Read the latest edition of our Newsletter to keep up to date on all the latest news from Citizens
Category: Community News
The Foundation for Rural Service is excited to announce that applications for 2024 FRS Scholarships and the James L. Bass Legal Scholarship are now open! Go to frs.org/scholarship for the application link and additional instructions.
In 2024, FRS will award over $100,000 in scholarships to students sponsored by our NTCA members.
FRS 2024 Scholarship Application Flyer
Applications must be submitted by the end of the day on February 16, 2024, eastern time.
Don't forget about the
James L. Bass Legal Scholarship
For the fourth year, FRS is offering the James L. Bass Legal Scholarship. This scholarship honors James Bass, who was pivotal in the creation of NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, where he served as one of the organization’s earliest Presidents and for numerous other telecommunication milestones. This scholarship is for students entering their first year of law school and does not require an NTCA member sponsorship. Please share this scholarship opportunity in your communities for future law students and anywhere else you might see fit. Information on the scholarship and a link to the application can be found on our webpage.
In 2024, FRS will award at least one James L. Bass Scholarship in the amount of $5,000.
Applications must be submitted by the end of the day on February 16, 2024, eastern time.
Citizens, a Smart Rural Community℠ Provider,
Expands Free Community WiFi within Floyd
Citizens Telephone Cooperative, (aka Citizens) was recently recognized as a Smart Rural Community Provider by the NTCA - Broadband Association. To expand connectivity throughout Floyd, Citizens recently completed the installation of two additional Free Public WiFi locations.
Free Public WiFi is now available at the Floyd Parks & Recreation just off Route 8 as well as the football field, tennis courts, track, and in the old and new gyms of Floyd County High School. In all areas, coverage is very good; giving more access to visitors to these locations. With WiFi accessible in and around the vicinity of Lineberry Park, it is only fitting to expand online access into other heavily populated areas.
Citizens installed a free WiFi access point at the Floyd Parks & Recreation to enable online access to visitors while they enjoy games on the baseball and softball fields. “We have regularly scheduled practices and sporting events. Having public WiFi enables Internet access when needed and will help when tournaments are taking place. The Free Public WiFi gives everyone access when they need it.” stated Jacob Agee, Director of Floyd County Parks & Recreation.
Fans and visitors to Floyd County High School can enjoy WiFi via a free connection at the football, baseball, and softball fields, and parking areas any day after school starting after 3 p.m. The community can also enjoy access at any time on weekends. “As a Smart Rural Community Provider, we (Citizens) wanted to make connecting simple. Users can enjoy a high-speed connection in several places throughout Floyd. Whether you
are enjoying the Town’s music venues, sporting events at the Parks & Recreation fields, or events at Floyd County High School, Citizens has a connection available. You can also stop by Citizens’ office parking lot for a quick upload/download” stated Donna Smith, Citizens’ CEO & General Manager. Signage is posted for easy accessibility at all of the WiFi locations.
“Floyd is full of events and the High School is used for a variety of them, both inside and outside. One example is the upcoming Arts & Craft Festival sponsored by the Greater Floyd Women’s Club on Saturday, October 7. WiFi access is important for the vendors and the visitors. The public WiFi ensures safety and does not infringe on the school’s network.” stated Barry Hollandsworth, FCHS Principal.
All WiFi access points work on a 1Gbps fiber connection -- the same connection that Citizens deploys to residential homes throughout the county as a part of their ACAM Fiber project. The project is slated for completion in 2024. To date, the Cooperative reports the project at 90%. To learn more, members are encouraged to attend Citizens Telephone Cooperative’s Annual Meeting on Saturday, October 21, 2023, at Citizens Multi-Purpose Shelter located at 220 Webbs Mill Road in Floyd.
Citizens is a member-owned Cooperative providing telephone, Internet, and TV to Floyd County and surrounding communities for over 100 years. Citizens’ Business Solutions provides symmetrical Ethernet, data transport, hosted phone services, and more. Citizens is located at 220 Webbs Mill Road in Floyd. Lobby hours are 8 am - 5 pm Monday - Friday; and 9 am - 1 pm on Saturday.
Citizens Cablevision offers Floyd County High School Graduation Keepsake
As Floyd County High School Graduates take the stage on Saturday, May 20th, Citizens Cablevision will also broadcast the ceremony LIVE on Citizens TV Channel 20 for anyone unable to attend beginning at 10 am. The ceremony will also be streamed on citizens.coop.
Commemorative recordings of the Senior Awards, Baccalaureate, and Graduation will be available from https://shop.citizens.coop/product/fchs-2023-graduation/. Anyone desiring a graduation keepsake will have the option to download it onto their device a few days after graduation for $7, order a USB Flash Drive for $10, or order a DVD for $19.95 (allow 6-8 weeks).
Graduation will be re-broadcast on CCTV the following week(s) for those who missed it. Viewers can see the programming schedule online at https://citizens.coop/cctv/.
“We are happy to provide this service for our community,” stated CEO & General Manager, Donna Smith. “It’s just another way we keep our community connected.”
The mission of CCTV is to capture what matters to you. If you have an interest in showcasing your business, civic group, or community project, contact Josh Stokes, Video Production Editor by calling 540.745.9552 or email cablevision@citizens.coop. Sponsorship opportunities are available to advertise your business during local programming. For more information, contact Citizens at 540-745-2111 or 276-637-6485. Citizens is located at 220 Webbs Mill Road in Floyd. Lobby hours are 8 am - 5 pm Monday - Friday; 9 am - 1 pm on Saturday.
It’s college basketball season and Citizens is hosting a Pick-It March Mania contest! All customers are invited to participate in this fun, a free online contest that follows the 64-team college basketball tournament.
Simply visit https://citizenscoop.pickitchallenge.com/ to sign up, make your picks, and watch your name climb the Leaderboard as games progress. Super fan or not, it’s easy to play and a great time for everyone!
Game matchups will be announced Sunday, March 12 and the first game starts on March 16. Sign up soon for your chance to play and win.
We hope to catch you on the Leaderboard: https://citizenscoop.pickitchallenge.com/. Good luck and get ready for some March Mania!
The Foundation for Rural Service has announced that the applications for the 2022 FRS Scholarships and the James L. Bass Legal Scholarship are now open! Go to frs.org/programs/youth-programs/scholarships for the link to the applications.
In 2023, FRS will award over $100,000 in scholarships to students sponsored by our NTCA members.
Sapp Announces Retirement at Citizens’ Annual Meeting
The 2022 Annual Meeting of Citizens Telephone Cooperative was held on Saturday, October 15th, at the Citizens’ office on Webbs Mill Road in Floyd. Over 160 members were in attendance for the meeting announcing new milestones for the company.
Members were greeted by Citizens employees and received member gifts. Attendees had the opportunity to see first-hand and learn about the company’s new IPTV product, SFN TV Now. Central Office Technician Jay Conner conducted an educational demonstration of the new TV platform for the attendees prior to the meeting. “We are here for our customers each step of the way as we transition from and close down our digital TV headend to the new SFN TV Now IPTV platform,” stated Conner.
Citizens CEO and General Manager, Greg Sapp began the meeting with a welcome to members for the second Annual Meeting held in Citizens’ multipurpose shelter which comfortably accommodated those in attendance. President Wesley Goff opened the meeting, led the Pledge of Allegiance, and gave the President’s Report. Secretary Shelby Quesenberry read the minutes from the last meeting and Director Jonathan Vest presented the re-election of Board members Kevin Hubbard (Ballard exchange), Daniel Grim (Floyd exchange), and Rhonda Turpin (Willis exchange).
Mr. Sapp returned to the podium to report on the Cooperative’s progress of the ACAM Fiber to the Home project. To date, only 27% of the project construction remains. When complete in 2023, Floyd County will be 100% covered with fiber optic Internet technology for current and future technology needs. Sapp also shared that through partial funding from the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative
(VATI) Citizens can now serve residents in Copper Hill with Gigabit (1Gbps) Internet. In conjunction with DSL to Fiber Internet conversions, Sapp reported that in just the last few months Citizens has connected over 600 customers with the new SFN TV Now IPTV platform. The new TV technology reportedly saves customers from paying additional on their monthly TV package for HD, PVR services, and set-top boxes.
Lastly in Sapp’s report, he announced that he would be retiring from Citizens Telephone Cooperative in November of 2022 after 29 years and that the Cooperative will be in good hands with newly selected Donna Hylton Smith as Citizens’ new General Manager. He thanked everyone for the opportunities over the years and for allowing him to serve them.
Smith is a Virginia Tech graduate and Floyd county resident whose family has generational roots in the company. Smith’s grandfather, Maynard Hylton, was Plant Manager at the time of his retirement in 1979. Smith’s father, Donald Hylton, was a contractor for the company prior to his retirement. Donna has been at Citizens for 21 years. In Smith’s statement, she commented “It is an honor to be selected for this position and continue the work started generations ago. I am excited to continue to serve the community where I was raised and now have my own family. Greg leaves big shoes to fill but with our team of dedicated employees, we will strive to make him proud and continue to bring our customers the best service around. Thank you, Greg, for your leadership. Thank you, Directors, for your support and confidence in me.” Donna resides in Floyd with her husband, Danny Smith, and children Jacob and Emma.
Traditions of the annual meeting continued with door prize drawings for members. Prizes awarded were: a Dewalt tool set, a Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum, a 13-piece cookware set, a smart clock, Armor All Car Kit, a 10” Fire HD tablet, a portable air compressor, and a 50” Roku TV. The meeting was followed by a catered meal by Blue Ridge Diner of Floyd.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be on the third Saturday of October 2023.
"FLOYD — This rural community, known for its beautiful upland landscapes and progressive attitudes, just got its first publicly accessible electric vehicle charging station.
Citizens Telephone Cooperative announced July 6 the modest yet notable arrival of a new era at its Webbs Mill Road office with the installation of a ‘CitiZap’ 240-volt charger with two outlets."
Citizens Offers Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging to the Public
Citizens Telephone Cooperative (aka Citizens) prides itself on being a leader in technology. The Cooperative has one more year of construction in its fiber-to-the-home project deploying fiber optics throughout Floyd County. This project is making Gigabit (1Gbps) Internet available throughout the rural community. As a technology leader, the company added an electric car to the vehicle fleet. “A 2021 Chevy Bolt that never needs gas and never needs an oil change,” stated Greg Sapp, the General Manager of Citizens. “The Bolt has a range of around 259 miles making it a perfect choice for use in and around the New River Valley.” continued Sapp.
This is a totally different type of vehicle for the company and it is where the industry is headed. How would a company use such a vehicle? The WAN team takes it to work on equipment at a colocation site, Central Office can drive to work at a remote site, and our Business Development uses it to meet with commercial customers across our service territories.
As more electric vehicles are passing through the Town daily, Citizens has installed an EV Charging Station calling it “CitiZap”. As with any new technology, there is a learning curve. There are multiple types of charging stations. Citizens installed a Level 2 Fast Charging Station with an SAE J1772 plug. This type of charging station will fully charge a battery such as in the Chevy Bolt in about 6 to 8 hours. It’s a 240-volt charger (like a clothes dryer connection) and yields roughly 25 miles per hour of charge.
“We want to make charging easy for our customers and guests in our area,” said WAN Technician, Dean Wood. The company’s charging station has two plugs. The EV, CitiZap, charging station has a QR Code on each charging plug. The customer will download the EvGateway App from Google Play or Apple App Store and scan or swipe an RFID to connect, charge, and pay for the EV charge at 20 cents per kWh.
Citizens held an unveiling on July 1, 2022, making the unit available for public use during the Independence Day holiday. Citizens is now listed on plugshare.com, chargehub.com, and other sites when searching online for an EV charging station.
For more information, visit www.citizens.coop or call 540.745.2111. Citizens is a member-owned Cooperative providing telephone, Internet, and TV to Floyd County and surrounding communities for over 100 years. Citizens Business Solutions include customized hosted phone and symmetrical Ethernet offerings. Citizens is located at 220 Webbs Mill Road in Floyd. Lobby hours are 8 am-6 pm Monday - Friday; 9 am - 1 pm on Saturday.
Each year Foundation for Rural Service Scholarships is awarded by regions across rural America. Citizens would love to see students in our service area receive these scholarships. Scholarships range from $2,500 - $7,000. The application window is open until Friday, February 25, 2022.
Visit frs.org/programs/youth-programs/scholarships/ for details and application.
Foundation for Rural Service Scholarships
Each year Foundation for Rural Service Scholarships is awarded by regions across rural America. Citizens would love to see students in our service area receive these scholarships. Scholarships range from $2,500 - $7,000. The application window is open until March 5, 2021.
Visit https://www.frs.org/programs/youth-programs/scholarships/ for details and application.
VCTA- Broadband Association of Virginia, the Donald A. PerryFoundation and Virginia Cable Industry seek Virginia’s Future Leaders for 2021-2022 Scholarship
On behalf of the Virginia cable industry and the Donald A. Perry Foundation, the VCTA- Broadband Association of Virginia announces the 2021 Virginia’sFuture Leaders Scholarship Program. This year $40,000 will be awarded to outstanding Virginia students attending Virginia colleges and universities across the Commonwealth.
This program is a one-time award and is open to Virginia residents attending an undergraduate 2 or 4 year program at a Virginia institution of higher learning for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Interested applicants should:
- Visit www.vcta.com for an application & rules. Please follow all instructions carefully.
- Postmark all entries by March 30, 2021
The Virginia’s Future Leaders Scholarship Program, now in its 21st year, is an educational initiative of the Virginia cable industry.
The VCTA, established in 1966, serves as the trade association for the cable telecommunications industry in Virginia. The VCTA’s mission is to advocate the broadband and telecommunications issues of member companies to the business community and state officials.
Citizens Telephone Cooperative Encourages Students to Apply for James L. Bass Legal Scholarship
The Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) today announced the James L. Bass Legal Scholarship, a new scholarship for students with an interest in rural communities entering their first year of law school. FRS is the philanthropic arm of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, of which Citizens is a member.
With an active law career that spanned more than 70 years, James Bass helped secure funds for rural telephone systems to bring modern telephone service to rural areas. He was pivotal in the creation of NTCA, where he served as one of the organization’s earliest presidents. Bass continued his leadership with service for more than 50 years as legal counsel.
Recognizing Bass’s impact to the industry and his passion for the legal profession, the NTCA Board of Directors established a scholarship for students with an interest in rural communities to attend law school. The first James L. Bass Legal Scholarship will be awarded in spring 2021 and will be at least $5,000.
“Jim was not only a founding member of NTCA, he was a guiding light for our association through much of his lifetime,” said Shirley Bloomfield, chief executive officer of NTCA. “He spent his last years in service to the association as our general counsel where he helped guide our national board through growth and transformation. How fitting it is to honor him with a law school scholarship recognizing not only his passion for rural America but for the legal profession as well. My sincere thanks to all the NTCA members who so generously donated in Jim’s memory.”
“Citizens is pleased to make another scholarship available to graduating seniors,” stated Greg Sapp, CEO & General Manager of Citizens. “We believe in building opportunities for the future and we are honored to offer this scholarship in Jim’s legacy.”
The deadline to be considered for the spring 2021 James L. Bass Scholarship is April 16, 2021.
Visit https://www.frs.org/programs/james-l-bass-legal-scholarship
Citizens Telephone Cooperative (Citizens) prides itself on being a community partner. Most recently, Citizens adopted 10 senior citizens who are enrolled in the Agency for Aging “Santa to a Senior” program to provide gifts for the holiday season.
Citizens’ Events Coordinator, Tina Osborne, stated “due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the gifts will be purchased by one person in the company to avoid possible cross-contamination of any kind.” This is quite different from how Citizens would normally handle this event. “Our employees love to give and normally ‘adopt’ the person and take their wish list to purchase the items as a group or department.” The Citizens’ spirit that is normally exhibited during this time of year was not dampened by fewer people being involved. Instead, the company’s marketing department made a Christmas card showing the individuals of each department within the company for the residents. This is just one way Citizens is adapting to keep the holiday spirit alive during this unusual time.
Citizens was able to supply the items listed for each senior citizen. “It was heartwarming to see the needs of these individuals. There was nothing but pure ‘need’ in their requests...toiletries, clothing, cleaning supplies, and pet food just to name a few.” Citizens even added toilet paper to the package of each person to help during the increased wave of COVID cases in the area. The gifts were nicely wrapped in festive gift wrap and delivered to the residents by the Agency on Aging.
Citizens partnership with the Agency on Aging is a fulfilling effort for both organizations. “To know that you are able to make a senior citizen smile and fulfill a need is worth every moment spent.”
For more information, visit www.citizens.coop or call 540.745.2111. Citizens is a member-owned Cooperative providing telephone, Internet, and TV to Floyd County and surrounding communities for over 100 years. Citizens also offers symmetrical business Ethernet, IT Solutions, Home Security Systems as well as Citizens Medical Alert. Citizens is located at 220 Webbs Mill Road in Floyd.
Drive-thru hours are:
8:00 am - 6:00 pm Monday - Friday
9:00 am - 1:00 pm on Saturday
For information about the Agency on Aging, visit www.nrvaoa.org. The NRV Agency on Aging serves Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, and Pulaski counties and the City of Radford.
A tradition I started about five years ago was writing Christmas cards. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents as a kid, and they would ask me to check their mailbox for Christmas cards, often multiple times during a visit because the mail hadn't run yet. They would watch the mailbox from the window to get those cards just as soon as the mail person delivered.
They would light up with joy with every single one, especially ones with pictures and hand-written notes. Each year as they got older, the number of cards dwindled because people would post on social media and text Christmas wishes instead, or because more of their friends were passing away. At that point, I realized the importance of my generation carrying on the tradition of sending paper Christmas cards.
I like to buy completely blank cards to write a personal note to each person by hand. I always include a Bible verse from the nativity story that sticks out to me that year. When making my Christmas card list, I try especially hard to include folks from older generations, shut-ins, nursing home residents, and people who have lost loved ones.
This year, my list is much longer because I can’t greet many of my friends and loved ones with a big ol' hug like I normally would. I am incredibly grateful that Christmas cards are a tradition the pandemic cannot take away from me, and if anything, it will make the tradition that much sweeter.
I encourage everyone to write a few cards this year just to let them know how much they mean to you and that you’re thinking of them. We all need a little extra love going around this year!
The 2020 Annual Meeting of Citizens Telephone Cooperative was held on Saturday, October 17th, at Citizens’ office on Webbs Mill Road. Members of the Cooperative were greeted and directed to park by Citizens employees who wore masks and kept a physical distance of 6ft. Members were asked to tune their car radios to 87.9 FM while the Board of Directors and CEO of Citizens conducted the meeting outside of the building.
President Wesley Goff opened the meeting, led the Pledge of Allegiance, and gave the President’s Report. Secretary Shelby Quesenberry read the minutes from the last meeting. Director Kevin Hubbard presented the re-election of Board members Joseph Italiano (Alum Ridge exchange), Jonathan Vest (Locust Grove exchange), and Shelby Quesenberry (Willis exchange).
CEO and General Manager Greg Sapp reported on the Cooperative’s progress during the COVID-19 pandemic and applauded Citizens employees for their readiness to handle the increase in demand and their willingness to assist customers working and schooling from home. During the pandemic, the company increased installs and performed in record time.
“We installed free WiFi hotspots at Check Elementary, Willis Elementary, and Floyd County High School to assist students, teachers, and staff meet their distance learning and teaching needs. We also put a free hotspot here in our front parking lot to assist our customers. We installed free WiFi hotspots at 3 Wythe County school locations as well,” stated Sapp. Citizens’ offers a $10 per month Student Connect broadband service to qualifying families with school-age children in the home. To assist qualifying families who may not meet the criteria for the Student Connect program, Citizens offered a 50% discount. Citizens also provided discounts and credits to several local businesses when they were closed or experiencing significant declines in business. “We have worked with many customers during this time to provide options for paying their bills with us. We understand that these are difficult times and that we all must work together,” continued Sapp.
Citizens has taken many precautions during the pandemic to keep members and employees safe. The company closed the lobby to the public on March 24th, and it has been closed ever since. Fortunately, the drive-thru window has allowed for customer service and support needs during this time.
Sapp mentioned measures the company has taken to support the health and safety of Citizens employees, “We have made arrangements for employees to work from home and other off-site locations. The employees working from home rotate with those in the office to provide everyone this option and to prevent all employees from getting sick should we have an outbreak at the office. We have been very fortunate that an outbreak has not happened.” He explained that all employees who enter the building have their temperatures checked each morning. If employees have to work close to each other, they have to rotate wearing masks. He continued by stating field technicians are taking precautions as well. “The technicians are taking their own temperatures if they are dispatching from home and are using an app to affirm that they do not have any COVID-19 symptoms and are including a picture of their temperature reading. The technicians are wearing masks if they need to enter a customer’s home.” Citizens is also using a questionnaire to screen customers for COVID-19 symptoms before a technician enters the home.
Citizens is taking the pandemic very seriously since telecommunications businesses are considered essential. The company has not been closed a single day and continues to meet the needs of the community during the pandemic.
Sapp also shared the company’s status on the ACAM fiber deployment throughout Floyd County and explained that Citizens obtained partial funding through the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI), enabling residents in the Copper Hill area to connect to fiber. In just a few months Citizens has connected 49 out of 316 homes. “This type of grant had to be initiated by a locality, and I would like to give special thanks to Lydeana Martin for taking the lead with this grant,” stated Sapp.
The Cooperative will move into the final construction phase of the fiber project in 2021 and looks to launch a new streaming TV service. The streaming TV service will eliminate the cost of set-top boxes and will give the viewer more flexibility to watch programming on many types of devices including tablets, smartphones, and laptops.
Traditionally, the annual meeting ends with drawing the winners of door prizes and sitting down for a catered meal. To meet recommendations for gatherings during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Citizens opted not to give door prizes or serve a meal.
Sapp mentioned that the Cooperative will continue to hold Annual Meetings at the company’s office located at 220 Webbs Mill Road, Floyd. “We’ve made some enhancements that will allow us to hold the meetings here with ample room to accommodate our members,” stated Sapp.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
For more information about Citizens, visit www.citizens.coop or call 540.745.2111. Citizens is a member-owned Cooperative providing telephone, Internet, and TV to Floyd County and surrounding communities for over 100 years. Citizens also offers symmetrical business Ethernet, IT Solutions, Home Security Systems as well as Citizens Medical Alert and Web Services. Citizens is located at 220 Webbs Mill Road in Floyd. Lobby and drive-up hours are 8 am-6 pm Monday - Friday; 9 am - 1 pm on Saturday. DCJS #11-9804
Message from the General Manager
The best way to sum up 2020 would be to say it’s been a ‘unique’ year for your Cooperative. Navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us our strengths and given us opportunities to do things in different ways. The Board of Directors, Leadership Team, and Employees of the Cooperative have embraced the opportunity to continue to provide you with quality service, excellent support, and advanced technology in more new ways than ever before.
We closed our lobby doors to the public on March 24th but remained steadfast to serve you through our drive-up, by phone, and online. We continued our deployment of 1Gbps Fiber to the Home service. To date, we have entered Phase 4: the Alum Ridge community and the Floyd North area. We are steadily connecting Indian Valley and the Parkway region of the Fairview area. We continue to connect homes in earlier completed areas as well.
Currently, in our ACAM project, we have constructed 257.4 miles of fiber and have over 1,000 customers connected to the Gigabit fiber service. That’s nearly 30% of our Internet customers and much more than we anticipated. In addition, your Cooperative completed a VATI project passing 316 homes in Copper Hill making Gigabit service eligible to those homes as well. To the early adopters in Copper Hill, we say “WELCOME TO GIG COUNTRY!” We hope you are enjoying the 1Gbps speed with generous Usage Plans that are designed to meet the specific needs of your home.
As more areas become Gig-ready, watch for emails and letters from our sales team. You can also stay informed on the progress of the fiber project by viewing the construction Fiber Map on our website citizens.coop/fiberexpansion and following the Fiber Installation Timeline as we get closer to your home citizens.coop/fiber-to-your-home-installation-timeline
Thank you for your support and for being a loyal member. We appreciate the trust that you put in us.
Our Mission is to provide you with Quality Service, Excellent Support, and Advanced Technology. It’s our privilege to provide Technology for Your Community.
Sincerely,
Greg Sapp, CEO & General Manager
We’re all about connections.
Learn more about the installation of fiber at:
citizens.coop/fiber-to-your-home-installation-timeline
2020 Accomplishments
- Expand 1Gbps Fiber to the Home Service Phase 4 Fiber Construction
- Completed VATI project construction deploying 1 Gbps to areas of Copper Hill
- Continue to Expand CitiZip VDSL Footprint Offering Speeds up to 50Mbps
- Broadened the footprint of Security, Automation, and Surveillance Solutions for Businesses and Residential Homes
- Expanded Hosted Phone Solutions for Businesses
- Ensured Internet service for educational purposes via Student Connect for low-income families during school closure due to COVID-19
- Gave upgraded speeds without price increases providing work from home solutions during COVID-19 for residents and businesses
2021 Outlook
- Begin the final phases of construction for 1 Gbps fiber deployment
- Launch streaming TV service to eliminate the need for set-top boxes for Citizens TV service
- Increase SIP Trunk offerings for Businesses
- Integration of new Area Codes
Due to the Virginia Department of Health confirmation of Covid 19 (Coronavirus) case for a person living within 50 driving miles of our main office, Citizens will Close the Business Office to the Walk-in Customers effective Tuesday, March 24th.
We WILL continue to serve you and to keep you connected.
The drive-thru window at our Floyd office will remain open to handle bill payments and provide various services and support assistance. We will maintain normal business hours of 8 AM - 6 PM on weekdays and 9 AM- 1 PM on Saturday.
You can reach our staff by phone (745.2111 or 276.637.6485), or email (customercare@citizens.coop) and our 24/7 Technical Support will continue by calling 1.800.741.9525.
This Office Closure will also result in other steps to help reduce Covid 19 spread by limiting the activities of our technicians who would need to visit your home. The technicians will take precautionary measures. They will be wearing protective masks and will not enter your home. If you need new equipment, accessories, or exchange existing equipment, the technician will place the equipment on your doorstep and will guide you through any steps needed to connect the equipment by phone, verbally through a door or window and/or provide written instructions. Furthermore, if any wiring is needed, the technician will provide a temporary connection through a window and guide you on the connection process. We will schedule a time after the pandemic declaration is lifted to return and correct temporary wiring arrangements and to pick up any used equipment if the technician is unable to pick up equipment during the visit to your home.
Furthermore, for education, remote work, and communication purposes, Citizens has FREE Public WiFi Access available for public use at the lower end of our parking lot. A banner is displayed with logon credentials. There are other public WiFi access points available at many local businesses. Cheri Baker at Tuggles Gap, Restaurant & Motel located at 3351 Parkway Lane South, Floyd stated “We still have free internet access here at Tuggles Gap. Our deck that is attached to the restaurant is available to those who may need to use the internet, even though the business is closed, for as long as our local schools are closed. The public is welcome to use our internet on the deck.” Other local businesses with limited range WiFi for public use include: Blue Ridge Diner, Floyd Country Store, Pizza Inn, Subway, & American Pie Restaurant.
“These steps are necessary to protect you and your family and our employees and to help contain the spread of the virus. Thank you for your understanding and be assured that we will strive to keep you connected during these difficult times.” Greg Sapp, CEO & GM of Citizens.
First of all, we are here to serve you and will continue to serve you and keep you connected. We are continuing to monitor the Covid 19 pandemic situation and have established guidelines for when we would initiate an Office Closure and close the office to walk-in customers. If a confirmed case is announced whereby that person lived within 50 miles driving distance of the main office in Floyd or our Ft Chiswell work center (we are referring to that as the “commuting zone”) then we will close the Floyd office to walk-in customers. The Ft Chiswell work center is a technician work location and is not open to customers. The drive-thru in Floyd would stay open and we will handle bill payments and provide various services and support assistance via the drive-thru as well. We will aim to maintain normal business hours of 8AM – 6PM on weekdays and 9AM- 1PM on Saturday. You can always reach us by phone (745.2111 or 276.637.6485) or email (customercare@citizens.coop) and our 24/7 Technical Support will continue by calling 1.800.741.9525.
This Office Closure would result in other steps to help reduce Covid 19 spread by limiting the activities of our technicians who would need to visit your home. The technicians will be wearing protective masks and would not enter your home. If you need new equipment, accessories, or exchange existing equipment, the technician would place the equipment on your doorstep and will guide you through any steps needed to connect the equipment by phone, verbally through a door or window and provide written instructions. Furthermore, if any wiring is needed, the technician will provide a temporary connection through a window and guide you on the connection process. We will schedule a time after the pandemic declaration is lifted to return and correct temporary wiring arrangements and to pick up any used equipment if the technician wasn’t able to pick up that equipment during the visit to your home.
These steps are necessary to protect you and your family and our employees and to help contain the spread of the virus. Thank you for your understanding and be assured that we will strive to keep you connected during these difficult times.
Citizens Cablevision is temporarily adding more channels to your existing Digital TV package for your viewing enjoyment. These channels are available NOW through April 30 at No Additional Cost to you in your subscribed package. It’s our way of taking a Byte out of the Coronavirus.
Channels added to BASIC Package:
- CNN – channel 101
- Fox News – channel 124
- Hallmark – Channel 458
- Hallmark Movies & Mysteries – channel 457
- Hallmark Drama – channel 456
- Oxygen – channel 454
- CNBC – channel 120
- Universal Kids – channel 312
- Universo – channel 348
- MSNBC – channel 121
- Cooking Channel – channel 235
- Travel Channel – channel 463
- DIY – channel 228
- GAC – channel 609
- AHC – channel 355
- Destination America – channel 226
- Discovery Family Channel – channel 303
- Discovery Life Channel – channel 353
- OWN – channel 352
- Discovery en Espanol – channel 351
- Discovery Familia – channel 350
Channels added to Signature Package
- Hallmark Drama – channel 456
- Universal Kids – channel 312
- Universo – channel 348
- DIY – channel 228
- GAC – channel 609
- AHC – channel 355
- Discovery Family Channel – channel 303
- Discovery Life Channel – channel 353
- Discovery en Espanol – channel 351
- Discovery Familia – channel 350
Channel added to Crest Package:
- Universo – channel 348
- Discovery en Espanol – channel 351
- Discovery Familia – channel 350
* In HD based on subscription and where available.
For more information, please contact Citizens at 745.2111 or 276.637.6485. Service not available in all areas.
As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) begins to have a greater impact across our communities, your Cooperative is here to assist and support you. Our team is proactively monitoring the situation and has implemented a Contingency Plan which provides a comprehensive strategy to protect the organization from events that can disrupt normal business functions. Rest assured, we are positioned to continue providing critical communication services to the business, education, and residents in the communities we serve
Our employees are following guidelines to help prevent the spread of the virus, including frequent and thorough washing of hands and keeping work surfaces and equipment clean. Like many organizations, we have limited any non-essential corporate travel to large events and requested that any teammates who are or become sick stay home.
We are prepared – We are here to serve you.
Our team is committed to our community and prepared to give top priority to supply Internet access to students without in order to meet educational requirements should online instruction take effect.
We are prepared to support work from home and online learning efforts. If you have these needs, please call 540.745.2111 or 276.637.6485 to discuss.
Protecting your information
Cybercriminals are using concerns about the virus to launch phishing attacks. These emails may try to entice you with the promise of the latest coronavirus information, the sale of scam products or the request for personal or business-sensitive information. Because of this, please be cautious of clicking on email links or opening attachments referencing the coronavirus, unless you are sure they are from a trusted source. In addition, if your devices do not have a virus protection software installed, know that Citizens offers a robust virus protection software for $5.95. One easy to download and install subscription covers up to four of your devices — smartphones, tablets, laptops and/or desktop computer.
Protecting You – Service at your convenience
If you are wanting to reduce in-person interactions, which we encourage, you can use one of the various methods that Citizens offers to conduct business. We have forms on each of our core service pages on our website that enable you to communicate with our teams.
At any time, you may continue to call our office as our Contingency Plan includes our ability to handle phone calls even if our office is closed.
Our 24/7 Support team (1.800.741.9525) is also on hand to assist or direct your need to an appropriate teammate who will return a call to assist you.
Should a premise visit be required, please know that our staff will be forthright in inquiring about recent fever and illness as an effort to keep the virus at bay.
In addition, we offer Citizens E-Care that allows you to subscribe to new services, pay your bill, make changes to your existing services, and report service issues. If you haven’t enrolled, you can quickly get started at https://citizens.coop/myaccount/ or call our office at 540.745.2111 or 276.637.6485 during office hours. We will be glad to assist you in setting up your Citizens E-Care account.
We will continue to monitor this health situation and adjust our plan as needed. If you have questions about COVID-19, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/, World Health Organization https://www.who.int/ and Virginia Department of Health (VDH) http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus websites are good sources for accurate and up-to-date information.