Northern Minnesota 4-H Robotics Program
Paul Bunyan Telephone recently made a contribution to the 4-H Robotics program in northern Minnesota. 4-H programs in Beltrami, Koochiching, and Itasca County offer Lego Robotics after school programs and competition. Pictured from left to right is Jan Derdowski, Extension Educator for Grand Rapids Region; Derek Rolle, PBT Marketing Representative; Ann Marie, 4-H Program Coordinator Beltrami County; Robbie Radaich, 4-H Program Coordinator Itasca County and Melody Poggio, 4-H Program Coordinator for Koochiching County

Northwoods Interfaith Caregivers
Missy Thomas, NICE Volunteer Coordinator receives a donation check from PBT Director Bruce Campbell. Northwoods Interfaith is a non-profit agency that has been providing volunteer services in our community, and surrounding neighborhoods, for almost ten years. NICE is committed to helping seniors and special needs individuals stay in their homes, and to better the lives of families and children.

Itasca County Family YMCA
The mission of the Itasca County Family YMCA is to strengthen ourselves, our families, and our communities by promoting growth in spirit, mind and body. Each year they conduct a Y Partners Strong Kids campaign to help with the cost of our scholarship program. Pictured (left to right): Derek Rolle, PBT Grand Rapids Marketing Representative; Joni Namyst, Itasca County Family YMCA Development Director; and Brian Bissonette, PBT Marketing Supervisor.

American Red Cross
PBT Board Member Jim Sutton (left) presents George Stowe, Executive Director of the Northstar Chapter of the American Red Cross, with a donation check. The money will be used to aid families in a nine county area with disaster relief and other operational expenses.

Lakeport Area First Responders
District 5 Director Bruce Blanchard (left) hands Bob Saxton (right), EMT of the Lakeport Area First Responders, a donation check from the cooperative. This money will be used for equipment purchases and will help in the transition from analog radio to digital signal radios.

Solway Fire Department
Solway Fire Chief Seth Tramm (left) receives a PBT donation check from District 7 Director Bruce Campbell. Money received from local area donations and a FEMA grant will be used to purchase an infra-red camera and other necessary equipment for the Solway Fire Department.

Honor the Guard
District 8 Director Jim Sutton presents Marty Busby and Diane Whipps a donation check to Support the Troops and Honor the Guard. The organization is working to commission a bronze statue of a Guardsman modeled after Bemidji’s own Sgt. Jeff Roberts of A Company, 2nd Battalion 136th Infantry (CAB) at the Freedom Defenders Veterans Memorial located adjacent to the Beltrami County History Museum.

Blackduck Chamber of Commerce
Members from the Blackduck Chamber of Commerce received donations from Paul Bunyan Telephone. From left to right: Chamber Secretary Paula Bauman, Chamber Treasurer Miriam Osborne, Liz Meade from Blackduck Telephone and Brian Bissonette from PBT. The donations went towards the Welcome to Blackduck sign and bringing the Minnesota Measurers to the Chamber’s Trade Show.

North Country Health Services Foundation
Paul Bunyan Telephone recently made a donation to the North Country Health Services Foundation’s current project, Excellence in Healthcare. The donation provides for flat screen televisions in Same-Day Surgery at North Country Regional Hospital as well as Internet kiosks throughout the hospital and at Neilson Place on the WoodsEdge campus. Pictured in the photo are (l-r): Penny Echternach, NCHS Foundation Executive Director; and Brian Bissonette, PBT Marketing Supervisor.

Bemidji Area Race Relations Council
Paul Bunyan Telephone presented the Bemidji Area Race Relations Council with a donation during their monthly meeting at Bemidji City Hall. Pictured from left to right are John Gonzalez, John Kovach, Barb Meuers, and PBT Board Member Jim Sutton. The BARRC promotes mutual respect and understanding of cultural differences in our community.

Bemidji Senior Center
Paul Bunyan Telephone Board Member Randy Frisk presents Bemidji Senior Center Director Diane Engel with a donation check that will be used to cover general expenses. The Bemidji Senior Center works hard to meet the needs of seniors for fellowship, learning, information and recreation and to work cooperatively with other agencies in serving the needs of older adults.

GRACE House
GRACE House is the first and only homeless shelter in Itasca County for individuals and families. To date, GRACE House has provided more than 7,400 beds to the 490 guests served. GRACE House is currently raising funds to purchase a permanent facility. Pictured Left to Right: Brian Bissonette, PBT Marketing Supervisor; Scott Stein, GRACE House Development Director; and Derek Rolle, PBT Marketing Representative.

Restore House of Bemidji
Restore House of Bemidji is a recent recipient of a donation from PBT. Restore House helps individuals with the transition process from lives of incarceration and addiction to healthy, productive lifestyles.. Pictured from left to right is resident A.J. Simon, House Manager Dave Wambheim, PBT Board Member Jim Sutton, Director Tim Pomp, and resident Andy Woods.

Northome First Responders
Linda Dreher, Chairperson of the Northome First Responders is pictured receiving a donation check from District 1 Director Gary Eklund. The donation will go toward the purchase of new medical equipment.

Bemidji Vocalmotive
The Bemidji Vocalmotive Show Choir is celebrating its 14th year! District 9 Director Tim Hins (standing, center) presents Choir Director Chris Fettig (left) and Asst. Director Kevin Chase (right) with a donation check from PBT.

Evergreen House
District 8 Director Jim Sutton (right) presents Matt Hanson of the Evergreen House in Bemidji a donation check. The funds will be used to help create and operate a Drop-In Center for young adults to go to work on their education and employment goals, as well as provide them a place to go for counseling and aid.

• 2008 Donations
• 2007 Donations

2009 Oak Hills Scholarship
Heather Collinge of Cohasset (right) is the winner of Paul Bunyan Telephone's 09-10 Oak Hills Christian College scholarship. Presenting the scholarship is PBT Marketing Supervisor, Brian Bissonette (left). 

2009 NTC Scholarship Winner
Hannah Hurd (right) is Paul Bunyan Telephone's 2009 NTC Scholarship winner. Hannah Hurd is a Bemidji native who is in the Northwest Technical College practical nursing program. She will graduate summer 2009. PBT Marketing Supervisor, Brian Bissonette, pictured left.

2009 Youth Tour Winner
Stiina Stocker of Bemidji won the
Paul Bunyan Telephone 2009 Youth Tour Essay Contest. Stiina represents Paul Bunyan Telephone at the 2009 Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) Youth Tour in Washington, D.C.

2009 MTA Foundation Scholarship
Kadie Kern of Bemidji was been selected to receive a $2,000.00 scholarship for the 2009-2010 academic year from the Minnesota Telecom Alliance Foundation.

• 2008 Scholarships
• 2007 Scholarships

2009 Paul Bunyan Telephone Scholarship Winners

Paul Bunyan Telephone Annual Meeting & Cooperative Celebration

Over 6,800 attended the Paul Bunyan Telephone Annual Cooperative Celebration on Wednesday, May 27 at the Paul Bunyan Telephone Headquarters in Bemidji, making the event another great success!

The 53rd Annual Business Meeting of Paul Bunyan Telephone Cooperative was held prior to the Open House at 3:30 p.m. The meeting included reports for the 2008 fiscal year and two District Board of Director seats up for election.

• Photos from the Annual Meeting & Cooperative Celebration

The Cooperative Celebration was open to the public and featured a free walleye dinner prepared by the Bemidji Fire Department Fish Fry Crew, door prizes, kids activities like face painting, balloons, temporary tattoos, storytelling, animals and entertainment from the Headwaters Science Center, United States Tennis Association’s Quickstart Tennis, and special guests from PBS including Grover and Super Why. Bucky the Beaver was also a part of the fun and BSU hockey players Matt Dalton, Tyler Scofield, and Matt Francis who were a part of the Frozen Four team this past winter signed autographs. The Bemidji Jazz quartet provided the musical entertainment.

Special thanks to the over 130 employees of Paul Bunyan Telephone who made the event possible and run as smooth as possible! We would also like to thank the Bemidji Fire Department, Lueken’s Village Foods, The Party Store, Lakeland Public Television, Minnesota State Patrol, Bemidji Jazz Quartet, Paul Bunyan Transit, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Headwater’s Science Center, Bob’s Econo Pump, Bemidji Police Department, Bemidji Citizen’s Patrol, USTA, Boy Scouts, Bemidji State University, and Raphael’s Bakery for all their help.

We look forward to the 2010 Cooperative Celebration!

• More photos from the Annual Meeting & Cooperative Celebration
   

2009 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce’s Community Fishing Opener BBQ With PBTV GUEST, Arthur

The 2009 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce’s Community Fishing Opener BBQ on May 8th was a successful event despite cooler temperatures. There was music, food vendors, and lots of kids activities including the appearance of the PBS Kids character, Arthur. Over 300 free goodie bags given away courtesy of Paul Bunyan Television. The annual Grand Rapids Fishing Opener BBQ was presented by the Area Business Committee (ABC) of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce and was sponsored in part by Paul Bunyan Telephone.

Minnesota Wild Road Tour in Grand Rapids

The Minnesota Wild Road Tour was in Grand Rapids June 23 at the Grand Rapids Eagles Club. Over 200 people stopped by to meet Wild players Derek Boogaard and John Scott along with Wild TV broadcasters Mike Greenlay and Dan Terhaar, get autographs, and to support Grand Rapids Youth Hockey. PBTV was proud to help sponsor the event and hand out Paul Bunyan Telephone backpacks to all who stopped by!

Over 600 come out to see Dora the Explorer in Deer River!

Over 600 people turned out at the Deer River Wild Rice Festival for the chance to meet Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer and pick up a free backpack from Paul Bunyan Telephone. It was the 61st year the Deer River Lion’s Club has put on the event!

Nick Live Draws a Crowd in Grand Rapids

Paul Bunyan Telephone brought Nick Live to Grand Rapids on Saturday, July 18th in conjunction with the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Crazy Days.

The interactive stage show featured a variety of high energy games and physical challenges with several local kids and adults on stage getting into the action.

Despite the overcast skies and colder temperatures, over 1,500 attended the two forty-five minute Nick Game Lab shows that took place in the Old Kremer’s Parking Lot across from the Central Square Mall. Tickets were free courtesy of Paul Bunyan Telephone.

In addition to Nick Live, over a dozen non-profit agencies from Itasca County had booths outside the seating area open with games, food, and fun for the entire family!

Thank you to all who made the shows possible, with special thanks to the City of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, and Itasca County Historical Society.

Over 1,000 turn out in Grand Rapids to see Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob Squarepants and Patrick courtesy of Paul Bunyan Telephone

Over, 1,000 turned out at Tall Timber Days in Grand Rapids on Saturday, August 1st to see Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob Squarepants and Patrick. Many brought cameras to have their picture taken with SpongeBob and Patrick and everyone who attended received a free Paul Bunyan Telephone backpack. It’s was a memorable time for all and Paul Bunyan Telephone was proud to be a part of the 28th Annual Tall Timber Days Celebration!

More Great Events in 2009

2010 Twins Caravan in Laporte
Twins pitcher, Jesse Crain (left) and DH/Outfielder, Jason Kubel (right) answer questions at the Twins Caravan Laporte appearance.

2009 Twins Caravan in Grand Rapids
Pictured left to right: Twins catcher, Mike Redmond; PBT Account Executive, Derek Rolle; Twins pitcher Matt Guerrier.

2010 Twins Caravan in Grand Rapids
TC Bear poses with a two happy kids at the Grand Rapids Twins Caravan.

More 2010 events will be added as they happen. To view past events please use these links:

• 2008 Events
• 2007 Events