SkyLine Membership Corporation Board of Directors

Standing left to right: Jerry Roten, Raymond Parker, Attorney; Molly Gambill, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer; Tommy Joe Ward, Bill Burleson, Olan Bentley.

Seated left to right: Jimmy Blevins, CEO; Joseph McNeil, Vice President; R.C. Mitchell, President; James L. Shepherd, Secretary; D.C. Smith, Treasurer.­

SkyLine Membership Corporation

SkyLine Membership Corporation is a local, member-owned cooperative, established in 1951 to bring telephone service to rural residents of Alleghany, Ashe and Watauga counties. Later, the cooperative expanded its service territory to include areas of Avery County and Shady Valley, Tennessee when it merged with Cherokee Telephone Membership Corporation. SkyLine serves a 12-exchange network with nearly 29,000 access lines across a five-county area in northwest North Carolina and east Tennessee. The company has a wholly-owned subsidiary, SkyBest Communications, Inc., and it also co-owns Carolina West Wireless, a regional wireless carrier operating in 10 northwest North Carolina counties.

SkyBest Communications, Inc. Board of Directors

Standing left to right: Raymond Parker, Attorney; Sharon Kasel; R.C. Mitchell, Assistant Secretary; James L. Shepherd, Chairman.

Seated left to right: Haskell McGuire, Secretary; Jimmy Blevins, President; Dennis Gambill, Vice President; Joseph McNeil, Treasurer.

SkyBest Communications, Inc.

SkyBest Communications, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SkyLine Membership Corporation. Established in 1998, SkyBest is a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC), offering a variety of deregulated services including dial-up and broadband Internet, voice and long-distance services, business and network solutions, SkyBest Security, video surveillance, automation and SkyBest TV over an expanding fiber network. In 2014, SkyBest established a subsidiary, The Video Exchange, to serve as a source for video content for TV station operators and channel owners across the U.S.

1. Scholarship

The Frank James-SkyLine Scholarship is presented annually to children of SkyLine/SkyBest customers. Selection is based on academics, financial need, and school and community involvement.

2. Christmas Charities

Employees make Christmas brighter for the young and elderly in Ashe County through the Interagency Christmas Project and Appalachian Senior Programs’ Project Star. Employees also help individual families in area counties with gifts, heating assistance and other needs.

3. Directory Recycling

For over 20 years, SkyLine’s Directory Collection Drive has been collecting thousands of old directories with the help of 17 area public schools, resulting in recycled paper products, hydroseeding mulches and more. For their part, schools receive a

4. Fighting Cancer

Across the region, SkyLine and its employees actively support Relay for Life, the signature fund-raising activity for the American Cancer Society. In 2016, SkyLine and its employees contributed more than $8,500 to support ongoing research, education, advocacy and service, the four hallmarks of the ACS.

5. FRS Youth Tour

Grace Miller and Quentin Wellington of Ashe County were SkyLine’s student ambassadors at this year’s Foundation for Rural Service Youth Tour to Washington, D.C. They experienced a close-up view of our nation’s capital, including visits to numerous landmarks, and learned about the vital role of telecommunications in rural communities.

6. Heart Association

Working to raise awareness and support for the American Heart Association, SkyLine provides the phone bank at the annual Ashe Heart Auction. At this year’s Heart Walk, fellow employees joined Angie Miller’s family team in memory of her brother Ricky Goodman and father Dub Goodman, whose lives were lost prematurely to heart disease.

7. Co-op Leadership Camp

For many years, SkyLine has made it possible for area youth to attend Cooperative Leadership Camp at White Lake to learn more about how cooperatives operate while building their leadership skills. Led by the Cooperative Council of North Carolina, this year’s program hosted over 50 students, including Caroline Current and Brandt Denniston of Ashe County.

8. “Rise & Shine” Food Drive

Food insecurity is a sobering reality for many across our service area, so we’ve partnered with area food pantries to fill their shelves with much-needed non-perishable breakfast items. Year three of this effort is now underway with our employees, directors and members/customers through October, which is National Cooperative Month.

9. LMC Summer Theatre

SkyLine continued its support of Lees-McRae’s 31st season of its Summer Theatre program, serving as the presenting corporate sponsor of the first show and family favorite, “Mary Poppins.” This year’s line-up also featured “Always…Patsy Cline” and “The Pajama Game.”

10. An App Summer Festival

SkyBest Communications was among the corporate sponsors of An Appalachian Summer Festival, which has grown to become one of the nation’s leading regional multi-arts festivals. App Summer features music, dance, theatre, visual arts and film and celebrated its 32nd season in 2016.

11. Project Teamwork

Project Teamwork is our employee-led community outreach program, which provides financial relief to area families during times of crisis. Since 1997, this program has contributed more than $150,000 to help our neighbors across the region.