A Monthly Newsletter for the GBT Communities and Patrons

www.gbta.netHelp Desk: 800.432.7965

St. John OfficePO Box 86 • 602 N US Hwy 281

St. John, KS 67576620.377.5555 • 620.377.5556

Hours:11:00am - 5:00pm

Mon-Fri

Rush Center OfficeP.O. Box 229 • 103 Lincoln

Rush Center, KS 67575800.432.7965 • 785.372.4236

Hours: 8:00am - 5:00pm | Mon-Fri

Ness City Office114 W. Main

Ness City, KS 67560800.966.5186 785.798.3100

Hours:8:00am - 5:00pm

Mon-Fri

Ellis Office101 W. 9th • Ellis, KS 67637

800.966.5183 • 785.726.3200Hours: 8:00am - 5:00pm | Mon-Wed-Fri

Closed for lunch 12:30pm-1:30pm

Larned Office122 W. 5th

Larned, KS 67550800.432.7965 • 620.910.7676

Hours:8:30am - 11:30am &

Noon - 5:00pm Mon-Fri

ConnectionConnectionOctober 2019 | Vol. 24, No. 10

Follow Us on Social Media

GBT 2020 Directory WinnerWe would like to congratulate our 2020 Directory cover photo winner. This photo is going to look great on the new cover! Debbie Stiawalt, Ness City received a $100 check for her winning photo which will be featured on the 2019-2020 Directory. Thank you to all our customers that sent in photos for the contest. We had over 50 entries this year, which made the decision a very tough choice!

Help us celebrate Customer Service Week October 7th-11th. We at GBT value each of our employees and the amazing job they do taking care of you, our customer. Not only are we thankful for our staff, but we appreciate all of our customers that continue to make GBT who we are today! Stop by any of our 5 locations on the days listed below for refreshments!

Monday 10/7 - Ellis Tuesday 10/8 - St John

Wednesday 10/9 - LarnedThursday 10/10 - Ness CityFriday 10/11 - Rush Center

Celebrate with us!

October events with GBTThis month there are several events throughout the GBT area, and we invite you to enjoy them with us!

Homecoming Parades - October 4thStafford Oktoberfest - October 5th

Ellis Artwalk - October 12thHalloween - October 31st

*Bring the kids by a GBT office on Halloween and get a special treat!

Are you still using the DIR – 601 D-Link router in your home. These routers are no longer supported and may have become vulnerable to certain malicious attacks. GBT stresses that if you have one of these routers to replace it immediately. GBT can help with our Managed Protection; to find out more, contact customerservice@gbtlive.com.

Do you need to update?

BAZINE (785) B&S Thompson 398-2150Robert Hardwick 398-2323

BISON (785) Maurice & Joyce Gross 481-2205

BURDETT (620) Julia Martin 525-6247

ELLIS (785)Angelica M Southard 726-2585 Carol Hamblin 726-3732 Mike McCarthy 726-3009 Janice E Broome 726-2678

2

GARFIELD (620) Jason Alvarez 569-2226

LACROSSE (785) Lynn Enslinger 222-3281

LARNED (620) CWF Thrift Shop 285-2721Farm Bureau Financial Services 910-5002First Christian Church 285-2964State Theatre of Larned 285-3535

LEWIS (620) Terril & Chris McBride 324-5184Aurelia Wolfe 324-5185

NESS CITY (785)Dylan Muniz 798-2126

OTIS (785) Merri Taylor 387-2312

RUSH CENTER (785)Bruce Whittington 372-4036

ST. JOHN (620) Country Kickn Cafe 377-5577

Directory Updates

+

--..

+

a

bc

d

GBT HuntingFootball Hunting

Brittany Howell - LaCrosse

September’s Newsletter had a total of 16 black Footballs! Brittany won a $10 bill credit from GBT just for playing!

Count this one too!

It’s time to count... throughout this issue of the Connection there are many Black Ghosts. Can you count them? When you find them all, e-mail us by the 10th of the month at marketing@gbtlive.com with the total number of Black Ghosts, and you will be entered into a drawing to win a $10 bill credit on your next GBT bill!

3

Cyber Security – What’s That?October is recognized in the United States as Cyber Security month. With the digital world we live in, we expose our homes and businesses to vulnerabilities we used to never deal with. October is meant to bring awareness to Cyber Security, and GBT recommends that you think about all the ways your home or business is digitally connected and what steps you can do to minimize your risk to unwanted attacks. Below are a couple basic questions to help you get started in thinking about better securing your information:

• Are you still operating with Windows 7 which will no longer be supported or updated in January 2020?

• Do you use the same password across multiple applications or accounts?

• If your business was hit by a tornado, fire, flood, or ransomware attack, would you be able to recover lost data and information?

• Do you use public Wi-Fi or allow friends and guests to connect to your Wi-Fi with their own devices?

• If you lost all the pictures or emails on your phone or computer, do you have another way to retrieve them?

• When’s the last time you checked your iCloud to see if and what it backed up?

Why do we recommend you think about these questions and more? Below are a couple statistics that are frightening. We understand everyone is busy in their lives, which is why most people ignore security recommendations until it’s too late. Unfortunately, by not following cyber security recommendations, this often leads to financial, emotional, and time stress, so please be PROACTIVE, not reactive. If you have questions on how to better secure your home or business, GBT can help. You can send your questions to btssupport@gbtlive.com for answers.

• 23% of Americans are cyber crime victims• Ransomware attacks occur every 14 seconds• Cyber crime expected to cost businesses and organizations $6 Trillion per year by 2021,

greatest transfer of economic wealth in history• 49.6 day period between breach discovery and reporting dates• 1 in 302 emails targeting public administration users are malicious• 70% of employees don’t understand cyber security• 68% of businesses don’t have cyber security insurance

4

Homemade Apple Cider

If you have questions or comments about this newsletter or any of our services,

please email us at marketing@gbtlive.comKelly Baalmann, Editor

Kyle Bahr, Editor

Ingredients:4 granny smith apples, sliced4 red delicious apples, sliced1 orange, sliced1 1/2 tbsp whole allspice1 1/2 tbsp whole clove3 cinnamon sticks8 C. Water

If you have a favor i te r e c i p e y o u would like to share to be featured in an upcoming newsletter, send it to marketing@gbtlive.com.Directions:

Place fruit and spices into a slow cooker.Add 8 cups of water.Cook on high heat for 3-4 hours.Uncover the slow cooker, and mash the softened fruit with a potato masher.Cover again and cook on low for 1-2 hours.Strain out fruit and spices from the slow cooker into a cheesecloth in a bowl.Wait about 20-30 minutes for the cheesecloth to cool. Squeeze out cider from cheesecloth into the bowl. Pour the cider back into the slow cooker.Serve warm.

0% and Low-Interest Loans Available for Business Start-Ups, Community Facilities, and Business Expansions!

GBT is proud to partner with the communities we serve to assist in their economic growth and vitality, not only by providing High-Speed Fiber and the latest technologies, but also through 0% and Low-Interest Loans! As a borrower of USDA Rural Utilities Service, we have chosen to be an intermediary in their program which makes 0% LOANS available for rural economic development, job creation, and community facilities projects. In addition, we have established a Revolving Loan Fund through this program allowing us to make LOW-INTEREST LOANS.

The 0% REDLG Program offers business start-ups and business expansions loans up to $1 million, and community development projects loans up to $300,000. The RLF Program offers prime-rate interest loans for projects up to $100,000. A 20% match of total project cost is required by the applicant for each program, and loan term is 10 years. An administrative fee may also apply.

GBT’s REDLG Projects funded to date include: Business Start-Ups - Piranha Fabrication of Ness City, Days Inn Motel of Ellis, and most recently, St. John Marketplace (grocery store, pharmacy, convenience store, and fuel island) of St. John; Business Expansion - BTI of Ness City; and Community Facilities - Rush County Memorial Hospital of LaCrosse.

The REDLG and RLF are meant to provide gap funding for projects, and we encourage applicants to develop a relationship with their financial institution prior to applying. For more information, contact Kara Jecha at 785-372-4236, kjecha@GBTlive.com, or stop by our Rush Center office and visit with her about your project! This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

REDLG - A GREAT Incentive for Rural Kansas