Nolan Moullé, Jr. Elected Chairman of NECA Board

Whippany, NJ - January 19, 2005 – The Board of Directors of the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) today elected Nolan Moullé, Jr., Vice President-Revenues of CenturyTel in Monroe, Louisiana, Board Chairman. Robert Eddy, President of Sherburne County Rural Telephone Company in Big Lake, Minnesota, was elected Vice-Chairman.  The NECA Board of Directors has 15 members—ten directors represent three membership divisions and five represent all members (outside directors).

Federal Communications Commission Rules establish Board size and representative groupings. The groupings are Subset 1 (Bell Operating Companies—two representatives); Subset 2  (Other telcos with revenues of $40 million or more—two representatives); Subset 3 (All remaining telcos—six representatives); Outside Directors (Non-telco Directors representing all subsets—five representatives). Each subset nominates and elects its own representatives.  Outside Directors are elected by the entire membership.

Mr. Moullé, a member of the board since January 2001, represents Subset 2.  Moullé is past chairman of the Arkansas IntraLATA Toll Pool Steering Committee.  In addition, he has served on state telecom association committees involving Separations, Settlements and Regulatory matters in Louisiana, Arkansas, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Mr. Eddy, a member of the Board since 2000 represents Subset 3.  He is currently a director for the Minnesota Telecom Alliance. Additionally he has been a director and past president of the Association of Minnesota Telephone Utilities (now MART), a past director of OPASTCO, a commercial company board director of NTCA, and is active in several OPASTCO and USTA committees. Mr. Eddy is active in civic affairs with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Big Lake Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, OPTIONS Inc., a Sherburne County area training center for developmentally disabled adults, and is currently on the board of directors of the Minnesota Safety Council.