NCSC Welcomes New District 5 Telecom Board Member Toney Prather

At the recent 43rd NCSC Annual Meeting, Toney Prather was elected to the NCSC Class T board position for District 5, a three-year term. The NCSC Annual Meeting was held June 17 in Indianapolis in conjunction with CFC Forum.

Prather is the owner and president of Totelcom Communications in De Leon, Texas, and its various affiliates, including a broadband business dedicated to offering state-of-the-art communications to rural Texans.

Prather has spent almost 50 years in service to the rural telecommunications industry and has previously served as the commercial company adviser to the NTCA Board of Directors, as a director and past president of Texas Telephone Association and as a director and past president of Texas Statewide Telephone Cooperative, Inc.

Serving others has always been a big part of Prather’s life and career, and it was this service-oriented mindset that interested him in the NCSC board.

“I have served my industry in many ways over many years,” Prather said. “Access to capital is always important, but the next few years will see capital needs in a way as never before. NCSC will need to be able to respond quickly to requests.”

As a new NCSC board member, Prather is looking forward to supporting the industry as it continues to expand and deliver broadband services to more Americans, and especially rural citizens. De Leon, where Totelcom is based, is roughly two hours west, southwest of Dallas and has a population of 2,300.

“The blending of rural providers—telecom or electric—providing the advanced services to all parts of America is exciting,” Prather said. “The combination of RTFC and NCSC into one group shows the cooperative effort to get the job done.”

Having been involved in the daily operations of the telecom business for almost five decades, Prather will bring a wealth of experience and insight to the board. Being an NCSC board member will also allow Prather to impart his collected wisdom to the sector without needing to engage in the more “hands-on” aspects of the telecom world, which have become difficult for him with time.

“I used to think I could fill in and help any of my staff members do their job and could then relate to their difficulties and challenges,” Prather said. “But age has made helping a construction crew not as enjoyable, and some of the technology has put me more on an ‘explain to me how it works’ status.”

Prather has spent 33 years on the NTCA Group Health Trust Committee and the last 17 as chair, where he oversees health, dental, vision and life insurance programs for over 40,000 lives. He is also a shareholder and director of F&M Bancshares, where he serves as the chair of the Asset/Liability Committee, and serves on several other real estate and business boards. Prather is also active in local civic and charitable groups.