Natco News, Fourth Quarter, 2000

Natco News, Fourth Quarter 2000

Fourth Quarter, 2000

	DSL Technology Internet Speed Race
	South Shore Soccer
	Customer Service Speaking
	Diamond City Library Grant
	Youth Leadership Program Launched
	Audubon Materials Go to Schools
	Community Projects Receive Funding
	New Equipment for Ralph-Caney FD
	Y-S Teachers' Computer Update Grant
	Spotlight: Twin Lakes Home Builders
	E-Mail: Junk Mail
	Spotlight: V.I.P.
	Telemarketers' Phantom Phone Calls
	NATCO Open House
	Improved Service with Microwave
	Rag Ball Mania!!!
	Lessons in Internet-Speak
	James Joins Internet Dept.
	Merkel, Customer Service Supervisor
	Web Sites of Interest

DSL Technology Leads the Way in Internet Speed Race NATCO customers can take the lead in the Internet speed race - even if your home or business is outside of our basic service area. Now, DSL is available in portions of the Mountain Home area, and DSL is available only through NATCO to these customers. DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Lines, or dedicated lines to your home or business that are not shared by any other customer. With Internet access speeds 10 to 30 times faster than earlier modems, DSL is an exciting development in the telephone industry, transforming regular telephone lines into high-speed data lines. Using a comparison with highways, DSL adds another "lane" of traffic. Customers in parts of Flippin and Mountain Home can already receive DSL, and DSL is coming soon to Bull Shoals. DSL's dedicated lines furnish "always on" Internet access with no waiting, in contrast to dialup access. Online shoppers feel more secure using credit cards because the DSL line is a direct line, not shared by other users. DSL is ideal for e-commerce, video conferencing, distance learning, videogaming, and recording digital audio tapes. Experience DSL "always on" Internet by visiting a NATCO demonstration site at our office in Flippin and at Brooks-Jeffrey Marketing, Inc. in Mountain Home.
South Shore Soccer Association Gets Rolling If you had recently asked, what are you doing on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights in Flippin, the answer for a lot of families would have been "going to the South Shore Soccer Association games." Now that fall season play has ended, games for fun start at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays (adults) and Thursdays (grades 6-12) on the lighted fields at Hickey Park, and end about 8 p.m. The newly-formed soccer association has attracted over 200 participants. Currently, 20 teams are organized for recreation and two teams are forming for travel and tournaments. All members of the tournament teams - called All-Star teams - must also play on one of the 20 recreational teams. Two teams may also be forming to play in Yellville. Officials of the new league say they expect another 50 to 60 players by the end of the season, when school is out. The season is August 1-July 31. Top priority for the SSSA now is to get all the kids' teams organized and the kids playing, but when that is accomplished, adults will be starting to play. "There are enough adults interested to form four teams," said David Duckworth, president of the South Shore Soccer Association. Kids from all over Marion County are participating (Flippin, Yellville, Bull Shoals, Summit, Cotter, Gassville, Lakeview, Midway). There are four fields for SSSA games and nine different locations where they can play, Duckworth said. Here is the breakdown of teams by ages (all teams are co-ed): Under 6, 5 teams; Under 8, 8 teams; Under 10, 5 teams; Under 12, 3 teams. Now, while school is in session, the middle school and high school age students are in the school programs. When school is out of session, there may be additional teams in the Under 14, Under 16, and Under 18 age groups, "we hope," Duckworth said. Annual fees for participation start at $10 for the youngest players. A portion of the annual fee goes to pay for referees at the games, for state association membership, and field maintenance.

Board of directors are left to right, back row: Lorna LeCompte, Shawn Dennis, Pat Gallagher. Front row: Frank Shrake, Roger Leonard, Dave Duckworth and Diane Duckworth. Not pictured are: Wes Due and Chris Carter.

Kids from all over Marion County are participating, including players on this team sponsored by Avnet Cable Technologies.

Officers of the South Shore Soccer Association are:
David Duckworth, president Roger Leonard, vice president Shawn Dennis, secretary Lorna LeCompte, treasurer Diane Duckworth, registrar	Wes Due, coaches coordinator Susie Jones, public relations Pat Gallagher, concessions and fund raising Dan McManus, field & equipment coordinator Chris Carter, youth development
Call 870-453-SSSA (7772) or write to P.O. Box 1600, Flippin, AR 72634
Customer Service Speaking Those who provide customer service at NATCO help with all kinds of questions and problems that arise from time to time. Rebecca Koehn, office assistant, handles the mail and is backup receptionist. She graduated from Flippin High School and attended college for one year at Williams Baptist College at Walnut Ridge. She enjoys working with people and in her leisure time, enjoys hiking and reading. Rebecca's husband is Nathan Koehn. Jessica Kimball answers many calls as she assists customers. She has lived in the area for six months, coming here from Springdale. She attended Berryville High School, as well as home school, and previously worked for Southern Telcom Network. The mother of a four-year-old named Austin, Jessica enjoys computers and spending time with the family, including her fiance, Bryson Collie. She attends the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Allison Deady assists customers with their telephone and Internet service. A three-year resident of the area, Allison has an Associate of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies from Tyler Junior College at Tyler, Texas. She was the salutatorian of the Class of 1991 at Arp High School at Arp, Texas. Allison is married to Jerry Deady and enjoys music and outdoor sports. Julie A. Casey assists customers and enters service orders. Before joining NATCO, she worked at Marion County Shirt. Julie has an Associate of Applied Science degree in business management. Julie, husband Ashley, and son Houston, 6, are involved with South Shore Soccer, with Ashley coaching the Under 8 team. Another hobby is collecting NASCAR items, Barbies, and Hot Wheels. They formerly lived at Springdale.


Customer Service Staff...NATCO introduces recent additions to its front office staff (from left): Julie Casey, Allison Deady, Jessica Kimball, and Rebecca Koehn.
Community Projects Receive Funding from South Shore Foundation South Shore Foundation continues to help organizations working for the betterment of their communities by awarding grants at each quarterly meeting of the board of trustees. At their August meeting, the South Shore trustees approved awarding $21,370 in grants. The recipients and their projects are: Bull Shoals Historical Society, $6,440 toward publication of its community history book The History of Bull Shoals: The Best Little Town by a Dam Site Yellville-Summit Elementary School, $5,750 as part of a comprehensive computer upgrade Ralph-Caney Fire and Rescue Dept., $4,000 for purchase of two pieces of emergency lifesaving equipment Diamond City, $2,680, for computer and Internet service at the Diamond City Community Library Marion County Youth Leadership Team 4-H, $2,500 for activities to develop youth leadership skills Approved at a previous South Shore Foundation meeting, but not publicized previously in Natco News, was the following grant: Audubon Society of North Central Arkansas, $1,956 for environmental studies kits for elementary schools in the South Shore area South Shore Foundation invites grant applications from nonprofit groups and communities. You may request an application and guidelines for applications from South Shore Foundation Secretary/ Treasurer Deanna Latting by calling 870-453-3333. The 13-member board of trustees reviews grant applications at each quarterly meeting (February, May, August, November) and requires that the application be made 30 days before the meeting. South Shore Foundation, the charitable foundation of the Northern Arkansas Telephone Company, welcomes applications that use telecommunications technology to advance education, preserve the environment, develop the economy, and for community betterment.

	South Shore Grant for Diamond City Library South Shore Foundation recently approved a grant to help Diamond City residents modernize the Community Library, located in the town's City Hall. Shown receiving a grant check for $2,680 is Hedy Jaynes (seated). Standing from left are South Shore Foundation Trustee Mike Brown, library committee member Nancy Albright, and South Shore Foundation Trustee Deanna Latting. The grant funds will purchase a computer and a year of Internet service.

	South Shore Foundation Helps Launch Youth Leadership Program South Shore Foundation Trustees Mike Brown (left) and Deanna Latting (center) discuss the upcoming program for ninth-grade students taking part in the Marion County Youth Leadership Team with Renee Myers of the Marion County Cooperative Extension Service. Mrs. Myers accepted a $2,500 grant from South Shore Foundation for this first year's activities.

	Audubon Materials to Go to Schools Marg Bangert, chairperson of the Audubon Adventures educational project for the Audubon Society of North Central Arkansas, accepts a $1,956.60 grant from South Shore Foundation Trustee Jodie Jeffrey-Sanders. Environmental study materials will be placed in elementary schools. The National Audubon Society prepares the kits.


	Ralph-Caney FD to Get New Equipment Ralph-Caney Fire and Rescue Department will be able to buy two semi-automatic external defibrillators with a $4,000 grant from South Shore Foundation. Defibrillators are used by first responders to correct irregular heartbeats. Department leaders and board members who worked to obtain the equipment are shown with South Shore Foundation Trustee Howard Evans. Back row, from left are: James Ziegler, president; Irene Wang, member; Chuck Reimer, executive officer; Howard Evans, foundation trustee, and Anton Such, assistant chief. In front from left are: Wesley Shipman, chief; Louie Stoops, EMT; and Willard Stoops, captain.

	Y-S Teachers Receive Grant for Computer Update Yellville-Summit teachers accepted $5,750 from South Shore Foundation to help update their computer technology in the elementary school. Shown are: (front row, from left) Howard Evans, South Shore Foundation Trustee, Marla Walker, Pamela May, and Sara Gilliland; (back row, from left) Jodie Jeffrey-Sanders, South Shore Foundation trustee, Dawn Bruss, Reanell Birrer, Mary Moreau, and Kathy Jones.
Spotlight On Twin Lakes Home Builders Thinking about building a new home? By visiting the Twin Lakes Home Builders Web site (www.twinlakeshomebuilders.com) you can: View the houses on the latest Parade of Homes (held annually in the spring), even though the weather outside may be a drought, thunderstorm, or blizzard; Contact a home builder or home repair company, even if you are hundreds of miles away from North Central Arkansas; Find out who are the leading golfers in the Twin Lakes area, from your living room - Joe Murr, Ray Pangle, Marvin Thompson - to name a few of the winners of the home builders 5th annual golf tournament. Created two years ago, the Web site has been a great addition for the organization of builders, contractors, and related businesses in the home building industry that serves Baxter, Marion, Fulton and Izard counties. "Our Web site hosted by NATCO features our name as our Web address. Twin Lakes Home Builders is our domain name, so we are easy to find," said Bob Moody, president. From its animated hammer driving nails into a board on the home page to its member link page, the Twin Lakes Home Builders Web site is a working site. "It is easy to navigate, it depicts the kind of work members do, members names are in large type, and it has indispensable links," said Karen Hudspeth, executive director, like those to the National Home Builders Association. Another valuable feature of the Web site is the listing of members both by name alphabetically and by the type of work their companies do. If you are searching for an abstract or title insurance company, it's here. Maybe you need a brick mason, or a drywall contractor, an excavator, or an interior decorator. Or, a painter, pest control specialist, real estate agent, a sunroom, or surveyor. What if you need to find out about utilities or windows? Members are categorized on the Twin Lakes Home Builders Web site. The Web site is an information-packed site, where you can find all of the above. "We know the Web site has been a great service to both our members and to the community," said Hudspeth. It has helped customers connect with the building professionals they needed. Before the Web site, members relied on word of mouth discussion to increase their business and modest advertising. Now, the Twin Lakes Home Builders Web site just keeps working and working. "It's up and working 24-hours a day," notes Hudspeth. Once a person finds promising contacts, the site has links to members, so the next step, the actual contact is very easy to make. No need to call or write, just e-mail the builder your inquiry.

E-Mail: Junk Mail

If there are 63 new messages in your Inbox - and only five are from people you know, you may want to know something you can do about it. Many e-mail programs, such as Outlook Express, have a feature called "Block Sender" that will block e-mails from anyone you specify, including the people who sent those junk e-mails. Here's how it works: Select any e-mail you've received by clicking on it once so that it is highlighted. Click on the word "Messages" just above the toolbar, and then click on "Block Sender." That e-mail address will now be added to the "Blocked Senders" list and any future e-mails from that address will go straight into the "Deleted Items" folder. An Internet customer recently wrote that her e-mail program has a "Bulk Mail" folder that can be set up to receive the messages, hold them for 30 days, then delete them. It also includes the highlight-and-block-sender feature as described above. Of course, it's impossible to expect to completely eradicate junk e-mails, but this feature should help you cut them down considerably. See the Help file of your e-mail program for information about blocking senders.

Spotlight on DSL Customers - V.I.P.
Flippin Manufacturer Sees Advantages to "Always On" Internet

Volt Industrial Plastics in Flippin is now enjoying new DSL telephone service. Jerry McDonald, IT manager, said the best feature is how fast employees can find information on the Internet. "It seems to be a real time extension of our own network," he said, explaining that employees can find information on the Internet so fast that it is just like never leaving their own site.

With DSL, the Internet service is "always on" so there is no dialup or logging on and off. To V.I.P., use of the Internet in business is becoming more and more integrated into more departments. Although the customer service department, which handles sales phone calls, doesn't use DSL yet, this important division of the company will be using an additional feature of DSL which allows clients to connect to the V.I.P. DSL.

V.I.P. company officials saw a demonstration of DSL service at the NATCO offices before making the decision to change over. "The speed was most impressive," McDonald said. Their decision to go with DSL hinged on two factors: savings and accessibility. The cost was no more than with the individual ISDN lines they had in place for each user. But, the bonus factor was that everyone would be able to have access to the system with DSL.

When a business determines it wants the faster Internet service for business purposes, company leaders should also verify the security measures that will be taken, McDonald stated. "Firewalls are available as hardware or as software, and the costs range from a couple hundred to several thousand dollars," McDonald said. Which type is appropriate depends upon what kind of technical skills the company has on staff and the resources available. "Just do the research, and after that, it is well worth it."

Volt Industrial Plastics is a leading manufacturer of nylon fasteners. Founded in 1992 by Joseph Volltrauer, president, V.I.P. employs more than 65 persons and supplies nylon fasteners to customers throughout the United States and a dozen foreign nations. V.I.P. is located on Hwy. 178 North in Flippin and can be reached by telephone at 870-453-8027. Their World Wide Web address is www.voltplastics.com. Their motto is "Manufacturers of the finest nylon fasteners in the world."

It's the Phantom Telemarketer Calling!

Even though Halloween season is past, you may still receive phantom phone calls from "telemarketers". When you answer the phone and there is apparently no one on the other end, it may be a computer-placed call, not one from a prankster. The Direct Marketing Association explains that telemarketing firms use an automated system which dials phones simultaneously in many homes. If too many people pick up, the machine disconnects some of the calls. The association may ask members to make changes in their systems to cut down on these calls.

What if you hear a busy signal when you answer a call? That might be a scheme called voice mail broadcasting, which is intended for answering machines. When it works as intended, the telemarketing firm leaves a promotional message on the machine. But, when an actual person answers, there may be a busy signal or dead air.

- In U.S. News and World Report

NATCO Open House & Technology Showcase 2000 The NATCO Open House and Technology Showcase was the place to be on the afternoon of October 19, 2000, a beautiful autumn day in Flippin. Visitors arrived during the afternoon and early evening. It was a great attendance! Demonstrations of our newer services were well-received. Included were demonstrations of ISDN, ADSL, Video Conferencing, and the free South Shore Bulletin Board System. This is an exciting time as NATCO customers discover how much technology is now available through our company and how to use it to their benefit. If you have additional questions about these services or any other service you are interested in, please contact our Customer Service Department at 1-800-775-6682, ext. 323. NATCO enjoys hosting the annual Open House and Technology Showcase because it enhances communication between our customers and our company. Thanks for coming! Winners of the door prizes awarded at the Open House are as follows: South Shore T-Shirt, Cap, and Yo-Yo: George Hinz, Flippin Duell Howard, Flippin Pat Hruska, Flippin Mike Hulgan, Yellville Leona Kirby, Midway Katherine McNair, Flippin Esther Mozingo, Diamond City Mary Lou Stich, Bull Shoals Norbie Todd, Lead Hill Karen Wolf, Bull Shoals Gift Certificates for 3 Months' Internet Service: Bob Haaker, Flippin Millie Hittle, Flippin Marian G. Coley, Flippin Caller I.D. Phone with One Month Calling Name Delivery: Vicky Bair, Bull Shoals 1 Month ISDN Fast Net Service and Terminal Adapter (Modem): Robyn Edwards, Flippin CenturyTel Cell Phone: Dan Weaver, Bull Shoals. Winning entries in the coloring and essay contests were exhibited. NATCO invites all six area schools to participate in this annual contest, grades K-8. Some schools participate and others do not, and participation does vary from year to year. But, we always have some great drawings and essays.

Winners of the Kindergarten division coloring contest were (from left): Dawn Littlefield of Flippin, 3rd place; Cade Harding of Lead Hill, 2nd place; Whitney Barrett of Yellville-Summit, 1st place; and Harley Mullins, honorable mention from Bruno-Pyatt. Honorable mention winners not pictured are Jamie Aldridge and Dallas Rae Kenniston, both of Yellville-Summit.	First grade coloring contest winners were (from left): Kate Vickers of Yellville-Summit, honorable mention; Leah Davenport of Yellville-Summit, 3rd place; Whit Davenport of Yellville-Summit, 2nd place; Matthew Butler of Flippin, 1st place; and honorable mention Erica Wise, also of Flippin. Not pictured is honorable mention, Levi McGee, a student at Yellville-Summit.

Coloring contest winners in the second grade division were (from left): honorable mention winners, Matt Williams of Flippin and Katie Ragland of Yellville-Summit; 3rd place winner, Landon Merriman of Lead Hill; 2nd place winner, Cortney Goulet of Yellville-Summit; and 1st place winner, Angel Hall of Bruno-Pyatt. Not pictured is honorable mention, Demi Doss, a student at Flippin school.	Third grade coloring contest winners were (from left): honorable mentions Taylor Weaver of Flippin, Whitney Henderson and Audrey Hill of Yellville-Summit; 2nd place winner Jacob Powell of Flippin; and 1st place winner Markie Payton, also of Flippin. Not pictured is 3rd place winner Austin Jefferson of Flippin.

Fourth grade division coloring contest winners were (from left): honorable mentions J.C. Stillwell of Flippin, Heather Hawks of Bergman, and Clayton Wilson of Yellville-Summit; and 2nd place winner Mercedes Haefer of Flippin. Winners not pictured are 1st place winner Preston Connolly and 3rd place winner Cody Snook, both of Bergman.	The winners of the essay contest proudly display their award certificates. First place winners received $75, second place $50 and third place $25. Seated are Josiah Whitsell from Bruno-Pyatt, first place winner in the 5th & 6th grade division for his essay "Online: The Place to be - Careful;" and Flippin student Tandi Davis, first place winner in the 7th & 8th grade division with her essay "Online: the place to be." Standing (from left) are Andrea McMillan of Lead Hill, second place winner of the 5th & 6th grade division; 7th & 8th grade division third place winner Allissa Curtis and second place winner Beth Pettit, both of Flippin.

Open house guests enjoyed complimentary sandwiches, snacks and drinks.	Bob Knight of KTLO interviews NATCO Plant Manager and Vice President Steven Sanders Jr. on the latest telecommunications offerings.

Local children survey the art submitted for this year's open house coloring contest.	An open house visitor enjoys the NATCO/South Shore scrapbooks, which document the company's involvement in the community.

Mercedes Haefer surfs the Web on a computer demonstrating ADSL.	Steven Sanders Jr., NATCO Plant Manager (standing), demonstrates a high-speed ADSL connection to Ron Proctor of Firstar Bank in Flippin.

NATCO employee Bill Hunt, demonstrates video conferencing with an ISDN connection, a service that is available from NATCO.	A customer service representative at NATCO, discusses CLASS custom calling features with open house guests.

Members of the Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce enjoyed learning about NATCO's latest technology offerings at the Business After Hours held in conjunction with this year's open house.

Service to Remote Areas Improves with Microwave

Microwave technology has brought the world the 5-minute baked potato, but that's not all it has accomplished. For residents in very remote sections of Marion County, microwave also means telephone service and, now, better Internet service.

Five years ago, NATCO began serving a remote area on the north shore of Bull Shoals Lake with basic exchange telecommunications radio service, or BETRS. When that equipment had to be replaced, NATCO decided to go a step further to boost the service to these customers. "This was a chance to offer some additional services to those customers," said NATCO Plant Manager Steven Sanders Jr. The new system uses a point to point unlicensed frequency across the lake, and it is distributed on the other side with regular telephone cable.

Now, the approximately one dozen residents of the Point 12 area of Bull Shoals Lake receive phone service by microwave and get the bonus of much faster Internet accessibility than was possible with the old radio system. The system can be expanded to serve one additional point on the lake. Several customers in a remote subdivision in the Flippin area also have phone service by microwave.

"Customers are very pleased, especially with the added Internet 'bonus'," Sanders said. The upgrade represents a cost to NATCO of about $100,000. Customers pay no additional charge over the traditional telephone and Internet service.

Rag Ball Mania!!!

South Shore's Rag Ball team had a great time and was kept busy playing games which are similar to softball, but...tougher. This South Shore Rag Ball Team entered the tournament with the second best record in the Yellville Rag Ball League in September. Way to go, South Shore team! Congratulations on a great summer activity and, undoubtedly, a lot of fun.

NATCO employees Teresa Willis (left) and Allison Deady (right) are solid team players.

Team members are identified from left. Front row: Kerri Duffy, Kristi Webster, Allison Deady, and Teresa Willis; Second row: Rick Webster, Rocky Hill, Crystal Lovelace, Whitney Dosier, and Kevin Duffy. Third row: Kyle Hill, Tony Allen, and Jon Zurcher.

Lessons in Internet-Speak

The Letter "A" = ADSL

A = ADSL
New mega fast connection to the Internet
(30 times faster than 56 K modems)
It means high bandwidth service, the best service for surfing the 'Net.

A= Always On
No logging on and off the Internet. No wait. Always on!

A= Affordable ADSL, a high bandwidth digital service, and Internet are packaged together for a low monthly rate, plus your basic telephone line charge.*

A= Available Northern Arkansas Telephone Co. now offers ADSL. To see if your residence or business is in an area with ADSL service, call a NATCO customer service representative at 1-800-775-6682, ext. 323.

* To receive ADSL Internet access, your minimum computer system requirements are: PC with 486 or equivalent processor; 32MB of RAM; 30 MB free hard drive disk space for systems without Internet software; a telephone line; Internet software, such as Netscape or Microsoft's Internet Explorer and a network interface card (NIC).

The Letter "I" = ISDN

I=ISDN
A multi-channel line for talking on the phone while using fax, Internet, or other data transmission.

I=Innovation
NATCO was the first in Arkansas to test national ISDN and offer national ISDN to customers in this area.

I=Installation
Installed anywhere in the NATCO service area. NATCO also offers ISDN Internet access to Mountain Home residents who have ISDN phone service through their local provider for $40 per month.

I=Inexpensive
NATCO introduced ISDN with the lowest rates in the nation - $17.90 per month residential and $28.15 per month commercial - and has kept the rates the same ever since then.**

I=Improve Upgrade your current Internet service to Fast Net (ISDN and Internet Access) at $40 for residences and $55 for businesses.***

** ISDN service requires a terminal adapter on your computer which may be purchased for $250 from NATCO.

*** To receive Internet access, your minimum computer system requirements are: PC with 486 or equivalent processor, 16 MB of RAM; 30 MB free hard drive disk space for systems without Internet software; a telephone line; Internet software, such as Netscape or Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Brought to you by Northern Arkansas Telephone Company "Tomorrow's Technology...Today"

301 E. Main St.
Flippin, AR 72634
1-800-775-6682, ext. 323
www.natconet.com
www.southshore.com

Lorene James Joins Internet Department

Lorene James, New Internet Customer Service Representative

Internet customers of Natco Technologies may hear a new voice when they call in to connect or ask questions about their Internet service. Lorene James of Green Forest joined us August 28 and is enjoying her new job as Internet Services Representative.

Computers hooked Lorene about 10 years ago. At that time, she had returned to college and was working on a paper for a class - a paper due the next day. The computer at her home glitched, and she seemed to be stuck in a predicament. She decided to try to figure out how to fix it, and did so. "It totally shocked me," she confided. Ever since, she's been hooked on computers. She has four at home.

Lorene encourages Natco Technologies customers to call her with any computer questions, using the Natco Tech help desk numbers, 453-8822 in the Flippin area, 449-5087 in the Yellville area, and 425-7325 in the Mountain Home area. She'll help with trouble-shooting and Internet connections and help customers make computer technology meet their needs.

Lorene and her husband "Jessie" have been married 33 years and have a grown daughter in Texas, Tina, a son, Adam; and two teens at home, Jacob and Amber. Lorene's hobby is oil painting, creating mostly landscapes.

Melissa Merkel, Customer Service Supervisor

Meet Melissa Merkel, NATCO's Customer Service Supervisor. She has five years of experience in the field and recently accepted the supervisor's job as a challenge and opportunity in her career. It is Melissa who makes sure the Customer Service operation runs smoothly. She worked for another telephone company prior to joining NATCO last year. A 1993 graduate of Mountain Home High School, Melissa attended Arkansas State University-Mountain Home where she studied business. Her husband is Fred Merkel. One of Melissa's hobbies is collecting Mark Martin NASCAR cars and Hot Wheels.

Web Sites of Interest

On NATCO's Web site - www.southshore.com/useful.htm, these and other sites of interest are hot linked for easy access. Many subjects and sources of information are listed and updated frequently.

www.southshore.com

South Shore's site features tourism, relocation and business information for communities in or near the South Shore of Bull Shoals Lake. The site includes driving tours, online calendar of events, maps, online yellow page links and news from the South Shore Foundation, the nonprofit economic development organization funded by NATCO.

www.natconet.com

NATCO's Web site features "NATCO News" newsletter online, current news about the telephone company and detailed information on the digital services offered.

At www.natconet.com/newsletter/, you can find our new electronic newsletter for Internet customers.

Search Engines

iwon.com
This search engine is giving away cash and prizes in its quest for visitors.
www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm
Search engines for children on a single page. It's the work of the Ramapo Catskill Library System (of New York).

Travel

www.fodors.com
A database for 100 cities worldwide. Helps you build your own tour.
www.hostels.com
Much more than budget lodging - information includes airline tickets, rail passes, maps and gear.
www.11thhourvacations.com
Can you travel within a month? Big savings may be found here.

Reference

www.oneacross.com
Crossword puzzle words
www.bartleby.com
Strunk's Elements of Style; Posts' Etiquette; Gray's Anatomy; Barlett's Familiar Quotations and more

Home Repair

www.bhglive.com/homeimp/ (This site is no longer valid as of 07/24/01)
Better Homes & Gardens' How-To (Home Improvement) Encyclopedia featuring animations with voice-overs to help explain repairs.
www.ehow.com
How to do just about everything around the home and garden.

Movies

www.imdb.com
Internet movie data base with film facts, stars and co-stars

www.natconet.com | www.natcotech.com | www.southshore.com

Services and rates subject to change. Please call to confirm current availability

07.25.2001bjm318x

DSL Technology Leads the Way in Internet Speed Race

South Shore Soccer Association Gets Rolling

Customer Service Speaking

Community Projects Receive Funding from South Shore Foundation

South Shore Grant for Diamond City Library

South Shore Foundation Helps Launch Youth Leadership Program

Audubon Materials to Go to Schools

Ralph-Caney FD to Get New Equipment

Y-S Teachers Receive Grant for Computer Update

Spotlight On Twin Lakes Home Builders