Newcomers to the Tipmont Wintek team quickly discover we have a distinct rhythm. It’s like the holiday season that's just around the corner. Suddenly here we are again, another year gone by. Time flies here because we’re always focused on the next achievement or accomplishment — from updating utility poles to further improve our reliability to connecting hundreds more customers to in-home fiber internet.

October is a great time to plan for winterizing your home. To even think about such a thing on the beautiful 77-degree day when I’m writing this almost feels like blasphemy. But winter's icy grip always arrives sooner than we think, and it's best to be prepared.

The following text is from a presentation by Tipmont REMC Communication Director Rob Ford given at the 2021 Annual Meeting on September 18, 2021.

I'm going to spend a few minutes updating you on our broadband internet progress. It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly three years since we connected our first customer near our office in Linden. I’m pleased to share that we connected our 3,000th customer earlier this summer, well ahead of our original schedule.

In July 2019, our 80th Annual Meeting celebrated our past, present and future. We had recently acquired Wintek Corporation and were commemorating the first customers' connections to our state-of-the-art fiber internet. No one envisioned it would be two years before we were able to hold another Annual Meeting.

It hardly seems possible that the youngest members of our co-op communities will soon head back to school. That return is rooted in such routines as choosing classes or planning for extracurricular activities. While this school year won't feel entirely the same as in many years past, there will at least be less uncertainty after the unexpected challenges of the past 18 months.

In 2014, Tipmont’s board of directors revised our co-op’s mission statement to best reflect our purpose: “Empowering communities by providing state-of-the-art essential services.” In basic terms, that means electricity and fiber internet. But our definition dares to go deeper.

What a difference a year makes. My column in May of last year was filled with uncertainty, but also hope. Just like so many other organizations — hospitals, schools, churches, government, businesses — Tipmont was rethinking how to operate in a fundamentally altered environment.

Tipmont's board of directors held its regular board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 23. All directors were present. Also attending were CEO Ron Holcomb and Attorney Jeff Helmick.

Your home may be near one of our new build areas, but you are wondering why we’re not building to your address at this time. The reason is the grant funding areas must be completed within two years.

Tipmont’s board of directors held its regular board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 26. All directors were present. Also attending were CEO Ron Holcomb and Attorney Jeff Helmerick.