John Metts has spent four decades working to ensure that folks in America’s rural areas have access to up-to-date and reliable telephone services.

In Anaheim, Calif. this February, he was recognized for his dedication to the industry. Metts, CEO of Penasco Valley Telephone Cooperative, was elected president of the board of directors of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association.

"The NTCA presidency is a real honor for me," says Metts. "I never had this as a career goal, but had always hoped that I could one day serve on the NTCA board of directors."

"I was introduced to NTCA back in 1972, when Judy and I attended our first national meeting. From that time forward, I have gained a strong respect for the organization and all the services that they bring to rural telecommunications systems such as PVT. This involves legislative, regulatory and educational assistance."

Metts first became a NTCA board member in 1996, the first non-Texan elected from region No. 10, which covers the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma. He was secretary-treasurer and vice-president before earning the top spot.

As the "voice of rural telecommunications," NTCA represents 545 small independent and rural telephone cooperatives with an average of 5,344 subscribers each (that is a total of nearly three million families throughout rural America.)
Although independent telephone systems serve fewer than 5 percent of the national telephone subscribers, their service areas encompass more than 40 percent of the nation’s land mass.

As the board president of NTCA, Metts will preside over regional, managers’ and national meetings, requiring a rigorous travel schedule the next two years for him and wife, Judy.

Metts’ journey to this point of his professional life started back in 1959 at Mid-Rivers Telephone Cooperative in his hometown of Circle, Mont. (pop. 1,200). He quickly moved from a warehouse job into accounting as he began his career in the rural telecommunication field.

In August of 1962, Metts married his high school sweetheart, Judy Meissner and in 1967, John, Judy and their three youngsters moved to Scokey, Mont. where he joined Nemont Telephone Cooperative. Continuing his climb up the ladder, he became Nemont manager, staying there until 1978.

Metts left Nemont to become a telecommunications consultant. The family relocated to Colorado Springs, Colo. where they formed ITELCO in 1981.

The Metts’ sold that business in 1990 and headed further south to Artesia, where he became assistant manager of Penasco Valley Telephone Cooperative. In 1991, he was named CEO/General Manager, the position he presently holds.

During Metts’ 11-year tenure, PVT has continued its commitment to providing excellent rural communication to its 3,500 subscribers, as well as expanding into retail areas.

Metts values the PVT board of directors, "I believe our board of directors has made great strides in the past few years concerning their governance, their concentration on policy decisions and their delegation to management. They support business lines diversification while remaining very focused on our core telecommunications services for our cooperative customers."

Present PVT board members are Bob Mayberry, Beth Mahill, Frank Sisneros, Stanley Waltrip, Sam Elkins, Peggy Bell, Mike Casabonne, Roxanne Sallee and Ernest Ray Harwell.

"....My relationship with them is great and we all work very easily together. We take the time to discuss our issues and our plans.

"…Their concurrence with allowing me to build a quality management team has allowed us to grow and meet the demands of an ever changing telecommunications industry."

To meet those demands, PVT NetWorks, a wholly owned subsidiary of the co-op, was created. It provides Internet service to more than 5,000 customers and most recently has brought PCS to this area.

Of the partnership with Sprint PCS, Metts says, "Starting back in 1995 with the participation in national FCC auctions to obtain the necessary radio spectrum, all the way through the construction of 20 cell sites and the investment of over $5 million, we are now able to bring a premiere mobile wireless service to southeastern New Mexico.

"We are the only Sprint outsource service provider in the nation through Sprint’s largest affiliate, Alamosa. It’s the most promising diversification operation we’ve had to date."

Metts notes that telecommunication cooperatives are providing more services and have become high tech organizations through voice data and Internet.

Dealing with the business of the cooperative, PVT NetWorks and his duties as NTCA president doesn’t leave much time for relaxation.

When free time comes to him, Metts puts family at the top of his list. The five Metts children and 12 grandchildren all think he’s great. Both John and Judy enjoy taking their motor home on camping trips with their family and friends.

Occasionally, the couple takes to the road on their candy apple red Honda Aspencade tour motorcycle, complete with matching helmets. At the end of one recent trip, the odometer registered another 700 miles.

Metts is an avid fan of NASCAR racing, "anything to do with cars and trucks," and country music. All In all, Metts is enjoying both his professional and personal life to the fullest.