Hay Communications will provide progressive global communications and other technological services to all potential customers within our growing network reach with a superior degree of customer and employee satisfaction.
Hay Communications Mission Statement
About Hay Communications
Hay Communications is an independent Telecommunications service provider located in Southwestern Ontario that provides phone service to the communities of Grand Bend, Zurich, Dashwood, Exeter, Crediton, Centralia, Hensall and the surrounding rural and lake shore residents. Hay also provides services to people and businesses outside of our territory where facilities permit.
We are governed by a Board of Directors. At the 2019 annual meeting, our members voted to expand the membership from five to six positions. After a transition period, this will allow the membership to rotate with two members being elected at each annual meeting. Each year we hold our annual meeting to inform our members of changes and activities in the company.
In 2023, Hay employs 36 full-time and 1 part-time staff member.
We Are a Co-operative
This means we were created to fill a need within our community. We strive daily to meet the needs of our members and provide patronage credits to those members each year on phone service paid for in the previous year.
Hay is rooted in this Community, from our municipally owned beginnings to our co-operative restructuring. We are very knowledgeable of our business environment, emerging economic and social requirements. Within our area we have fulfilled the need for quality telephone, internet and other telecommunication services. We continually invest in our community and consequently strive to encourage customer loyalty to maintain the quality of service made available.
By our very nature, Hay engages customers in the operations, while also being accountable for decisions to our members. Over many changes and years of growth, this co-operative has become a natural resource of the communities we serve. Supporting us just makes sense.
Members of Hay Co-operative
In a historic meeting in April of 2018, the members of Hay Communications voted in favour of expanding membership to all eligible customers of the Co-operative.
Therefore: any customer served by Hay Communications’ fibre, coax or copper networks can now be a member of the co-operative, whether they subscribe to television, internet or telephone.
Co-operative Values
- Voluntary and Open Membership
- Democratic Member Control
- Member Economic Participation
- Autonomy and Independence
- Education, Training and Information
- Co-operation among co-operatives
- Concern for Community
Board of Directors
| Don Beauchamp | Andrew Hern |
| Jim Collez | Mark Tucker |
| Jack Glavin | Henry VanderBurgt |
as of April 12, 2023
Staff Representatives on the Board
| Angela Lawrence | General Manager |
| Kevin Gingerich | Plant Manager |
Patronage Credits
Each year the Board of Directors considers the profits of Hay Communications over the past year as well as the overall condition of the company. They will determine how much patronage will be paid to each member for the upcoming year.
On each January Account statement, patronage is calculated based on:
- The percentage amount the Board determined would be paid out for that year.
- The services that the board determines are eligible for patronage credits.
You will see a CR or credit in your account statement based on these factors.
In 2023, the patronage return credit was 20% of local service spending. The credit is received each year in January. If you see CR beside the Amount Owing, you do not need to send money, as that indicates your account has funds in it that will be applied to your next months statement.
If you are not receiving patronage, you may not be a member. You need to have our phone service and have opted to become a member at some point.
Annual Scholarships
Since 2007, Hay has been recognizing outstanding youth in our communities. To demonstrate dedication and commitment to education and to rural youth, Hay offers four scholarships of $1 500 each, to students who are currently enrolled full time at College, University or a Vocational Institute of higher learning.
The determination of the winning applicants is based on community involvement, extra-curricular school involvement, academic achievement and general quality of the application.
A call for applications goes out in September each year, usually in the monthly newsletter, on the website and in the local newspaper. Applications and full details are available on the scholarship page of our website and at the business offices. Submissions are due by the end of October.
We’ve Been Here for a 100 Years, We Can Help!
In 2011, Hay Communications celebrated 100 years of service. There were events, draws and give-aways during the year. We also created a history book to commemorate this great accomplishment. The book was written by Pat & Max Morden. It contains many wonderful images and facts from our archives. These collector books were given away complementary to customers. Unfortunately we do not have any more of these books, but you can view it at the Zurich Library or digitally here.
It’s BETTER to Belong to a Co-operative
In 2019 Hay celebrated being a Co-operative for 25 years. In 1994, due to a Federal ruling that all telephone companies would be under Federal jurisdiction, the municipality, with overwhelming public support, changed the operating structure to a cooperative.
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