North Liberty, IA – (May 16, 2019) – Over 80 community members gathered for the South Slope Cooperative Communications Annual Meeting on May 15, 2019, at the South Slope Community Center.

As a cooperative, members of South Slope have the opportunity to run for the Board of Directors, serve on the Nominating Committee, and vote for Cooperative Board Members. This year, Gary Grabe was re-elected to the At Large director term. 

South Slope’s annual financials, industry comparisons, and the impact of industry trends were shared by Todd Thornson, Partner of BKD, a CPA and advising firm from Des Moines, Iowa. 

South Slope CEO, Chuck Deisbeck, highlighted the growth of internet customers, Managed W-iFi customers, and overall cooperative membership. In additional, Deisbeck shared how South Slope is meeting the growing needs of businesses. “With the launch of new internet plans for businesses in 2018, we are able to provide the speeds and network reliability they need for leveraging technologies such as Voice-over-IP (VoIP) and cloud platforms.” 

Also in 2018, South Slope began the conversion of homes in Solon and Tiffin from aging copper lines to high-speed fiber-optic lines. South Slope plans to continue to upgrade the copper facilities for South Slope members in Tiffin, Solon and Oxford while balancing the growth in the rest of our communities.

With a focus on infrastructure and innovation, South Slope is working with technology groups Cisco and Datalink to turn up a 200 Gigabit core network in North Liberty, Fairfax, Ely, Amana, and Cedar Rapids. “This network is the first of its kind in Iowa and will allow South Slope to offer the most advanced communication solutions available, combined with unmatched reliability,” Deisbeck said.

Additionally, Deisbeck shared the cooperative’s commitment to communities through their South Slope Cares program, which includes grants, scholarships, donations, and employee volunteering.  “At South Slope, we have a culture built on a foundation of community. I’m proud of our dedicated group of 85 employees who continually give back to the communities we serve.”

About South Slope Cooperative Communications

South Slope Cooperative Communications (www.southslope.com and www.southslope.com/business) provides industry-leading communication and entertainment services, including broadband internet, phone and TV, for homes and businesses. South Slope is recognized by the NTCA—The National Broadband Association as a Smart Rural Community leader and a Certified Gigabit-Capable Provider. Since 1958, the Cooperative has been committed to delivering cutting-edge telecommunications services to the communities it serves in East Central Iowa.