ABOUT US - COOPERATIVE

Boerner Takes Over as New General Manager

Effective January 1, 2025, Marcie Boerner officially stepped into her new role as CEO & General Manager of Webster-Calhoun. Boerner has dedicated 29 years to WCCTA and will be the third General Manager in the cooperative’s 70-year history.

Marcie has built her career with the cooperative, touching nearly every part of the business. As the cooperative has grown, she has grown with it: implementing change, displaying leadership, and driving innovation while keeping our customers, member-owners and staff at the heart of it all.

“I am deeply honored and excited to take on this new role,” Boerner said. “I am looking forward to enhancing education and training as our teams continue to grow, serving our expanding footprint, fostering community connections, and driving economic development.”

Office Staff

Webster-Calhoun

Office Staff

Webster-Calhoun

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Who We Are

Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association (WCCTA) provides fiber-driven Internet, Telephone, and Television service to homes and businesses.

Incorporated in 1954, WCCTA began as a simple telephone service provider. The driving force behind the founding of the cooperative, was the lack of companies willing to serve rural communities due to how expensive it was. This led locals to come together to establish a cooperative to provide the services to the area at a reasonable cost.

Today, WCCTA provides service to 21 communities and is growing in north-central Iowa. We strive to provide reliable services to our customers in:

Gowrie, Pilot Mound, Boxholm, Lanyon, Paton, Churdan, Knierim, Somers, Barnum, Farnhamville, Moorland, Vincent, Thor, Duncombe, Badger, Clare, Lohrville, Manson, Rockwell City, Lake City, and Rural Fort Dodge.

What is a Cooperative?

As a cooperative, Webster-Calhoun is owned by its members and governed by a member-operated Board of Directors.

Each time you subscribe to one of WCCTA's services, you are not just becoming a customer; you are actually making an investment in a company you and your neighbors own. Once the operating costs and reinvestment in your co-op have been met, the Board of Directors refunds the remaining money to the members in the form of Capital Credits. The amount refunded varies from year to year.

Who are Cooperative Members?

Customers in Gowrie, Pilot Mound, Boxholm, Lanyon, Paton, Churdan, Knierim, Somers, Barnum, Farnhamville, Moorland, Vincent, Thor, Duncombe, Badger, and Clare are considered members of the cooperative.

In 2020, Webster-Calhoun invested in fiber-to-the-home in Lohrville, Manson, Rockwell City, and Lake City. These communities will not be considered members of the cooperative until a reasonable return on investment is gained. The Board of Directors will re-evaluate in the future.

In September 2021, WCCTA was awarded $2,604,458.36 as part of NOFA # 006 which is 58.48% of the project cost for identified Census Blocks to fund approximately 260 locations. In October 2023, WCCTA was awarded $1,329,294.09 which is 60% of the project cost for 98 locations identified as part of NOFA # 008. Webster-Calhoun partnered with Central Cable Contractors of Waupun, WI and Vantage Point Solutions of Mitchell, SD to construct buried fiber cable to approximately 700 locations in the rural area around Fort Dodge. Rural Fort Dodge is not considered a member of the cooperative.

Board of Directors

Communities are separated into 3 Districts and members elect their representatives to serve on the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors oversee the local operation of the cooperative and protect your investment.

Allocation Notice

Each year anyone that did qualifying business with Webster-Calhoun receives an "Allocation Notice." This notice shows the total amount of dollars allocated, or set aside, and will be returned to you at a later date. This includes the previous calendar year and totals from other years not yet retired.

Capital Credits

In order to operate the business, capital credits remain with the cooperative for a certain amount of time before they are returned to the members. Rural cooperatives, like any other business, must have some money on hand to provide current operating funds and to invest in facilities. When a retirement is declared, capital credit checks are issued to members.

WCCTA Named Certified Gig-Capable Provider

Increasing broadband in our rural area is a national initiative and by becoming a Certified Gig-Capable provider, WCCTA is staying in touch with the needs of the residents and businesses in their sixteen community area.

As Certified Gig-Capable Providers, these companies join a national campaign spearheaded by NTCA to build awareness and industry recognition of community-based telecom providers that have built communications
networks capable of delivering Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, which is 100 times faster than those currently available in many U.S. households.

“I applaud Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Association for its commitment to delivering the Internet’s fastest speeds—an accomplishment worthy of much praise considering the unique and challenging circumstances small, community-based telecommunications providers operate under every day in serving some of our country’s most rural and remote communities,” said NTCA Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield. “By building a gigabit-capable network, WCCTA has not only overcome these challenges, but also shattered conventional benchmarks for broadband speed to enable cutting-edge technologies that drive innovation and promote economic development in their communities, region and nationwide.”

To achieve certification, telecommunications companies must show that gigabit technology is currently commercially available within 95% of one or more exchanges within its serving territory and that such service can be provided without new trenching or stringing new aerial facilities. This statement must be confirmed by a letter from an engineering firm or other independent source involved in the company’s network planning, deployment or operation.