Dear NYSTA Members:

It is my privilege to invite you to the New York State Telecommunications Association’s 88th Annual Conference & Expo in beautiful Niagara Falls. New this year, the event will be held from Monday evening, June 1 to Thursday at noon on June 4, 2009 at the Niagara Falls Conference Center.

The NYSTA Conferences Committee has been hard at work putting together what we believe will be an outstanding conference and will bring you up to date on the latest critical issues facing the industry, including the $7.2 billion Broadband Stimulus package and the FCC’s Intercarrier Compensation Reform proceeding. It all starts Monday evening, June 1 with a two hour Opening Welcome Reception sponsored by JSI with plenty of food and beverages.

On Tuesday morning, June 2, we officially kick off with our annual Business Session and ONYX Awards. We have lined up some great speakers as well on Tuesday. Peter Nixon, President of FairPoint Communications will be our Keynoter presenter to kick things off. PSC Chairman Gary Brown has also been invited and we suspect he will speak to us about the soon to be announced COMP V proceeding that will look at just about every regulation dealing with the industry, including State Universal Service Funding. Finally, John Rose, President of OPASTCO will update us on everything going on (or lack thereof) in D.C. Following Tuesday’s Business Session, we will hold our Customer Appreciation Day with Lunch. Tour 60 exhibits to see the latest products and services while enjoying food, drink, and prizes.

On Wednesday morning, we will hold our ever-popular Workshops. The workshops will cover an array of technical, managerial, and other topics, including topics dealing with the Broadband Stimulus program. Networking opportunities will abound on Wednesday afternoon with the Annual NYSTA Golf Tournament sponsored by the Berry Company, this year at the private, beautiful Niagara Frontier Country Club. Again, we will have our increasingly popular fishing outing sponsored by ACM. Finally, for those not interested in Golf or Fishing, we have arranged a Maid of The Mist boat outing and lunch for an incomparable look at Niagara Falls.

This year a free one-day pass will be available and can be used to attend either Customer Appreciation Day on Tuesday or the Workshops on Wednesday. This should allow you the opportunity to send others from your company to visit 60 exhibits or to attend one of 12 workshops.

Wednesday evening we will hold our Annual Awards Dinner (always a crowd pleaser), sponsored by Dunkirk and Fredonia Telephone Company.

On Thursday morning we have two great panel discussions lined up. We will discuss current Broadband Initiatives with several panelists, including Paul Griswold, President and CEO of Ontario & Trumansburg Telephone Companies and Finger Lakes Technologies, former State Senator and newly appointed DANC Executive Director Jim Wright, and invitee Sharon Cates-Williams, New York’s Deputy Chief Information Officer with the governor’s CIO/OFT agency.

Next, join your fellow telecom professionals as we discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the industry in a panel entitled “The Businessman, the Banker, and the..". We have lined up some well know industry veterans to discuss the future of your business, including Duane Albro, President of WVT Communications, Frank Gallagher, Managing Director of Stifel, Nicholaus, and Steve Kraskin, well known attorney and consultant to the industry.

That’s just some of the exciting, informative, and fun things that will be at this year’s conference. You will see at the top of the page a number of links where you will find information regarding registration, schedule, sponsorship opportunities, and hotel information/directions. New also this year, most food and drink for this year’s event is included in your NYSTA registration fee (except for the Wednesday night Awards Dinner which will be priced A la Carte) since all meetings and function will be held in the Conference Center. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Crowne Plaza in Niagara Falls across the street from the Conference Center at the low rate of $139 per night.

Register today with both NYSTA and the Crowne Plaza! Please have your credit card available when registering. Complete the Member Registration before APRIL 30, 2009 for Early Bird Pricing. Then reserve your room at the Crowne Plaza by either following the link to reserve your accommodations via the Crowne Plaza’s website, dedicated to NYSTA, Crowne Plaza NYSTA Conference Registration Link or by Calling the Hotel’s Toll-Free Reservation Line at 1-800-2CROWNE (1-800-227-6963) and mentioning the NYS Telecommunications Association Annual Conference and EXPO before April 24, 2009. Room rates are $139 per night. Questions about accommodations can be directed to the hotel at 1-800-2Crowne. If you have questions concerning other aspects of the Expo, contact Carol Hill at chill@nysta.com or by phone at 518-443-2703.

I look forward to seeing you in June.

Mike Reed, Chairman

NYSTA Board of Directors