The Town Board on Tuesday appointed resident John Venzon to a two-year term on the MI-Connection communications system board of directors.

Mr. Venzon, a River Run resident and retired Bank of America executive, joins Ken Essex as a representative on the board of the cable TV, internet and telephone system.

Mr. Venzon operates JVN Financials, which provides financial and consulting services to charities and civic organizations. Besides his career at Bank of America, he also worked 14 years in engineering, sales and marketing at IBM Corp.

He is the husband of Davidson Town Board member Laurie Venzon. Town Attorney Rick Kline said during Tuesday’s meeting that his appointment to the unpaid position raises no conflict-of-interest issues.

The Towns of Davidson and Mooresville bought the system in 2007. It serves about 15,270 customers in the two towns, plus Cornelius and parts of north Mecklenburg and south Iredell counties.

The local cable system formerly was part of Adelphia Communications, a Pennsylvania company that went under following a high profile bankruptcy and corporate corruption scandals. It briefly was operated by Time Warner Cable while local towns pursued a federal court case to exercise their right to buy the system.

Mr. Venzon joins the MI-Connection board as it steps up marketing following a $20 million upgrade of cable lines and equipment. When the towns bought the system, it was an aging network. It now offers digital TV and video on demand, high-speed internet and telephone services.

Mr. Venzon and fellow board members also face the challenge of bringing MI-Connection back to financial health. The system is heavily in debt after the purchase and upgrade. The weak economy and competition have kept subscriber growth stagnant, and revenues have not grown as fast as originally projected.

MI-Connection has had some recent successes, however. Last week the system was honored by a national trade association as the Community Broadband Project of the Year. The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors will present the award at a meeting next week in New Orleans. Former chairman Evan Webster, a Davidson Town Board member, will accept the award on behalf of the system, he said Tuesday night.

Comments Disabled To "New rep appointed to cable system board"

#1 Comment By Andy Beard On September 23, 2009 @ 3:48 pm