Paul Vitse sits in his office at the Mabel Cooperative Telephone Company in Mabel and shared experiences from his 34 years of employment. He has seen many advancements and changes through the years, but has enjoyed being a part of great customer service in Mabel.

Paul Vitse, the current manager of the Mabel Cooperative Telephone Company, has decided that it's time to move on. After 34 years as a telephone company employee and nearly 22 years as its manager, Vitse said he'd like to have time to enjoy other things, such as fishing and spending time on his farm near Choice.

Vitse submitted his resignation for retirement to the board of directors at the January meeting. "It's time to move on," Vitse said when announcing his retirement, "for no reason at all, except that I will be 66 soon and I'd like to enjoy other things."

He admitted that it came down to simply writing down a date and deciding to retire at that time. His last day will be Feb. 24, though he will still conduct the annual meeting, later this winter, as it deals mainly with business conducted in 2006.

Dean Nierling, chairman of the board, said the board members accepted Vitse's resignation and were very appreciative for his strong leadership and forward thinking.

"We've had a year where a lot got accomplished," Nierling added. "A lot of things got cleaned up and it's a good time for change."

Vitse explained that he had first thought of retiring about a year and a half ago, but the board members asked him to stay on until certain business items were taken care of, including the purchase of the Harmony Telephone Company and Cable Company.

In the years that Vitse has served as manager of the telephone company, many changes have taken place, some of which put Mabel in the forefront of new technology and advancements.

In 1973, when Vitse joined the telephone company, he said the biggest question they asked a new customer was what color of phone they wanted and how many jacks to put in the house. "They were all rotary at that time and Mabel was already a one-party system," Vitse added.

In the early 1970s, Mabel was the first in the country to go to digital switching with smart remotes for its service lines. Vitse explained that these digital switches allowed calls to be connected digitally, and the smart remotes allowed calls to be channeled through the remote exchanges that included the Burr Oak, Bluffton, Hesper, Ridgeway and other exchanges, but if a line was cut, those calls were then routed back through Mabel's central office.

Vitse said that Fairbanks, Alaska, was to have been the first to go to this new system, but since it was a bigger hub of communication, Mabel was the first to try it out. "It was a tough transition," Vitse admitted. "But we still have it in operation and all the kinks were worked out."

The system was put in by 26 men from Japan and Vitse fondly remembers the experiences they had working with these men as well as having them in the community.

Mabel Cooperative Telephone Company has also worked with Midwest Wireless "since its beginning," Vitse explained. The Mabel office is an authorized Midwest Wireless agent and offers calling plans, phones and accessories.

A little over a year ago, Mabel and Spring Grove partnered together to form MSG Tel. Inc., which then purchased the Harmony Telephone Company and Harmony Cable.

"It was a good fit for Mabel, but we also feel it was a good thing for Harmony," Vitse explained. "It allowed them to keep a small, local service rather than be bought up by a larger company. We take pride in the service we provide our subscribers and we are already getting positive feedback from our Harmony customers."

A new building and expanded office and meeting space was also an accomplishment achieved during Vitse's tenure as manager. Nierling said it was a good project and was done at minimal expense due to Vitse's skills and forethought.

Installing fiber throughout the area has also been one of the accomplishments that puts Mabel in the forefront of the communication industry. "It enables us to reach a greater area with high speed and prepares us for future technology," he added. It provides those working from home with greater bandwidth and several individuals in the community take advantage of that benefit.

"We've been very fortunate to have someone like Paul," said Nierling. "He has set a good name for Mabel and has many good contacts that were really important."

He explained that Vitse stayed involved in the Minnesota Association for Rural Telephone Companies and served on the board as well. He worked with elected officials and educated them on the challenges that small, rural telephone companies faced. And, not only did Vitse work with Minnesota officials, but those in Iowa as well.

Vitse explained that the Mabel company services customers in a long, narrow area that runs 15 miles north of Mabel and south into Bluffton, Ridgeway and Spillville. It's relatively narrow, as the Spring Grove service is only five miles to the east and Ace is only about five miles to the west.

Mabel Cooperative Telephone has laid almost 200 miles of fiber and it invests almost $500,000 a year in the project, but it's also a project that has brought revenue into the company as others pay fees to transport data over their lines.

Vitse complimented both the Mabel staff members as well as the staff people in Harmony, saying they are one of the company's biggest assets. "We've always had good employees, who focus on providing good service," he said.

Vitse has plans to stay active within the Mabel community, saying he and his wife, LaVaughn, will continue living in the community as they have done all their lives. "We may do a little traveling, but we are not world travelers," he added. "We'll do some road trips."

His mother, Gyda Vitse, and his in-laws, LaVerne and Mildred Johnson, continue to live in the area as well and Vitse plans on spending more time with them as well.

"I have no plans for doing any other jobs," he said, but hopes to continue to work on a volunteer basis with the local historical society and help out at the historic barn. "I still have things to do, just not on a set schedule except for my own schedule."

Vitse has already scheduled three fishing trips for June and jokes that there may even be a fourth one if his retirement schedule permits.

Lorren Tingesdal of Mabel will be Vitse's successor and both Nierling and Vitse are confident that he will continue the strong service and innovation that the Mabel Cooperative Telephone Company is known for. "He's worked here as long as I have," said Vitse. "He knows a lot of people and is very knowledgeable about the industry."

Tingesdal will take over as manager on Feb. 24 and Vitse will remain on-call for six weeks to provide assistance or information if necessary.

As Vitse completes his tenure at the Mabel Cooperative Telephone Company, he can look back and see the progress he has facilitated as well as the changes that exist due to the advancement of technology.

No longer are customers asking what color of phone they can have in their home, but what features their service will provide, such as caller identification, call waiting, Internet service and voice mail. Nearly every room in a new house is wired for a telephone and many opt for DSL service immediately.

Vitse looks at those changes as being positive if they are the changes that were dictated by the customers, as he has always kept them in mind during any consideration concerning the Mabel Cooperative Telephone Company.

Nierling summed it up by saying, "Paul brought a lot of good ideas to us and we were progressive because of that. It was easy to make good decisions with good information and good leadership."