary and RTC Attorney Alicia Brenna as Parliamentarian of the meeting. There were 272 registered members present. Secretary-Treasurer Glenn Schreiner declared the existence of a quorum.
President Hoff introduced Board directors and their spouses. Several special guests were also introduced.
A motion was made and seconded to dispense with the reading of the Notice of Annual Meeting and Proof of Mailing. M/C
A motion was made and seconded to dispense with the reading of the 67th Annual Meeting Minutes and to approve as per copy in Annual Meeting Book. M/C
A motion was made and seconded to dispense with the reading of the 2019 Nominating Committee minutes and to approve as per copy in the Annual Meeting booklet. M/C
Secretary-Treasurer Glenn Schreiner presented the candidates for director districts. Candidate for District 1A is Wayne Skarda Candidate for District 4 is Jeanette Hoff. Candidate for District 6 is Barbara Steinmetz. All candidates are running unopposed. A motion was made and seconded to cast a unanimous ballot for Wayne Skarda for District 1A, Jeanette Hoff for District 4 and Barbara Steinmetz for District 6. M/C
Director Schreiner introduced RTC employee, Eric Jaeger, to draw for door prizes.
President Hoff introduced Accounting Manager Jon Lee Accounting Manager Jon Lee presented the audit report. Manager Lee reported auditor Moss Adams gave RTC a clean, unmodified audit opinion for 2018.
Manager Lee reported that RTC’s sales grew by over $5 million bringing our total operating revenue to over $45 million in 2018. This is our highest revenue in RTC history and about twice our revenue from 2012. Operating expenses increased about 2%. Net margins for 2018 totaled $8,219,836, an improvement of more than $3.7 million from 2017. RTC’s total assets exceeds $123 million dollars. Long-term debt is our largest liability at $69 million.

President Hoff announced that approval was needed for the 2018 Audit Report.
A motion was made and seconded to approve the 2018 Audit Report as presented. M/C
President Hoff and CEO/GM Shane Hart gave a joint report.
President Hoff reported that RTC has had another very successful year with record revenue and net income. CEO/GM Hart stated today 91% of RTC subscribers receive their services via fiber and presented a map on the large screens showing where fiber is deployed and where we are deploying fiber in 2019. RTC plans to spend $7 million in 2019 towards fiber construction just as we did in 2018. In 2019, RTC will be plowing fiber in rural Max, rural Douglas and rural Ryder along with the newly added area of Cartwright which is now part of the Alexander exchange.
President Hoff added that while our traditional telephone service lines are declining, RTC now has over 10,000 internet subscribers, which is a new record. High speed internet is the most requested service by our members.
CEO/GM Hart discussed challenges RTC faces in video costs. RTC continues to look for alternative methods for delivering quality video content that is affordable. Regardless of the technology used, RTC promises to provide the best channel line-up possible at the most affordable prices we can. President Hoff stated the Board of Directors continues to evaluate the cooperative’s ability to fund its obligations, including capital credits. Even though we had strong revenues and net income in 2018 our equity ratio is 37%, which means for every dollar RTC has, 63 cents is owed to a lender. This is an improvement over the last few years but is not high enough to afford a general capital credit retirement this year. RTC continues to pay capital credits to estates and closed businesses. Over $412,000 was paid in 2018 to estate capital credits and closed businesses.
CEO/GM Hart talked about surveillance cameras, which is a rapidly growing service at RTC. These cameras allow you to monitor your property while away using a tablet or smartphone.
President Hoff informed attendees the statewide association known as the North Dakota Association of Telephone Cooperatives (NDATC) has changed their name to Broadband Association of North Dakota (BAND). This more accurately reflects the organization it is today. Their primary function is to monitor and advocate for beneficial regulations with our state and national policymakers.
CEO/GM Hart reported on the ten educational and informative videos that RTC created over the past year and can be viewed on RTC’s website. We are proud of how our services have a positive impact on the lives of those we serve. CEO/GM Hart introduced the “Why it Matters” video and it was shown to attendees.
President Hoff invited the four 2019 RTC scholarship winners and the 2019 FRS Youth Tour participant to come to the stage to be recognized. CEO/GM Hart introduced each student and they were congratulated.
CEO/GM Hart recognized Director Marlyn Froseth and he was presented with a plaque in recognition of his 40 years of service to RTC as a director. Judy Brunsell, RTC employee, received a plaque in recognition of her 46 years of service to RTC. CEO/GM Hart announced that Judy will retire at the end of June.
President Hoff and CEO/GM Hart proceeded with thanking those involved with the meeting. There were drawings for door prizes.
President Hoff called for unfinished business. There was none.
President Hoff called for new business. There was none.
A drawing was held for the children’s prize of a Kids edition Amazon Echo Dot and the Grand Prize of a 55” Samsung Smart TV.
A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. M/C Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Gretchen Edwards, Recording Secretary

The Nominating Committee met Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. by conference call. Members present per roll call were:
Bonnie Billadeau, Terri Morenski, Joel Lindquist, James Hansen, Curtis Peterson, Mylo Wolding, Cliff Tollefson, Susan Best, and Karla Quale.
CEO/GM Shane Hart and HR Manager Gretchen Edwards were also in attendance.
CEO/GM Shane Hart introduced himself and HR Manager Gretchen Edwards to committee members.
Motion and second to nominate Mylo Wolding as Chairman. M/C
Motion and second to nominate Gretchen Edwards, RTC HR Manager as Recording Secretary. M/C
The Nominating Committee reviewed the packet they were given including the Notice of Meeting and RTC by-laws regarding director nomination.
The Nominating Committee reviewed the signed Certification of Nominee forms completed by Jennifer Sorenson, Terry Wilber, Lance Kalmbach and Amy Ones. No other Certification of Nominee forms were received by committee members or at the RTC office.
Motion and second to nominate Jennifer Sorenson for District 1B. M/C
Motion and second to nominate Terry Wilber for District 2B. M/C
Motion and second to nominate Lance Kalmbach for District 3. M/C
Motion and second to nominate Amy Ones for District 3. M/C
Motion and second that it is the recommendation of the Nominating Committee to have the paper ballots, alternated 50/50 with each candidate’s name at the top of the ballot, if there is a contested election. M/C.
Discussed if committee members would be available to count ballots if they are in attendance at the annual meeting. CEO/ GM Hart explained that the Annual Meeting would most likely be postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Board will decide at their meeting on April 23, 2020. Chairman Wolding agreed to read the Minutes of the Nominating Committee Meeting at the Annual Meeting if needed.
CEO/GM Hart explained how RTC and their employees are functioning during the coronavirus and answered any questions the committee members had.
Chairman Wolding called for any other business.
Motion and second to adjourn. M/C
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted, Gretchen Edwards, Recording Secretary




DISTRICT 1B CANDIDATE
Alexander, Arnegard, Keene, Squaw Gap, Watford City
Jennifer Sorenson has served on the RTC Board of Directors for 12 years. She and her husband Curtis farm and ranch five miles south of Watford City. Jennifer graduated from Watford City High School and North Dakota State School of Science. Jennifer and Curtis’ son Jarvis, his wife Kadie, and their three children join them as 4th and 5th generation on the family ranch. Their daughter Erin, husband Tim Fjeldahl and three children also live in Watford City. Jennifer enjoys helping out on the ranch, traveling and keeping up with her grandchildren’s activities. Jennifer is a member of District One Cattlewomen and past President of the Watford City Lions and the Pioneer Museum. She is active in the First Lutheran Church and enjoys volunteering and being active in the community.
DISTRICT 2B CANDIDATE
Mandaree, New Town, Ross
Terry Wilber has served on the RTC Board of Directors for 21 years from District 2B. Terry is a past president of the RTC Board of Directors. Terry was employed by Northrop Grumman in New Town and retired after 32 years, with over 28 years as the Plant Manager. He graduated from New Town High School and Dickinson State University with a degree in Business Administration. Terry is currently involved in a variety of organizations including the New Town Lakeside Community Living Center, New Town Health Support, Van Hook Cemetery Association and the Bethel Lutheran Church. Terry was involved in the startup and initial operation of TJMD, LLP, which performs various oilfield services. Terry has been married to Marcia since 1974 and they have three children: Dana, Mike and Jesse; and ten grandchildren. When time allows, Terry enjoys yard work, hunting, fishing, golfing and getting involved in projects that provide business development and employment opportunities in the area.
DISTRICT 3 CANDIDATE
Kenmare, Norma, Spencer
Lance Kalmbach was born and raised on a farm and graduated from Flaxton High School. He started in the grain elevator business out of high school and currently works as a Procurement Merchandiser/ Broker for CHS SunPrairie in Bowbells. Lance and his wife Jane have lived in Kenmare since 1991 and have two grown children, Sam and wife Kelsey live in Weyburn, Saskatchewan and Sarah who lives in Moorhead, MN. Lance currently serves on the transportation committee of the North Dakota Grain Dealers Association and is also on the board of the Kenmare Housing Authority to the city of Kenmare. Some of his hobbies include hunting, fishing, camping and just spending time with friends and family
DISTRICT 3 CANDIDATE
Kenmare, Norma, Spencer
Amy Ones is a graduate of Kenmare High School and the University of North Dakota earning degrees in both Accounting & Business Management. She has also successfully passed the Uniform CPA exam. Amy has been the Flaxton City Auditor for the past 8 years and owns her own consulting business that specializes in governmental accounting, charitable gaming and grant writing. Amy’s community involvement includes being the chairperson for the Kenmare Area Community Foundation, a director on the Kenmare Public School Board of Education and a member of the Bowbells United Methodist Church. She and her husband, Ryan, who is employed as the assistant service manager for Gooseneck Implement, live in rural Kenmare with their two children, Grace and Brooks. Amy enjoys attending her kiddos academic and sporting activities and promoting and advocating for ND communities. She looks forward to the potential opportunity of being elected to the District 3 RTC board position and serving area cooperative members and RTC employees.


Jeanette Hoff President Shane Hart CEO & General Manager
We are excited and proud to share our 2019 Annual Report, in which we will highlight many of the ways that RTC has continued to connect our communities over the past year. While we are not able to meet in person this year due to COVID-19, we assure you we are doing everything we can to ensure the RTC membership is connected. We would like to take just a few moments to explain those efforts.
Over the past year, RTC continued our fiber buildout in rural Max, rural Ryder, and the Cartwright area, which is part of the Alexander exchange. We also installed fiber connections to over 300 new home and business locations. This number of new connections is very positive for RTC and shows that our cooperative is continuing to grow.
Fast, reliable broadband is no longer a luxury, but a necessity for those who live in our rural communities. RTC offers some of the fastest internet speeds available across the country. We offer Gigabit speeds in almost every community we serve. Along with great internet quality and speeds, RTC is proud to offer quality Wi-Fi to your home, your business or your lake cabin! Wi-Fi allows you to wirelessly connect to the internet with one of the many devices you may have.
The RTC team is working diligently to ensure all of our members are receiving the best experience possible in regards to the services you purchase and the interactions you have with RTC. To assist with this, we have hired an outside entity to call on various members who have had a recent interaction with RTC by installing new service or reporting trouble with an existing service. If you have received one of these calls, THANK YOU for your valuable input about your service experience. Your candid responses to the questions asked provide us with the information we need to continually look for ways to better serve you.
In addition to growing our connections to more subscribers RTC also had a successful year in terms of operating revenues and net margin. You can review this information on pages 10 and 11 of your annual report.
Now we would like to express our gratitude to all of those whose efforts have made RTC so successful.
First of all to Marlyn Froseth for his service to RTC. Marlyn has faithfully served on the RTC Board of Directors in various capacities for 42 years. We want to thank Marlyn for his dedication, his leadership, and the knowledge he has shared with all of us. Over his 42 years on the board, Marlyn has served alongside 20 other directors and all 4 of RTC’s General Managers. You can read more about his tenure with RTC on pages 14-15. Congratulations Marlyn, on a job well done!
Next, we offer our gratitude to the entire Board of Directors for their leadership and guidance they provide. RTC is truly blessed to have such intelligent individuals serving in these positions.
We also want to give a big “THANK YOU” to all of the employees of RTC. Your daily dedication to RTC and the people we serve is why RTC had another successful year.
Finally, we want to say “THANK YOU” to all of our memberowners for your continued loyalty and support of RTC. It takes all of us, board, employees and member-owners working together to achieve the success RTC experienced this past year.
We look forward to serving you again in the upcoming year!

RTC is commited to ensuring our memberowners are connected, entertained, informed, and secure “ “
- Shane Hart CEO & General Manager
3,500,000 7,000,000 10,500,000 14,000,000
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Customers
Customers


Garrett Stroklund is the son of Clinton and Rebecca Stroklund He is a senior at Kenmare High School. He has been active in Future Farmers of America (FFA), band, choir, basketball, football, track, baseball, St. Agnes CCD and drama. This fall, Garrett plans to attend the University of North Dakota majoring in Aviation. He hopes to become a commercial pilot and would love to live in North Dakota as he would like to be a part of his local community by coaching football or basketball.
Hailey Carns is the daughter of John and Angie Carns She is a senior at Watford City High School. She has been active in DECA, Student Council, The Ambassadors Program and cheerleading. This fall, Hailey plans to attend Williston State College majoring in Nursing. She would like to become a neonatal nurse and return to Watford City to work at McKenzie County Healthcare She looks forward to giving back to the community where she grew up.

Kaitlyn Klein is the daughter of Travis and Sharon Klein. She is a senior at Garrison High School She has been active in student government, volleyball, basketball, track and volunteering at St. Nicholas Parish. This fall, Kaitlyn plans to attend Bismarck State College majoring in Secondary Education with a minor in Business. Kaitlyn foresees the growing need for teachers in North Dakota and believes this is a great opportunity to prepare students to be great citizens that will benefit the communities and cites of ND.

Nathan Talbott is the son of Richard and Lesli Talbott He is a senior at Max Public School. He has been active in basketball, cross country, Student Council and Honor Society. This fall, Nathan plans to attend Minot State University majoring in Marketing. Nathan loves all aspects of business and knows he would enjoy a career marketing and selling products. He has even started taking college level business courses.
The following RTC employees and directors have been recognized for their number years of service to the cooperative as of the year ending in 2019.
1 Year
Joy Braaflat
CSR I
Tyler Carter FIBER SPLICER
Aaron Schenfisch UTILITY TECH
5 Years
Stephanie Hayden CSR II LEAD
Jeremy Zacher UTILITY TECH
10 Years
Gretchen Edwards
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER
Lori Johnson CSR II
Jessie Many Ribs FIBER SPLICER
Belden Moberg TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST
Chad Talbott
DATA NETWORK TECH III COORDINATOR
James Vaagen
COMBINATION TECH
15 Years
Dave Uhlich
COMBINATION TECH COORDINATOR
20 Years
Monica Bangen CSR II
Terry Wilber DIRECTOR
25 Years
Ron Sanderson
CABLE LOCATOR
Term after term, Marlyn Froseth has run largely unopposed for his seat on RTC’s Board of Directors.
“I enjoyed being on the board and I didn’t really have anybody that really wanted to take my place,” Marlyn said. “So I guess that’s how I stayed on so long.”
Marlyn has been a dedicated member of the board since 1978, serving as Chairman from 1989 to 1996 and spending several years as Secretary-Treasurer. Now, after 42 years of service— and at 88 years old—Marlyn has announced that he will be retiring from the board.
“I have been proud to be a part of RTC’s success over the years,” Marlyn said. “It is going to be very hard to leave.”
In his four decades on our Board of Directors, Marlyn has witnessed a revolution not just here at RTC, but in the telecommunications industry as a whole. When Marlyn was first elected in 1978, RTC had just 21 employees and one service offering: telephone. Marlyn oversaw RTC’s expansion into the cable television business in the 1980s, and led the way when we began offering internet service in 1995.
Today, RTC has over 100 employees serving 20 exchanges over 6,000 square miles. We are about 90 percent built out with Fiber-to-the-Home, technology that did not even exist four decades ago.

Marlyn Froseth
“When I first got on the board, to get a private phone line was a big deal,” Marlyn said. “I couldn’t have imagined back then what we would become.”
One highlight of Marlyn’s tenure on RTC’s Board of Directors was the acquisition of our Garrison, Kenmare, and Max exchanges. In 1996, US West, one of the seven regional Bell Operating Companies, was looking to sell off some of its
When I first got on the board, to get a private phone line was a big deal. “ “
smaller properties across the state. Along with Gene Sloane, RTC’s General Manager at the time, Marlyn sat on a committee of 15 rural telephone cooperatives and small independent companies to divide the properties and negotiate a price.
“We had to negotiate with US West for a price that involved 15 different entities. So that got to be quite a process,” Marlyn said. “In the end we purchased those three pieces of property, which almost doubled the size of our cooperative as far as landlines at the time. It made our company quite a bit larger and stronger.”
Over the years, Marlyn has also made more than 20 trips to Washington, D.C. with the Rural Broadband Association (formerly the National Telephone Cooperative Association) to advocate for the rural telecom industry. On these trips, he spoke with legislators about the importance of supporting the Universal Service Funds, a government-administered program to subsidize telephone and broadband services in rural and high-cost areas, for low-income consumers, and for schools, libraries, and healthcare facilities.
All in all, Marlyn considers these trips a success.
“We still have the Universal Service Funds working for us,” Marlyn said. “And personally, it has really broadened my understanding of government and I have been able to meet some really great people. And we’ve had to do some sightseeing—Washington in itself is quite an adventure.”
Marlyn’s involvement with RTC is just one chapter in his storied life. A U.S. Air Force veteran and retired farmer, Marlyn has lived in the Kenmare area since 1961. He has served on the Parish Council of Trinity Lutheran Church, the Trinity Kenmare Community Hospital board, and the Norma Co-op Elevator Board, of which he was President for several years. He now drives semi for Skar Trucking, LLC. on a part-time basis. He has been married to his beloved wife, LaDonna, for over 65 years, and
the two have four children, six grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren.
We are grateful to Marlyn for sharing this chapter of his life with RTC. Under his leadership, we have created dozens of jobs in our communities, invested in new technologies that no one could have dreamed of four decades ago, and made rural North Dakota more connected than ever before.
While we are thrilled to have two very capable nominees running for his position, we will certainly miss Marlyn on the RTC Board of Directors.
“I couldn’t have enjoyed anything in my life more than being on the board for RTC. It has given me the opportunity to participate in so many things that I never would have had the chance to otherwise, and it has made me a better person,” Marlyn said. “Next to my family, it has been the most important part of my life.”
Thank you, Marlyn, for 42 outstanding years of service to RTC!










































































































OUR MISSION IS TO PROVIDE QUALITY TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES AT COMPETITIVE PRICES.
G uided by the Cooperative Philosophy Practice Sound Financial Management Focus on the Customer Value and Support Employees Support Our Local Communities