CABLE ONE GM RETIRES AFTER 50+ YEARS IN CUSTOMER SERVICE
April 16, 2013 – Phoenix,AZ — After 50+ years in customer service, Cable ONE Altus, Oklahoma General Manager Barbara Burge has announced her retirement.
Burge’s early experience came from Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in 1962 where she started work as a Service Representative. She was promoted to Business Office Supervisor in Lawton, OK, in 1967, then returned to Altus in 1972 to become the Business Office Supervisor. In 1978, Burge became the Residence Service Center Manager after divestiture of the local phone companies by AT&T. In 1984 she traveled much of southwest Oklahoma as the Community Relations Manager. In 1992 Burge moved to Post Newsweek Cable (now Cable ONE) to become the Office Manager for Altus, OK. At the time, Altus included the Oklahoma systems of Altus, Frederick, Hobart, and Mangum, as well as the Texas systems of Childress, Memphis, and Wellington (which were later sold). In 2012, Altus gained the Blair and Tipton, OK systems.
“Barbara was a tremendous asset when we acquired the nearby Marcus and TCI systems in Duncan, Elk City, Sayre, Clinton, Cordell, Pampa, Borger, and Dumas,” said Mitch Bland, Cable ONE Vice President. “She was key in enrolling the associates from those systems in our Benefits package, and she worked diligently with Duncan and Cordell in changing their billing system from Cable Max to Cable Data. Barbara has continued to be an asset to Cable ONE over the years. We will miss her, but we wish her well in her retirement.”
Burge became the Altus General Manager in June 2010. She remained committed to community involvement, working with the Altus Chamber of Commerce, Military Affairs Committee, Kiwanis Club, and other local organizations, including serving on the Board of Education for Southwest Technology Center.
Burge has been the recipient of numerous awards including the “KWHW All American of the Year,” “Honorary Commander for the Altus Air Force Base,” and the “Special Person” award from the City of Altus. She was the Altus Air Force Base Representative to the National Security Forum in Maxwell AFB, Alabama; Working Woman of the Year; and Community Partner Award from the Oklahoma State School Board Association to name a few.
“I plan to spend time with my husband David traveling to Oklahoma City so that I can see my daughter Milana, son-in-law Barry, and to spoil the daylights out of my six-year-old grandson Mika,” Burge said.
Burge will retire Friday, April 26. The community is invited to wish her well in her retirement at a come and go reception from 2-4 p.m. on April 22 at Cable ONE, which is located at 618 N. Main in Altus.
For more information, Burge can be reached by calling (580) 482-0523.
About Cable ONE
Serving 730,000 customers in 19 states with high speed Internet, cable television, and telephone service, Cable ONE provides consumers a wide range of the latest products and services, including wireless Internet service, High-Definition programming, and phone service with free, unlimited long distance calling in the continental U.S.