Cope elected president of Tennessee Broadband Association

The Tennessee Broadband Association is excited to announce that executives from independent telcos and other cooperatives from around the state have elected Ben Lomand Connect CEO Lisa Cope as the association’s president.

Cope, who will serve in the role through mid-2020, became the chief executive officer at Ben Lomand in 2016 after 25 years working with the McMinnville-based telecommunications cooperative.

“Being selected to lead the association is both a great honor and responsibility,” Cope said. “As our state’s rural broadband experts, the Tennessee Broadband Association and its members are accomplishing terrific initiatives to bring connectivity to rural areas. I look forward to helping represent the voices and needs of this special group of Tennesseans through leadership, service and a spirit of cooperation. Our executive director, Levoy Knowles, does great work for us and will be excellent to work with.”

Gerald Sitz, president of the Ben Lomand Connect board of directors, supported Cope’s selection. “It speaks to her deep knowledge of this industry, as well as the confidence others place in her to lead the state of Tennessee into a better future using the power of broadband,” he said.

The Tennessee Broadband Association, formerly the Tennessee Telecommunications Association, is comprised of independent and cooperatively owned companies like Ben Lomand Connect that link almost 30% of the state with broadband and related services. Together these companies have recently invested more than $240 million to connect rural Tennesseans with fiber networks.

In June, the association changed its name to highlight its focus on broadband.

“Like Ben Lomand Connect, members of the Tennessee Broadband Association began connecting our families and neighbors with telephone service,” Cope said. “As our customers’ needs have changed, we’ve changed with them. I’m proud that the Tennessee Broadband Association companies work so diligently to ensure their friends and neighbors have the communication networks they need today and for the future.”