Officers
ROBERT WRIGHTER, JR.
Chairman of the Board
Rob is the current Chairman of the Board of NYSTA and is the President of The Hancock Telephone Company. He is responsible for the oversight and direction of Hancock Telephone companies’ day-to-day operations. Rob has 40 years of experience in the industry, and has served on many committees with NYSTA. He has been married to Patricia for 33 years and has 2 children, Dustin and Nathan.
MARK EVANS
Mark is the current Vice Chairman of NYSTA and the Vice-President of his family-owned State Telephone Company, Inc. (State Tel). Mark started working for State Tel. counting payphone coin box money, through his teens and early twenties did lineman work while attending Siena College. After college Mark became a Paramedic and had a very successful career in EMS for many years. In 2000 he returned to State Tel. to oversee Operations, Regulatory Affairs & New Business Development. In 2016 he oversaw the $10.8 million New NY Broadband Grant leading to 250 miles of new fiber optic cables and the largest expansion in State Tel. history. Mark has been the Mayor of his hometown of Coxsackie, NY for 15 years.
JASON MILLER
Jason is the current Treasurer at NYSTA and the current Chair of the NYSTA Government Affairs Committee. Jason is Vice President and General Manager at Delhi Telephone Company (DTC) and DTC Cable, Inc. He has 15 years of experience at DTC. Jason also currently serves on the NTCA (The Rural Broadband Association) Government Affairs Committee. Prior to joining DTC, Jason worked for IBM for 5 years.
Directors
JAMES MCCARTHY
Jim is a past Chair of the Board at NYSTA and the President of Northland Communications. In his role Jim is responsible for the strategic planning, implementation, and leading Northland’s overall business activities. Jim has 30 years of experience in the telephony/broadband industry with a broad range of experience including leadership development, EOS, Lean Six Sigma and regulatory affairs. Jim also serves on USTelecom’s Leadership Committee.
JIM BECKER
Jim is a past Chairman of the Board at NYSTA and is currently the Chairman & President of Middleburgh Telephone (MIDTEL) and Chairman & CEO of Newport Telephone (NTC). Jim is 4th generation in the family that owns that these two companies and is 5th generation in the rural telecom industry. Jim is active in community economic development advancements, as well as personal real estate development, and serves on various boards inside and outside of the telecommunications industry.
Christine Gosselin
Christine is the Manager-State Government Affairs for TDS Telecom. In her role, Christine is responsible for tracking and advocating for legislation, regulatory requirements, and seeks opportunities for funding through programs which positively impact the business. She works closely with state legislatures, broadband associations, and public service commissions. She has over 17 years in the industry, and previously managed the Joint Use Pole Team for TDS nationwide. Christine lives in NH with her husband and two sons, and is currently on the Board of Directors for ME, NH, NY and VT Telephone Associations.
GLEN FAULKNER
Glen has over 40 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Beginning his career in the cable television industry, Glen transitioned to Plant Manager for Time Warner Cable in 1986, and then accepted a position at the Margaretville Telephone Company (MTC) in 1996 managing its cable television subsidiary. Today, Glen serves as President and General Manager of the company serving over 9,000 voice, video, and broadband customers. MTC recently completed over 1100 miles of fiber deployment in partnership with the New York Broadband Program Office leveraging over $35 million in public / private funding passing 15,000 homes.
SCOTT BROOKS
Scott is the past Chairman of the Board member at NYSTA and is the Director – Government Relations for Consolidated Communications. In his role with Consolidated, Scott has responsibility for all legislative and regulatory requirements in the State of New York and Vermont. Scott has 28 years of experience in the telephony/broadband industry with a broad range of management roles in Sales, Customer Service, Field Services and Government, Regulatory Affairs. Prior to joining Consolidated, Scott worked for TDS Telecom and is Past-President of the Technology Association of New England (TANE).
PAUL H. GRISWOLD
Paul Griswold is President and CEO Ontario & Trumansburg Telephone Companies. FLTG, the telco’s former CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) was formed in 1995 to offer deregulated telecommunications services. Since 2005, Paul also has served as President and CEO of the telco’s and Finger Lakes Technologies Group, Inc. Both companies have been owned and operated by the Griswold family for over 100 years and 5 generations. Until 2017, FLTG owned and operated the largest privately held fiber network in Upstate NY. FLTG’s fiber network encompassed over 3,000 miles and connected 75 cities in Upstate NY. Our co-location facility resided at the former Seneca Army Depot in Romulus, NY. Our co-location property encompassed 800 acres and contained 64 Nuclear Warhead Bunkers, secured by triple barbwire fence. FLTG was also one of the largest Cisco partners in Upstate NY, earning one the highest Cisco certifications – CMSP (Cisco Master Service Provider). In 2017, Paul initiated the acquisition of FLTG to FirstLight. Paul was named President of FirstLight’s Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), and Executive VP until 2020.
Recently, Paul initiated yet another acquisition of the families 5 generation telephone companies Ontario, and Trumansburg Telephone Companies, to Oak Hill Capital Partners in April of 2021. As a result of the sale, Paul and Oak Hill Capital have created another CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) called Upstate Fiber Networks (UFN). This company’s mission is to build fiber to the home (FTTH) throughout all of Upstate NY. Construction has begun simultaneously in 9 different towns. Paul continues to serve as the President of both of these entities.
KEVIN KLOEHN
Associate Member Board Representative Kevin Kloehn is the Vice President of Customer Relations at Vantage Point Solutions, where he serves as primary contact for the Northeastern portion of the country ranging from Wisconsin to Maryland to Maine. Kevin has worked in the industry for nearly 30 years and is known to be passionate about connectivity and a fierce advocate for developing strategic, technical, and regulatory solutions. Kevin also serves on the board of the Illinois Broadband and Telecom Association, the NTCA AMAC, and is the Associate Member Chairman for the Ohio Telecom Association. A lifelong fan of sports, history, and his family, Kevin is frequently found at a game or museum somewhere around the country. He offices out of his home in Milwaukee, WI.
DAVID PIHL
David is the Senior Vice President of Operations, Network & Sales and has been with DFT Communications for 42 years. He started his career as a part time alarm system installer in 1981. From there he held many positions including, Installation Foreman, Sales Engineer, Plant Manager, Operations Manager and became the Vice President of Operations and Company Officer in 2001. He has served on the NYSTA BOD since 2017 and many other local Boards in Chautauqua County.
MARK SOLTES
Lumen Technologies
JEANNE SHEARER
Jeanne is Windstream’s vice president of state government affairs. She has 22 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. In her role, she is responsible for all legislative and regulatory matters in New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
JOE TOMAINO
Joe is Vice President/General Manager of Newport Telephone Co/NTCNet and a recently elected to the NYSTA Board of Directors. In his role at Newport Telephone, Joe oversees the day to day operations of the company. Joe has been with Newport Telephone for 35 years with numerous roles in accounting/finance and management.