JOHNSTOWN - Frontier Communications is more than just a telephone and high speed internet provider, it is a giver to the community.
Frontier was awarded with the Community Commitment Award Saturday night during the annual Fulton County Economic Development Corp.'s 16th annual dinner.
Award presenter Wally Hart said Frontier is a remarkable company that provides 300 local jobs, but that was not the focus Saturday, although the community continues to be grateful its headquarters are in the Northeast.
Frontier Employees mentioned in the award presentation included Todd Rulison, general manager of Northeast Operations, Denise Coco, chairwoman of the company's CAT Team, Erica Vonder Heide and Kathy Blyel representing the Frontier Independent Telephone Pioneers Association.
Frontier supports a Community Action Team of employees who are willing to pitch in and help just about anywhere. At nearly every community event, you will find a CAT Team member or two, or the entire team volunteering their time.
"These folks are dependable and many of us who are in the non-profit business have grown accustomed to saying, 'call Frontier's CAT Team, they'll help," said Hart
Frontier is involved with several projects and organizations across the entire county including the Salvation Army, Fulton County Senior Centers, American Heart Association, Fulmont Community Action Agency and American Cancer Society.
This past December, Frontier employees also adopted 32 families for the holiday season as part of the DSS "Kids Peace" program.
Frontier encourages and supports the ITPA, an employee association with national membership. This group works in-house soliciting support from employees for various fundraisers, bake sales, dog walks, basket raffles and a myriad of other projects. This group has contributed to dozens of worthwhile causes- Mountain Valley Hospice, the YMCA of Fulton County, the Ronald McDonald House, HealthLink, the Johnstown and Gloversville Public Libraries, the Jewish Community Center, Alzheimer's Association, Ayer's Memorial Animal Shelter, Fulton County's Regional Animal Shelter and the James A. Brennan Animal Shelter, are but a few of the organizations that benefit from the participation of Frontier employees through the ITPA.
Frontier encourages employee involvement in the community, and it has been doing so since its Contel days, and even before that. Some may remember Bob Zinnecker who led the company locally in the 1980s. Zinnecker always would ask, "Are we involved in the community?" He kept to this promise in a number of ways, according to the EDC, one of which was to chart those community groups in need and list all of his employees who were involved with that group, and add to that list those employees who he thought might benefit from involvement. His mantra was to "get involved" because "this is where we do business and it's what's right for our company." Today's company still is doing what is right both for their business and for their communities.
"Frontier may be one of the nation's largest rural telephone and internet access carriers, with operations in 24 states, but to us they really are a local company with a dedicated workforce comprised of our family, friends and neighbors with a tireless commitment to enhancing the quality of life for our residents and our region," said Hart.
Rulison spoke for the team and said he is proud of all 300 employees for taking on the same sense of community spirit and giving as the entire company. He highlighted the work of both the CAT and ITPA teams for their continued efforts within the county.
"I would like to thank the EDC and its directors for this recognition," Rulison said.
