Robert Gessner, president of MCTV, the renamed Massillon Cable TV, has been elected to a two-year term as chairman of the American Cable Association.
Board member Patty Boyers, vice president of BOYCOM, was elected vice chair, also to a two-year term. The election results were announced at the Independent Show in Kansas City on Monday, July 28. ACA represents small- and midsized cable operators and providers.
"This is a critical time because the issues have never been tougher or the stakes higher for the independent cable community," Gessner said in a statement. "I'm proud to lead ACA as the organization moves forward with its efforts to inform and educate policymakers on the vital role we play in the communications market and the need for public policies that foster investment in our networks and communities.”
Gessner, who has been vice chair, has also been a prominent voice in the retrans debate, as well as on the price of programming.
Boyers said she would also work to convince Congress and the FCC that the retrans system is broken and needs fixing.
Gessner succeeds Colleen Abdoulah, chairwoman of WOW! Internet, Cable and Phone, as chair of ACA. Abdoulah has been a familiar face on Capitol Hill during hearings on video reform.
Elsewhere, the ACA board announced these new members, as either additions or filling organizational vacancies:
- Bill Beaty, Executive Vice President of Cable TV Operations, Comporium;
- Leslie Brown, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Atlantic Broadband;
- Cathy Kuo, Chief Operating Officer, WOW! Internet Cable Phone; and
- Drew Petersen , Vice President of External Affairs and Corporate Communications, TDS
The ACA board also announced that these executives had been re-elected for three-year terms.
- Bryan Cipoletti, Chief Financial Officer, Armstrong
- Tom Larsen, Vice President of Legal and Public Affairs, Mediacom
- Tom Might, President and CEO, Cable ONE
- LeaAnn Quist, Director of Cable TV, Great Plains Communications
