Smithville Appoints New COO
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowEllettsville-based Smithville Communications has named John Patten chief operating officer. He previously served as an executive with a Wisconsin-based trade show exhibit company. November 10, 2014
News Release
ELLETTSVILLE, Ind. – Smithville Communications, Indiana's largest privately held telecommunications company, has named long-time media executive John Patten as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO), according to Darby McCarty, chairman and CEO. “John brings to Smithville strong leadership experience in key areas and we look forward to his strategic role in sustaining the major growth and development of Smithville Communications in both residential and enterprise markets,” Ms. McCarty said.
Patten's new role includes providing the leadership, management and vision elements necessary for Smithville to execute at a high level of performance and drive strategic growth.
“Smithville holds the twin advantages of being established as a major technology service innovator and a leader in customer service,” Patten said. “It's a privilege to join a team that has already achieved so much in advanced telecommunication services, including developing and introducing Indiana's fastest Internet and 21st century gigabit services to the state.”
Patten joined Smithville from MG Design Associates, where he served as president of the full-service national marketing and trade show/event exhibit company. MG Design is headquartered in Wisconsin, with offices in California, Florida, Indiana and Nevada.
Prior to his national work at MG Design, Patten served as a senior executive in the construction, education and radio industries. He began his career in the early 1970s in Indianapolis at the legendary radio station WIRE, and moved from there into CEO-level positions in media.
A 1972 graduate of Indiana University (Bloomington), Patten serves in a number of volunteer positions.
About Smithville Founded 90 years ago as the Monroe County Telephone Company, privately owned Smithville is now Indiana’s largest independent telecom company with about 180 employees. Named a national Top 100 broadband provider for six straight years, Smithville is deploying Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) services ( which at 1-10 Gbps provides the fastest connectivity available in Indiana) to more than 23,000 businesses and residences in southern Indiana. Its subsidiary Smithville Telecom provides fiber-based connectivity, data consulting, network management and managed services for businesses, university campuses, biotechnology companies, healthcare providers and government offices. For more information, please visit www.smithville.com.
Source: Smithville Communications