April 16, 2013 - Missoula, MT
Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative is pleased to announce its Board of Trustees recently approved $24,000 in education scholarships for 28 local students. Individual scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,000 are awarded annually through the Blackfoot Scholarship Fund to outstanding high school students or post-secondary students continuing their education the following fall. The students and their families are invited to attend the Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative Annual Meeting on Saturday, May 4, where all scholarship winners will be recognized.

February 11, 2013 - Missoula, MT
Blackfoot Telecommunications Group (Blackfoot), a leading telecommunications provider based in Missoula, announced it has completed the acquisitions of both Cutthroat Communications (Cutthroat), a Montana-based provider offering wireless and fiber optic technologies, as well as Fremont Telcom Co. and Fretel Communications, LLC. Fremont and Fretel, now collectively called Fremont Communications (Fremont), were formerly owned by FairPoint Communications, (NASDAQ: FRP).

February 01, 2013 - Missoula, MT
Blackfoot Telecommunications Group (Blackfoot) today announced it has completed the acquisition of Fremont Telcom Co. and Fretel Communications, LLC, which were the Idaho properties of FairPoint Communications, Inc., a publicly traded service provider headquartered in Charlotte, NC. Both companies will now be collectively called Fremont Communications (Fremont).

November 28, 2012 - Missoula, MT
New market expansion drives Blackfoot’s high-capacity fiber network across 8,500 square miles throughout Montana and Idaho. Blackfoot Telecommunications Group (Blackfoot) today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Fremont Telcom Co. (Fremont) and Fretel Communications, LLC (Fretel), which are both part of FairPoint Communications, a publicly traded service provider headquartered in Charlotte, NC. (NASDAQ: FRP)

November 21, 2012 - Missoula, MT
At Blackfoot, we have a tradition of giving back to the communities where we live and work. For the last several years, the Blackfoot Board of Trustees has celebrated the holiday season by donating to several food banks in our service areas which is now more than $25,000 to date. In the spirit of giving back, we proudly delivered $500 individual checks this month to each of the following agencies with great appreciation for their commitment to help those in need around us.

October 31, 2012 - Missoula, MT
Blackfoot Telecommunications Group (Blackfoot) today announced that it will acquire Cutthroat Communications (Cutthroat), a telecommunications provider based in Bozeman with offices in Missoula and around the state. The process of integrating Cutthroat’s operations into Blackfoot will begin immediately, and is scheduled to be complete by year end 2012. Cutthroat offers Internet, data transport and voice services to hundreds of enterprise businesses and residential customers across the state. This is the second acquisition for Blackfoot this year.

September 13, 2012 - Missoula, MT
Blackfoot Telecommunications Group continues to keep a new fire camp near Alta connected with critical wireless services. The wireless access helps ensure the continued safety of firefighters by providing them access to critical communication services through their Verizon cellular phones. The access is provided through Blackfoot\'s existing fiber optic network, which covers 6,500-square-miles in Western Montana.

April 26, 2012 - Missoula, MT
Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative is pleased to announce the most substantial scholarship contribution ever approved by the Board of Trustees, doubling its annual support to $31,000. The Board recently awarded 39 scholarships through the Blackfoot Scholarship Fund which awards between $500 and $1,000 in individual scholarships to outstanding high school students or post-secondary students continuing their education in the following Fall. The goal of Blackfoot\'s Scholarship Fund is to support and encourage continuing education for member-owners residing in Blackfoot’s service territories.

April 17, 2012 - Missoula, MT
Blackfoot is pleased to announce that the Cooperative\'s continued strong performance results recently allowed the company to mail more than18,500 checks to member-owners in 22 Western Montana communities. The checks represent a $1.3 million capital credit distribution authorized by the Board of Trustees and help bring money back into local homes and community businesses. Capital credit returns are part of each member’s total ownership interest. Each member builds an ownership interest through time and purchases and the Cooperative returns part of this investment back to each member.

March 21, 2012 - Missoula, MT
Three local Missoula companies are working together to help bring current technology to rural classrooms. Electronic Equipment in Education (EEE) Program is a joint venture between Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative (Blackfoot), Missoula Electric Cooperative (MEC), and Energy Partners (EP). EEE allows these companies to return a small portion of Cooperative Member investments for the betterment of their service communities, while providing local schools with much needed technology equipment to enhance the educational environment.

January 12, 2012 - Missoula, MT
The Blackfoot Board of Trustees announced today that William A. “Bill” Squires has been named Chief Executive Officer for Blackfoot Telecommunications Group (Blackfoot) and its subsidiaries, effective immediately. Bill has been serving as interim CEO since December 2, 2011, and replaces Joan Mandeville who served as Blackfoot’s Chief Executive Officer since 2003. Previously, Bill served as the company’s Senior Vice President & General Counsel since 2001.

November 14, 2011 - Missoula MT
Blackfoot Telecommunications Group employees donated 2,463 pounds of food to the Montana Food Bank Network as part of an internal food drive during the month of October. Blackfoot will also donate fresh turkeys to the Missoula Food Bank to help families before the Thanksgiving holiday, raising the total donation to over 2,500 pounds.

April 22, 2011 - Missoula, MT
Today, Blackfoot mailed more than 19,500 checks to 22 communities with an overall distribution of $1,048,000 in capital credit returns. Blackfoot seeks to provide members with the highest quality service at the most affordable rates. Each member builds an ownership interest by purchasing services from Blackfoot, and each year the Cooperative returns part of this investment back to each member. Blackfoot’s strong financial performance over the last decade has allowed them to pay a cash distribution each year based on each member’s total ownership in the Cooperative.

April 12, 2011 - Missoula, MT
Joan Mandeville, CEO of Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative, announced today that over 19,500 checks will be mailed on April 15, 2011 to 22 communities with an overall distribution of $1,048,000 in capital credit returns. “Blackfoot seeks to provide members with the highest quality service at the most affordable rates. Each member builds an ownership interest by purchasing services from Blackfoot, and each year the Cooperative returns part of this investment back to each member. As a member owner, Blackfoot’s rewards are our members’ rewards, whether it’s a capital credit check or providing educational opportunities to our members, schools, and communities.”

February 07, 2011 - Missoula, MT
Hands-on training in SMART Board™ technologies, hand-held devices, Web 2.0 tools, digital citizenship, open source, Moodle, iPad, iTouch, moviemaker, and much more

December 14, 2010 - Missoula, MT
On December 2, 2010, Blackfoot stepped up as the first corporate supporter to host a much-needed Diaper Drive benefitting Mountain Home. The goal was to collect diapers and raise awareness about the financial struggles that young mothers in our communities face each day. Both goals were successfully met with help from partners like Mountain FM Broadcasting who promoted the event on air and also from generous community members who donated boxes of new disposable diapers.

November 24, 2010 - Missoula, MT
One in three American mom¡¯s struggle to provide their babies with a basic essential ¨C diapers. There¡¯s very little help or public resources to fulfill the need of many struggling new moms. This holiday season join Blackfoot in its effort to help moms and babies in need with diapers. On Thursday, December 2 from 4©\\6pm, Blackfoot, Mountain Home Montana, and Mountain Broadcasting will be at the Double Tree collecting diapers, displaying decorated trees, and bringing in holiday spirit with special guests: Santa and Mo.

May 14, 2010 - Missoula, MT
The Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative (Blackfoot) Board of Trustees today announced the winners of the 2010 Blackfoot Scholarship Fund totaling $16,000. Established in 1996, the scholarship fund was created to support and encourage post-secondary education for member-owners residing in Blackfoot’s service territories. The fund awards $500 individual scholarships to outstanding High School students continuing their education in the Fall of 2010.

May 12, 2010 - Missoula, MT
Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative (Blackfoot) will be hosting the first annual Education Technology Conference: Technology Tools for Inspiring Young Minds, for K-8 educators, superintendents, and schools administrators on August 3-5, 2010 at the University of Montana in the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education and Human Sciences Building.

April 21, 2010 - Missoula, MT
Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative (Blackfoot) paid out over $1.2 million to their Cooperative owner members as part of their 2009 distribution of Capital Credit checks. When you purchase services from a Cooperative you build equity in the business. Each year Blackfoot pays out a portion of this equity in cash to each of their members based on the total services they purchased from the Cooperative and the length of time they’ve been customers.

April 19, 2010 - Missoula Mt
Blackfoot Telecommunications Group (Blackfoot) brings peace of mind to Western Montana with Blackfoot Security and Video Solutions, offering state-of-the-art home and business security systems with simple to use equipment, affordable monitoring services, 24-hour emergency response, licensed installation technicians and local customer support. Blackfoot’s decision to offer home and business security grew out of conversations with their customers about property crimes in Montana. In fact, the Montana Board of Crime Control’s statistics show that property crimes were reported on average every 20 minutes.

February 01, 2010 - Missoula, MT
At Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative (Blackfoot), being a good corporate neighbor is a longstanding business practice. They achieve this through their willingness and desire to be a part of each of their 22 service areas in Western Montana – through charitable contributions, in-kind donations, event sponsorships, and educational initiatives like their Scholarship Program for graduating seniors. Blackfoot continues to be supportive in many other programs such as the Easy Access Internet Training for senior citizens, the Blackfoot Technology Tour for high school students and their EEE Program that donates technology equipment to rural secondary schools.

November 12, 2009 - Missoula, MT
Should taxpayer dollars be used to build a competing business next to your establishment? Apparently New Jersey based Bresnan Communications’ and Governor Schweitzer believe so. Supported by a recommendation of “top priority funding” from the Governor and a White Paper prepared by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), Bresnan proposes to build duplicate fiber rings to seven supposedly un-served and under-served Reservations in Montana. The first page of the White Paper sets forth that “Without question the communications private sector had not found a justification for investment in Indian Country. In June of 2005, GOED requested Bresnan Communications to investigate the possibility of investing in communications in Indian Country and they put together a plan…..” Imagine our surprise, as an independent broadband data and telephone provider, to have our $16.2 Million investment in infrastructure on the Flathead Reservation completely dismissed.

October 13, 2009 - Missoula
The Internet is everywhere these days and some young people seem born to use it. But for many of the older generation the World Wide Web is a World Wide Mystery. To demystify the Internet, Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative (Blackfoot) has launched the Easy Access Internet Program, a program that starts with the basics of navigating the Internet and will evolve into more advanced subjects in spring 2010. Last Tuesday, Blackfoot rolled into downtown Thompson Falls and hosted their workshop event at the Internet Kitchen with much success.

October 01, 2009 - Missoula
On October 17, there’s one more reason to cheer the University ofrnMontana’s Grizzlies to victory against Eastern Washington. As the Official Game Day Sponsor,rnBlackfoot will donate two hundred dollars to CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for everyrnGRIZ touchdown.

June 02, 2009 - Missoula MT
Over thirty graduates from eleven western Montana high schools received a combined total of $16,000 in scholarship assistance. After considering over 65 applications from high school seniors throughout their service areas, the Blackfoot Telecommunications Group (Blackfoot) Board of Trustees selected the most driven and outstanding students in western Montana.

April 21, 2009 - Missoula, MT
On May 30, 2009, Blackfoot Telecommunications Group (Blackfoot) will be sending two Montanans to Washington D.C., to attend the Fifteenth Annual Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) Youth Tour. Blackfoot’s Board of Trustees considered many applications from communities within their service areas and unanimously selected Ashley Holmes of Seeley Lake and Justin Ailport of Drummond to participate in an all expense paid trip to our nation’s Capitol.

April 10, 2009 - Missoula, MT
Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative (Blackfoot) mailed over $1.4 million to their Cooperative owner members as part of their 2008 distribution of Capital Credit checks. Capital Credits are ownership accounts created by allocating the difference between Blackfoot’s operating costs and revenue to members.

February 27, 2009 - Missoula, MT
Blackfoot Telecommunications Group (Blackfoot), Western Montana’s leader in voice, data, and network solutions, introduced Network Protection Service (NPS), a managed service that protects and monitors businesses’ PCs and servers. With critical customer data and work information residing on their machines, businesses are often at risk of work slowdowns due to viruses that impact an individual PC or the entire local area network (LAN), or worse, business information that is at risk of being compromised or lost. Blackfoot’s NPS managed service provides a fast and simple way to resolve business network issues today for peace of mind tomorrow.

February 10, 2009 - Missoula, MT
Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative (Blackfoot) announced that Butch Friede, Hall resident and ranch foreman at Johnson Tuning Fork Ranch, was appointed to Blackfoot’s Board of Trustees at their meeting last week. Friede will be representing Blackfoot customers that reside in Drummond, Philipsburg, Hall, Maxville, and the Rock Creek drainage area.

January 21, 2009 - Missoula, MT
Blackfoot’s Kate Olney and Barak Longnecker hand-delivered a check this month for $6000 to Clark Fork Valley Hospital’s CEO Gregory Hanson, which was the final payment of a 5-year commitment and $30,000 total contribution to the hospital’s Birthing Center. Roughly 50 newborns are born each year in the newly remodeled Birthing Suite, and with the passing of Missoula’s Birth Center, Hanson is seeing more mothers from Missoula decide to have their babies in Plains.

January 15, 2009 -
After faithfully serving the Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative (Blackfoot) as Trustee of District 2 representing Alta, Avon, Drummond, and Ovando for more than 20 years, Doris Stinson of Elliston retired from the Board of Trustees effective December 29, 2008. Stinson played an integral role in guidin Blackfoot through many changes over her two-decade tenure, including such milestones as positioning Blackfoot in their role as the first rural Montana company to introduce an all VoIP telephone and broadband network in Montana, implementation of equal access to all long-distance carriers, complete conversion to digital switching, as well as the acquisition of telephone service areas from both Continental Telephone and US West.