Endeavor delivers message of ‘Making Technology Easy’

Monday, May 1, 2017
Cedric Ray Memorial Scholarship winners for 2017 are (above, from left) Chad Edward Stevens, James C. Crocker, Brice William Christian Carmichael, Ethan James Baker, Chloé Lucille Mannan, Kelsey Nichole Nees, Lauren Nicole Meek and Isabel Rose Monnett, all of Cloverdale High School; Wrenn Elizabeth Wicks, Monrovia High School; Logan Caroline Taylor, South Putnam High School; and Breanne Lauren Tharp, Monrovia. Not pictured Sarah Elizabeth Laing, Cloverdale. Ray Scholarships are awarded to 12 high school seniors who reside in one of the Endeavor service areas. Each recipient receives $1,000 for their higher education expenses. Meanwhile, Endeavor Mascot, Captain E (below), strikes a pose with Bella Branneman during the recent 2017 Endeavor annual meeting.
Courtesy photos

CLOVERDALE — Endeavor Communications held its annual meeting of the cooperative’s membership recently at South Putnam Jr./Sr. High School.

The theme of this year’s gathering – attended by more than 500 members and their families – focused on Endeavor’s mission of “taking the torture out of technology” by providing the fastest gigabit high-speed network available, coupled with customer service that makes it easy to use. This was Endeavor’s 67th year hosting the event.

Throughout the event members circulated between Endeavor services stations to learn more about the latest wireless phone, television, internet, security and medical alert products and services. With Endeavor’s Speed Geeks tech team out in force, members also were given the opportunity to get a free two-minute wireless device troubleshooting checkup done right on the spot by the Speed Geeks.

Courtesy photo

During the business meeting, members had the opportunity, to hear first-hand, the state of the cooperative as detailed by Endeavor President and CEO Darin T. LaCoursiere, who spoke about the importance of the completion of the deployment of Endeavor’s high-capacity, all-fiber network to the entire membership.

“All of our members now have the bandwidth needed to carry large amounts of rich content and vital information,” LaCoursiere said. “With the completion of our fiber build out, members have access to a quality-of-life enhancing Gigabit-speed network that is superior to what most urban areas like Indianapolis have available.”

LaCoursiere also detailed Endeavor’s mission to Make Technology Easy.

“It’s vital that we provide our members with remarkable service to help make technology a treat and not torture,” he noted. “We want our members’ experience with new innovations to be as worry-free as possible. Our Speed Geeks technicians possess the expertise required to get Endeavor services installed professionally and efficiently,” LaCoursiere added. “And our customer service representatives are the friendliest most knowledgeable folks in the business — plus, they also work and live in the communities in which we serve.”

Another way that Endeavor is making technology easy is by the development of a soon to be launched free school calendar mobile APP which allows elementary, middle and high school students, their parents and teachers, to instantly look up the dates, times and locations for all events scheduled during school hours or as extracurricular activities. Endeavor also has rolled-out new Technology Teachers tutorial videos that are posted on the Endeavor YouTube page. These are short videos that make learning about new technology easy.

One video, for example, shows us how to get more from the online world — as in using the app Skype, to have a free video chat with a loved one, perhaps serving overseas.

LaCoursiere reported that Endeavor’s overall financial health remains strong.

“Endeavor will continue to be vigilant in our efforts to increase its capital credits as a result of good cash flow, strong cash reserves, and very low debt,” LaCoursiere said. “We’ll also continue to monitor any FCC regulatory changes that might put a strain on our regulated income.”

The meeting ended with the presentation of the 2017 Cedric Ray Memorial Scholarships and FRS Youth Tour awards. The Ray Scholarship is awarded to 12 high school seniors who reside in one of Endeavor’s service areas. Each recipient receives $1,000 to be help fund their higher education expenses.

The Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) Youth Tour, in conjunction with Endeavor Communications, sends two students on an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., to tour historical monuments and museums, and to learn about the telecommunications industry and the legislative process.

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