FRED is nearly a year away from its 20th Anniversary. To gear up for the celebration, we need your images from the past and present that show how FRED has benefited communities, schools, students, and OPASTCO members. FRED will be accepting high resolution photos via e-mail to Stephanie Patton, FRED Program Coordinator, at sap@opastco.org. Please make sure you include names of those people in the photo, where the photo was taken, and the date (at least the year).

Only have original printed photos? Send them to FRED, 21 Dupont Circle, NW Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036. We will scan them and return the originals to you. Be sure to provide a return address so we can send the photos back to you.

The 2007 Compensation & Benefits Survey is now available! FRED sponsored the 19th annual survey this year to assist organizations in comparing their compensation and benefits practices with those of others in the small telecommunications industry.

Published in June 2007, this survey addresses both executive and administrative/ operations compensation practices and regional classifications of respondents, participant profiles, and compensation data for 65 jobs.

This easy-to-use survey also includes information about such benefits practices as health and life insurance, benefits costs as a percent of wages, eligibility practices, and vacation and holiday practices.

If you have questions about the survey, please contact survey director and FRED Board Member, Dr. Robert Mathis (University of Nebraska, Omaha) at 402-492- 2753 or Natalie Rademacher at 402-861-0786.

On Tuesday, July 17, 2007, more than 400 OPASTCO Convention attendees enjoyed the sights and sounds that Alaska has to offer at the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Attendees enjoyed a lavish buffet which included local salmon. Following dinner, guests had the opportunity to walk around the grounds and learn about life for the six traditional culture groups of Alaska. Storytellers, dancers and artisans performed. Exhibits with reindeer, a bald eagle, a hawk, and an owl delighted the crowds.

A special thanks goes out to CoBank for their underwriting of the event. Thanks also to the attendees, sponsors and volunteers who worked before and during the event. An estimated $40,000 was raised in support of FRED Programs.

Planning for the Winter Convention in Phoenix is in full swing. Please start to think about joining FRED at the Arizona Science Center on Monday, January 14, 2008!

On July 6th, forty-two OPASTCO members set sail on the Holland America MS Volendam. The 7-day cruise started in Vancouver, BC, and arrived in Seward, Alaska- just in time for participants to take part in the OPASTCO summer convention in Anchorage. 10% of the cost of their cruise was donated to FRED. Special thanks goes out to Karen Kohne for organizing the cruise and helping to make FRED $8,000.