Boyers to be recognized as Most Powerful Woman, Wave Maker

Poplar Bluff businesswoman Patty Boyers is being saluted as one of the most powerful women in rural cable vision in 2019 and as a wave maker.

Boyers, chairman of ACA Connects, is president of BOYCOM Vision, a cable and broadband provider in rural Missouri. Boyers and her husband, Steve, started BOYCOM in 1992, which today serves about 3,000 customers.

She is being honored in Cablefax Magazine’s annual issue of “Most Powerful Women,” and one of three to be named as “The Wave Makers” at the group’s Celebration Luncheon & Wine Tasting Dec. 5. She is one of five women featured on the November cover of Cablefax as industry leaders.

ACA Connect president and CEO Matthew M. Polika salutes Boyers by saying she “has demonstrated the commitment and energy necessary for our successful policy initiatives. She works tirelessly with our members, ensuring that rural America has access to broadband networks. Patty has worked closely with both the Congress and the Federal Communications Commission to showcase the technology and financial investments our industry has made. In addition, we applaud all named to this year’s Cablefax honor roll. Their energy and leadership serve as the foundation for successful independent cable companies: commitment to our employees, our customers, and our communities,” Polika said

“Leadership yields results, and we join Cablefax in recognizing these superb leaders. In an era of constant shifts among technologies and consumer preferences, these executives have built the foundation for both their companies and their people,” Polika said.

Boyers said, “receiving the Wave Makers award, which is separate from the Most Powerful Women in Cable award, was a total surprise.”

Talking about the honors, Boyers said, “it’s amazing that a gal from Missouri, the most inland state in the union, can be chosen to be a “wave maker” more than 1,000 miles from the ocean. God, I love this country. Seriously, I am humbled by this award. I have always stood up for my beliefs and especially for the underdog in any situation. God has richly blessed me with a quick mind and a sharp wit and I’m not afraid to use it.”

Admitting, “I am incredibly humbled, to say the least,” Boyers said, “All of my ‘sudden’ limelight has taken me 40 years to accomplish. I have always gotten up early every day, put my nose to the grindstone and focused on the now and the future. I haven’t spent much of my energy on the past. Can’t do a damn thing about it anyway. You and I both know that, as a woman in a predominantly male profession, I have had to start earlier, stay later, work harder and smarter just to be given a even playing field.”

Boyers traveled to Kelowna, British Columbia recently to address a national telecommunications forum on issues related to the expansion of broadband deployment in rural markets. Earlier this year, Boyers testified before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology about reauthorizing the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization Act of 2014.

ACA Connects: America’s Communications Association, is based in Pittsburgh and is a trade organization representing more than 700 smaller and medium-sized, independent companies that provide broadband, phone and video services to nearly eight million customers, primarily located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America.