To give you a sense of who and what Planters represents, we'd like to give you some brief highlights of your telecommunications provider's history and accomplishments.

With telephone service unavailable to most residents of rural Screven and Effingham counties, the community leaders who would become the incorporators of Planters Rural Telephone Cooperative held their first organizational meeting in July 1950 at the Jenkins County Courthouse to start their campaign to develop a charter.

Planters Telephone began operations in 1955; by July 1956, the cooperative was bringing telephone service for the first time to almost 700 residents in the two counties: with 200 more already on the waiting list. Today, Planters servse almost 10,000 members in the five exchanges.

Through the succession of initial telephone service in 1955, the conversion to all one-party service by 1976, the migration to digital switching facilities in the 1990's, the 1995 completion of it's fiber-optic links, the provision of toll-free, local access to the Internet in 1996 and the establishment of Planters Long Distance in mid-2000, Planters has steadfastly adhered to the mission of ensuring that residents and businesses in our rural communities have access to the kinds of services that are readily available in more urban markets

Through the creation of the Planters Foundation in 1992, Planters annually awards scholarship funds to area students and sponsors educational and related projects.

The Planters Board of Directors targets it contribution dollars to a variety of worthwhile civic and charitable causes in Screven and Effingham counties.

The world around is continuing to change, so plain old telephone service isn't just enough anymore! To stay connected, look to Planters Telephone, your local, community based service provider, for all your telecom needs. The Board of Directors and our staff maintain their commitment to ensure that Planters remains subscriber-focused and an active corporate citizen in Screven and Effingham counties. As a cooperative, Planters has always maintained a simple philosophy: To provide a full array of quality telecommunications services, at a affordable price, to the residents and businesses in our rural service area. That philosophy goes hand in hand with the focus that results from our emphasis. So, even as other companies with out-of-state or out-of-region ownership make cost-based decisions that leave customers out in the cold, Planters remains dedicated to making sure our subscribers remain equal partners in the national telecom network.