Duo County's annual meeting brought in more than 450 members to the local high school last week to hear about new ventures the cooperative is undertaking and to hear about the annual dividend payout.

On June 8th, cooperative members began filing in to the Russell County High School Gymnasium.

With tickets, drinks and popcorn in hand, members waited anxiously for updates on services and drawings for door prizes.

Prior to the meeting the members received their annual patronage dividend checks in the mail. The total dividend payout this year was $752,375.61, which is a $40,000 increase over last year’s payout. This is the 22nd consecutive year that Duo County Telephone has returned dividend checks to their members, totaling over $15 million dollars.

With 461 members in attendance, the meeting began at 7 PM when Duo County Telephone’s Attorney, H.K. Cooper, brought the meeting to order. The minutes of last year’s meeting were approved and the trustees were introduced. They are; Dr. James E. Monin of Jamestown (President), Joe Sparks of Adair County, David Davenport of Russell Springs (Vice President), Bill Norris of Cumberland County, Sharon Hill of Jamestown (Secretary), Douglas Butler of Cumberland County, and Jerry D. Roy of Russell Springs.

Following the introduction of trustees, Bill Magruder, CEO of Duo County Telephone, gave the members the report on operations, introducing new features available to them such as Duo Call Manager and Video on Demand. These are new features that allow Duo County Telephone customers to customize their phone and video experience.

Also mentioned in the update were Duo County’s LightSpeed fiber optics expansion and the advantages that it will bring to Duo County customers. Following the adjournment of the meeting, names were drawn for the door prizes. The grand prize winners were; Andrew Bernard (42” HDTV), Ruth Rexroat and Charlene Dowell (Dell Mini Netbook).