Now In Its 25th Year – Special Scholarship to Be Awarded

Frank James – SkyLine Scholarship Ten scholarships with a total value of $22,500 are

scheduled to be awarded this spring to children of Sky-Line and SkyBest telephone service customers to assistthem with the cost of a college education. Five $1,000scholarships, renewable up to four years, will beawarded to students who will attend a four-year collegeor university. Five $500 scholarships, renewable up totwo years, will be presented to students who will attenda two-year community/technical college.

This also marks the 25th year of the cooperative’scollege scholarship program, and to commemorate thismilestone, SkyLine will provide an additional one-time$5,000 scholarship this spring to a student from the poolof nominees for this year’s scholarship program.

The Frank James-SkyLine Scholarship was estab-lished by the Board of Directors in 1987 and is named inmemory of Frank James, longtime SkyLine board mem-ber and former president, who was a strong advocate ofeducation, having served as a teacher, principal and latersuperintendent of Ashe County Schools.

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MARCH 2012

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Published monthly for customers of SkyLine Membership Corporation and SkyBest Communications

FRS Youth Tour to Washington, D.C.Again this year, SkyLine will sponsor

two high school juniors to be among over100 students to attend the Foundation for

Rural Service’s 2012 Youth Tour to Washington, D.C.

Now in its 18th year, the FRS Tour brings rural stu-dents from across the United States to Washington, D.C.for a four-day visit from June 2 through 6 to some of themost historical sites in the nation. While here, studentsalso learn about the telecommunications industry, as wellas the regulatory and legislative processes. Educationalsessions on these topics are greatly enhanced by bothsite visits to the U.S. Capitol and the U.S. Department ofAgriculture, in addition to meetings with industry leadersand members of Congress.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Mandatory Dialing of New 984Area Code Begins March 31

To accommodate the need for additional telephonenumbers in the geographic area served by the 919 AreaCode, the Raleigh North Carolina has been assigned anew Area Code.

The 919/984 geography covers the north central por-tion of North Carolina and serves communities such as

Apex, Carrboro,Cary, Chapel Hill,Durham, Garner,

Goldsboro,Raleigh, Sanford,

Smithfield, and Wake For-est. Please see the map that

accompanies this article for an outline of the 919/984Area Code region.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Support Area Public SchoolsDirectory Drive Ends March 31 It’s not too late to support this year’s Directory Col-

lection Drive which benefits area public schools. Now inits 20th year, the program provides 25 cents to the partic-ipating schools for each outdated SkyLine directory col-lected. Throughout the calendar year, SkyLine alsoreceives directories at its three Customer Service Centerlocations in Seven Devils, Sparta and West Jefferson, withcredit given to the schools.

Support recycling and our public schools through thisspecial recycling initiative. For information, please contactyour local SkyLine Customer Service Center at 118.

www.SkyLine.orgwww.SkyBest.com

Need to Contact Us?

CUSTOMER SERVICELOCAL

118TOLL-FREE

1-800-759-2226

REPAIR SERVICE, 24/7LOCAL

611TOLL-FREE

1-877-475-9546

Additional Local Repair Service Numbers:

ALLEGHANY

372-4444ASHE

982-3111AVERY

898-9250WATAUGA

297-4811JOHNSON

739-4500

WORTH NOTING: Tuesday, March 6Applications for

SkyLine-SponsoredYouth Programs

Available

Saturday, March 31Directory Collection

Drive Ends

Saturday, March 31Mandatory Dialing ofNew 984 Area Code

STAFF:Jimmy Blevins

Chief Executive Officer

Kim ShepherdExecutive Director of Customer

Operations

Mandy WallsCustomer Service Manager

Karen P. PowellPublic Relations Administrator

& Editor

SkyLine recently made a visit to West-wood Elementary School in Ashe Countyfor a directory pick-up. Pictured in thesephotos are SkyLine’s Kirk Houck receivingbooks from Westwood Media Center

Coordinator Laura Bowers, and SkyLine’sSteve Brown and Kirk Houck loading directories that will eventually be recy-cled into new directories, other paper products or hydroseeding mulches.

Co-op Leadership Conference Applications Available March 6 Beginning this month, SkyLine is accepting

applications for the 2012 Cooperative Leadership Conference, a five-day leadership development programscheduled from June 18 through 22, at White Lake, N.C.Sponsored by the Cooperative Council of North Carolinaand member cooperatives from across the state, theconference features workshops, speakers, recreation andsmall group sessions that center around the cooperativeway of doing business. This year’s conference promisesto be a fun week with lots of leadership developmentand fellowship opportunities for young people.

Participants will be eligible to apply for a $1,000 college scholarship, and four to five outstandingcampers will be selected to represent North Carolina at the National Institute on Cooperative Education(NICE) at Virginia Tech from July 28 through August 1.

Rising high school sophomores, juniors or seniorswhose parents subscribe to telephone service throughSkyLine or SkyBest can apply for the conference sponsorships. (Applicants must be at least 15 years old at the time of the Conference.) Up to 10 studentswill be selected to attend.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Newsletters 2012_March Co-Op 2/8/12 4:41 PM Page 1

NEW AREA CODE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The permissive dialing period is well underway, which means that callers basedin the 919 Area Code region may now use10-digit dialing for all local calls. By March31 mandatory 10-digit local dialing will berequired for callers based in that area.

While this does not locally impact ourcustomers, we do want you to be aware ofthis latest area code for the state, andgoing forward, you may notice telephonenumbers for residents or businesses in that region with the new code, and it willcontinue to be a long-distance call fromSkyLine-served areas to the 984 area.

SkyLine Supports Heart Association

In keeping with tradition, SkyLine willagain provide the phone bank for theAshe County Heart Auction on Wednes-day, March 7, at Family Central. This isone of the local chapter’s largest fund-raising events for the year, as businessesfrom across the county contribute numer-ous auction items for bid. WKSK Radio(580 AM) will air the auction beginningaround 9 a.m., with continuing updatesthrough the afternoon.

Pictured from last year’s event arevolunteers June McMillan and SkyLine’sMary Sexton, who helped keep track of the hundreds of bids that were submitted.

SCHOLARSHIP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

To qualify, applicants must be childrenof current SkyLine or SkyBest telephoneservice customers (of at least one year),and be graduating high school seniors (in-cluding home-schooled students) in the co-op’s five-county service area (Alleghany,Ashe, Avery, Watauga and Johnson). Thescholarships will be awarded on the basisof scholastic achievement, financial need,demonstrated leadership and communityinvolvement. Application packages will beavailable at area high school guidance de-partments and all SkyLine Customer Serv-ice Centers beginning Tuesday, March 6.

1-800-759-2226 www.SkyBestSecurity.com*Some restrictions apply. Offer valid for new security customers in North Carolina only. “Three months free offer” applies to monitoring fees only. Requires a three year service agreement.

We won’t get the mail for you, but

It’s like we are right next door. Watching over your place, as a good neighbor would. Enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing your home is secure.

we will keep an eye on your place while you are gone.

Sign up for SkyBest Security before March 30 and receive three months of monitoring FREE!*

1-800-759-2226 wwwfer valid for new security customers in North Car. Of f estrictions apply*Some r

Enjoy the peace of mind that comes fre right next ds like we arIt

Sign up for SkyBest Security befor

.SkyBestSecurity1-800-759-2226 wwwfer” applies to monitoring fees onlyee ofee months fr. “Throlina onlyfer valid for new security customers in North Car

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eceive thrch 30 and re MarSign up for SkyBest Security befor

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Recipe of the Month

Black Bean & Corn SalsaIngredients:1 can black beans, rinsed and drained1 can corn, rinsed and drained1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes, drainedFresh chopped cilantroRed wine vinaigrette salad dressing

Instructions:Mix together beans, corn and Ro-Tel. Add fresh,chopped cilantro to taste. Add red wine vinaigrettesalad dressing. Let sit in refrigerator for at least twohours. Serve with tortilla chips. Serves 8.

Recipe submitted by Sherri Weaver of Ashe County

Directory Corrections/OmissionsResidential ListingsBlack, Robert H. 336-246-7239JeffersonGoodman, Calvin and Vivian 336-246-9566200 Luther Road, Jefferson

Business ListingsBill’s Garage 828-264-4623167 W. King Street, Boone (if no answer) 828-265-3400River Camp USA RV Park Canoe & Campground 336 359-22672221 Kings Creek Road, Piney Creek

FRS SCHOLARSHIP TOUR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The students also are given ample time to explorethe Nation's Capital and its many attractions. While here,the group visits such sites as the Lincoln and JeffersonMemorials; the Korean, Vietnam and new World War IIMemorials; Mount Vernon, home of George Washington;the Smithsonian Museums; and, much more.

To be eligible to apply, the student’s parents must re-ceive telephone service from SkyLine or SkyBest, and thestudent must meet the following program requirements:• be a student at a public high school in the co-op’s five-county service area (16 or 17 years old at the timeof the program);

• write a letter of application, including future plans beyond high school;

• submit a 500-word essay on one of three selected topics;

• have a minimum 3.25 grade-point-average(GPA);

• obtain a letter of recommendation from a teacher orschool official;

• exhibit demonstrated leadership in campus organiza-tions;

• exhibit demonstrated community involvement throughvolunteer activities. Applications for the Youth Tour will be available at

area high school guidance departments and at all SkyLineCustomer Centers beginning Tuesday, March 6. The application deadline is Friday, April 6.

Schools Participating in 2012 Directory Collection DriveAlleghany High

Glade Creek ElementaryPiney Creek Elementary

Sparta ElementaryAshe County High

Ashe County Middle

Blue Ridge ElementaryMountain View ElementaryWestwood ElementaryAvery County High

Banner Elk ElementaryFreedom Trail Elementary

Bethel ElementaryCove Creek Elementary

Mabel ElementaryValle Crucis Elementary

Watauga High Shady Valley Elementary

CO-OP LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Applications will be available at area high school guidance departments and at all SkyLine Customer Centers beginning Tuesday, March 6. The applicationdeadline is Friday, April 6.

For more information on any of these programs,please contact Karen Powell, Public Relations Administra-tor, at SkyLine’s corporate offices (1-800-759-2226).

Newsletters 2012_March Co-Op 2/8/12 4:41 PM Page 2