Hardy Telecommunications has been officially welcomed to Wardensville with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Town officials and the Hardy County Chamber of Commerce held the ceremony at Hardy’s new Wardensville office on East Main Street on Friday, July 23. Hardy County Chamber of Commerce Vice President Sheldon Arbaugh recognized the importance of Hardy Telecommunications expanding into new areas of the county. He also mentioned the cooperative’s recent funding award from the federal government that will be used to build a fiber-optic network to residents’ homes.
“Big things are happening at Hardy Telecommunications,” Mr. Arbaugh said.
Hardy General Manager Scott Sherman and Mr. Arbaugh did the official cutting of the ribbon while Wardensville officials and other Hardy employees stood nearby. Scott said Hardy Telecommunications was looking forward to serving the town’s citizens.
“We’re very pleased to start serving the community of Wardensville. We hope to establish a long, successful relationship with the town and its residents as we introduce more services in the next several months,” he said.
Hardy currently sells computers out of the Wardensville office at 345 East Main Street, Suite A, but it plans to offer telephone and broadband Internet services in the near future. The same office also houses a Sprint store featuring wireless service plans and a variety of mobile phones and accessories.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony coincided with an open house at Hardy’s Wardensville office. Visitors enjoyed free food and games provided by Hardy and Sprint. Those who stopped by also saw a demonstration of the capabilities of Sprint’s latest smartphones. A similar open house was held July 30 at Hardy’s office at 121 South Main Street in Moorefield.
Hardy Telecommunications was the only company in West Virginia to receive federal funding in the latest round of awards announced by the USDA Department of Agriculture Rural Development’s Telecommunications programs. Hardy was awarded a $31.6 million grant/loan combination for its Hardy OneNet Fiber-to-the-Home project, which will allow the cooperative to build a fiber-optic network directly to consumers’ houses. Fiber-optic technology is the most modern technology in the telecommunications field, capable of providing high-definition digital television, ultra-high-speed Internet access, and digital telephone service through a single connection.