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What is Highland Telephone Cooperative It is a cooperative corporation incorporated under the laws of Virginia on March 31, 1980. It is a telephone service cooporative that began as a mutual telephone company on February 13, 1905. In the early 1900's in much of the rural area and communities which the Cooperative serves, telephone service was either very deteriorated or nonexistent. In Highland County, the need for a central legal entity led to the chartering of Mutual Telephone of Highland, Inc on February 13, 1905. Our owners, the members, democratically elect six members to the Board of Directors who govern the cooperative in their behalf. These Directors serve a term of three years and an election is held each year during the annual meeting. The terms are staggered so that no more than two directors are elected each year. The by-laws provide that any member can become a director by nomination from the floor or nominating committee and election by secret ballot by the members. The directors are responsible for the financial welfare of the Cooperative, set its policies and employ a general manager to operate the business. The General Manager is responsible for the overall business operation and carries this out by assigning areas of responsibility to a staff of personnel.