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, VP 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. ACA represents small and midsized telecoms.
"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 debateas 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.
