West Carolina Annual Meeting highlights continued growth, financial strength, and 74 years of service

August 10, 2026

Abbeville, SC – West Carolina held its 2026 Annual Meeting of the Membership on August 10 at the Abbeville Civic Center, where members, retirees, employees, and guests gathered to mark another year of growth ahead of the cooperative’s 75th anniversary in 2027.

Board President Wes McAllister opened the meeting by reflecting on West Carolina’s history, which traces back to 1952, when a group of neighbors pooled resources to bring telephone service to unserved and underserved communities. “Everything we did this past year, every mile of fiber laid, every home connected, every hand extended to a neighbor, is a continuation of what those men and women started around a kitchen table more than seven decades ago,” McAllister said.

Three board seats were up for election this year, with the following results:

Aimee Gray – Area 1, Starr

Robert Hester – Area 6, Calhoun Falls

Tag Bussey – Area 9, South McCormick

McAllister also welcomed Dennis Stoll, appointed to represent Area 4, Due West, filling the seat of retiring director Lee Logan. Logan was honored for 41 years of board service, beginning in 1985 and retiring this June. During his time on the board, he advocated for extending fiber to every member and served the community well beyond the boardroom, including as mayor of Due West. “It is no overstatement to say that so much of what West Carolina is today carries his fingerprints,” McAllister said.

In his report, CEO and General Manager Chris Townson, now in his second year leading the cooperative and the fourth CEO in its history, pointed to a year defined by both measurable growth and a deeper sense of purpose. “We have strength in numbers and meaning in mission,” Townson said.

Townson shared several highlights from the past year:

Growth to more than 61,000 customers, including over 9,000 new sign-ups since last June

More than 750,000 web threats blocked monthly through WiFi X cybersecurity

A Net Promoter Score of 83, one of the industry’s leading scores

Roughly 1,000 miles of new fiber built, bringing the network to more than 8,800 miles, with almost 12,000 addresses added in the past year

Continued expansion through Upcountry Fiber, a collaboration with Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, with a commitment to build fiber to roughly 9,900 homes and businesses under the American Rescue Plan by year’s end

The cooperative also reported strong community investment and financial performance in 2025:

Employee-led Foundation gave more than $75,000 to 32 local organizations

80 community sponsorships supported

Nearly 1,000 participants and almost six tons of food collected during the Give Big Holiday Food Drive

$218.7 million in total assets

$117.9 million in member equity

$43.8 million invested in plant and network

$4.6 million in debt principal repaid

$1.8 million in capital credits returned to members this year, bringing the total returned since the cooperative’s founding to nearly $64 million

“Growth protects the members who came first,” Townson said. “It spreads fixed costs across a larger base, which keeps rates fair and service strong, and it carries reliable, affordable connectivity to addresses that would otherwise be left behind.”

Both leaders pointed to the cooperative’s values as the foundation for its work: taking care of each other, serving with heart, being the area’s biggest fan, working the dream, and showing up right. “People are the reason a handful of neighbors ran that first line in 1952,” Townson said, “and they are the only reason worth doing this work in 2026.”

Looking ahead, McAllister and Townson both noted that the cooperative’s next chapter will include celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2027. “This has been a season of building and a season of recommitment,” McAllister said. “I believe, with all my heart, that our best seasons are still ahead.”