1. Please Join Us!

    Dobson, NC

    April 26-29, 2024

    ITPA 32nd ANNUAL ASSEMBLY

    Assembly Registration (Member)- $130.00

    Assembly Registration (Guest)- $130.00

    Hall of Fame Luncheon Only $35

    *Please Note: All Online Payments are Subject to a Convenience Fee

    Sample Registration Form:

    Member Name  

    Name of Guest

      E-Mail                           

    Chapter/Club Affiliation

                                                                                                                                                                                          First-time ITPA Assembly attendee?  Yes _____   No  _____     

    (Grant Application Available for First-Time Attendees Only)

     2024 ITPA Assembly Grant Application - Please click the link to download the form

    Email completed form to itpa@telecom-pioneers.net or mail to the ITPA National Office

    Registration fee includes the following meals and activities:

    • Friday: Meet and Greet Dinner/Opening Ceremony (You are invited to come dressed as your favorite Mayberry character.)
    • Saturday: Lunch
    • Saturday Afternoon: Registration fee includes optional Squad Car Tour and/or a Tour of the Andy Griffith Museum
    • Evening: Dinner is on your own
    • Sunday April 28th @ Noon: Hall of Fame Luncheon & afternoon Awards Ceremony  Located at: The Barn at Heritage Farm - Dobson, NC
    • Evening: Banquet/Installation

    Saturday Afternoon/Evening Activities:

    (Registration fee includes attendance at one or both activities. You must sign up in advance to attend one, or both activities. Sign-up will not be available during assembly attendance.)

    • Squad Car Tour:  _____Number of participants                            
    • Andy Griffith Museum:  _____ Number of participants                            
    • I do not want to take a tour _____

    Registration Fee: Payment for registration must accompany this form. Check the appropriate options below. Please make check payable to ITPA. 

    ITPA Annual Assembly - Online Registration - Follow this link to register online.

    • ITPA Member (includes Hall of Fame Luncheon) $130 per person        No. of Members _____
    • Guest (includes Hall of Fame Luncheon)             $130 per guest           No. of Guests ______

    2024 Annual Assembly Registration and Sponsor Form- Printable - Please click here to download a registration form

    Grand Total for Assembly Registration Enclosed:                                                                                  $  ____________

    Hall of Fame Luncheon Only: $35 per person ____ No. of attendees

                (Applies only to luncheon attendees - who are not registered for the Assembly)

    Grand Total for Hall of Fame Luncheon Only Enclosed:                                                            $ ___________                                                                                     

    Please mail the completed assembly registration form and check payable to ITPA to:

    ITPA, 438 W. Oglethorpe Hwy, Hinesville, GA 31313

    Hotel Accommodations: Hampton Inn Dobson, 150 Charlestowne Drive, Dobson, NC 27017

    Room Rates- Standard Room with one king bed or two queen beds $145 per night plus tax. Check-in time is 3 PM.

    To register online:

    Hampton Inn Hotel Room Reservation Link - Click Here

    Click on “Special Rates” and under Group Code enter “ITPA.”

    To Register by Phone:  336-353-9400 USE “ITPA” as the group rate keyword. Ask for Jennie Lee at ext. 2122 to request a studio room for $155 or a luxury suite for $175 per night.

    Deadline to make hotel reservations – March 25, 2024

    Deadline to register for Assembly – April 11, 2024

    Cancellation Policy: Cancellations for Assembly Registration received after March 1st are non-refundable. To receive a refund on the hotel deposit, you must cancel your hotel room at least 24 hours before your scheduled 3 pm check-in date.

     

     

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    Dear ITPA Members, Friends, and Industry Partners:

    The ITPA National Assembly is a time when ITPA Chapters and Clubs share their community service projects, honor those who have contributed to the industry during our Hall of Fame Luncheon, and celebrate the preservation of telephony, and the future of telecommunications.

    Please join us in welcoming our incoming ITPA President Leon Yard at our 32nd Annual Assembly!

    Leon was born March 24, 1965, in Bennettsville, SC-Marlboro County

    • Lived in McColl, SC while attending K-12 schools and graduated as Valedictorian from McColl Fletcher Memorial High School
    • Won the first academic scholarship given by Campbell Soup Company from their Maxton Plant
    • Graduated with a BS Degree in Business Administration from Winthrop College ( now University) with a minor in Management
    • Has been associated with the Fire Service since age 14
    • Been with the Oakdale Fire Department since 1991. Currently serving as Assistant Chief, and held ranks of Captain and Firefighter. He has served on the Oakdale Special Fire Tax Board as a member and as Chairman. Also, a member of the York County Hazmat Team
    •  For the Pioneers, he has served as President of the Comporium Pioneer Club, was on the National ITPA Awards Committee and National Fund-Raising Committee
    • Charter Member of the Catawba Wings-Gold Wing Club and a Member of the Honor Guard Motorcycle Ministry
    • Proud to be a Mason, York Rite Appendant Bodies Member, and Hejaz Shriner
    • Married to Brenda Lynn Yard for the past 37 years
    • Has two sons-- Lee, a junior at Clemson University, and Logan an upcoming freshman at Clemson University.
    • Leon and his family currently reside in Rock Hill, SC

     

    We will be also inducting Ladson "Lad" Adville Barnes. Jr. and Mary Lou Jackson-Forsyth into the ITPA Telephone Hall of Fame!

    Ladson Adville Barnes Jr. (Lad), son of the late Ladson Adville Barnes and Oma Thelma Workman Barnes, was a third-generation telephone industry family member. Lad spent his entire 72-year career serving the independent telephone industry.  Lad was a pioneer in various practical aspects of telephony as well as in the delivery of service to individual customers - in both urban and rural areas.

        Lad’s family has owned and operated Rock Hill Telephone Company since 1912. During his formative years, new technologies and the means of delivering expanding services were topics of conversation around the family dinner table.  After Lad graduated from Clemson in 1948 with a degree in engineering, he returned home to work for the family company.  Lad helped the company adopt technological advances to keep the company on the cutting edge, enabling the delivery of superior services.  Lad used his leadership and managerial skills to train and support his team both on and off the field.  He modeled a polite, professional, and positive image of the company and of the industry.  His operational roles developed the practical side of providing communication services while also being insightful and forward-thinking in the delivery of excellent customer service.  After the purchase of the Fort Mill Telephone Company, Lad transferred across the river and eventually assumed the role of Vice President of Operations.  He held that position until the merger of the family company and its affiliates into Comporium in 2001, after which he became Vice Chairman of the Board for Comporium.  He later served as Chairman of Comporium's Board of Directors for several years.  When he stepped down from the position of Chairman, he focused on handling shareholder matters and enjoying his family until he passed, in 2021.

         As Director, Vice Chairman, and Chairman of various company boards, Lad was required to focus on the bigger, longer-ranging trends within the telecommunications industry.  As a member of the Comporium Pioneer Club and a Life Member of the ITPA, Lad advocated for participation in activities that mutually benefited his fellow Pioneers and the communities they served, shining a positive light on the role of independent telephone companies in society.  Lad valued education and served on the board of York Technical College. He was an avid supporter of his community, and throughout his lifetime he helped dozens of non-profits, including the Unity Presbyterian Church in Fort Mill, where he remained a member until his passing.  Lad understood the importance of independent telephone companies to the communities they serve, and he participated in company efforts to positively influence legislation affecting the same.

     

         Mary Lou Jackson Forsyth, a lifelong resident of McIntosh County, Georgia, graduated from Darien High School in 1960.  She attended Florida State University briefly before officially beginning her career with the Darien Telephone Company.  Mrs. Forsyth’s grandfather purchased the fledging Darien Telephone Company in 1921. The company was founded in 1911 when the Darien City Council issued the company’s business license, allowing two businessmen to construct, maintain, and operate telephone lines in the city of Darien.  Since then, 5 generations of the Jackson family have continually owned and operated the Darien Telephone Company. 

         By age 10, Mary Lou could operate the company’s switchboard, and by the time she was a teenager, she was accustomed to the company’s day-to-day operations.  She formally joined the company’s employee roster in 1960 as a bookkeeper. At the time, Darien Telephone Company had only 3 full-time employees, which has since grown to 45 employees. Mrs. Forsyth later became Vice President of Darien Telephone Company in 1985.  During her tenure as Vice President, the company conjoined all of Darien, Eulonia, and Sapelo Island exchanges - consisting of over 3,000 telephone stations. Mrs. Forsyth then became President of the company upon her mother’s passing in 1989.  Under her leadership, the company launched a new facet of the business, becoming a local internet access provider to customers, in 1996.

         Mrs. Forsyth is also renowned for her cooking and charitable work, including the 2004 publication of her cookbook Something to Talk About, which consists of a superb collection of favorite recipes that reflect on Coastal Georgia’s living and eating.  Proceeds from the sale of the cookbook funded various community projects.  

         Mrs. Forsyth now shares Darien Telephone Company’s Corporate Officer positions with her daughter, Mary Alice White, Vice-President, and her grandson, Richard Jackson Thomas, Chief Financial Officer.  She is proud of her company’s family legacy and the high quality of service and technology they provide to their customers.  Her goal is to continue contributing to the growth of McIntosh County, by offering innovative technologies to new and existing customers alike.