CROWD CELEBRATES ICTC PURCHASE

Public, employees cheer as Lumpkin officially lights new sign

By KRISTA LEWIN Staff Writer

The excitement of New Year's Eve continued Thursday as an enthusiastic group of employees of the newly christened Consolidated Communications gathered and watched as the new corporate office sign was illuminated for the first time.

Drivers passing the scene at Charleston Avenue and 17^th Street might have thought the event was a leftover New Year's Eve celebration because a section of the street in front the building that was blocked off. A crowd of about 200 people gathered in the blocked-off portion of the street outside the newly named Consolidated Communications building, formerly McLeodUSA building.

The revelers waved noisemakers, cheered and shot off firecrackers. Employees and the public, in an attempt to brave the cold, wintry weather, drank coffee and huddled together.

"Is this a happy day?" Bob Currey, president of Consolidated Communications, asked the crowd, who roared their approval.

"It is a happy day," he replied.

Currey wished all the employees a Happy New Year and described Thursday's events as great way to start the year.

A disc jockey played upbeat songs, including "Jump" by Van Halen, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor and the NBA Bulls theme song. Thin Lizzy's song "Boys Are Back in Town" blared as Mattoon's Richard Lumpkin of Homebase Acquisition Corp., the corporation that purchased Illinois Consolidated Telephone Co., waded into the crowd who warmly greeted him with loud cheers. Many waved fans with Lumpkin's picture on them.

Lumpkin's Homebase Acquisition Corp. acquired ICTC and related telecommunications businesses from McLeodUSA for $271.2 million on Tuesday. The new owners promptly announced they were changing the name of the company from ICTC to Consolidated Communications. The sale, announced July 2002, was officially finalized Tuesday.

Homebase Acquisition is a newly formed company financed by Spectrum Equity Investors, Providence Equity and Lumpkin, chairman, president and CEO of Consolidated Communications.

ICTC, along with other subsidiaries of Mattoon-based Consolidated Communications, merged with McLeodUSA in 1997. McLeodUSA as part of a plan to raise funds, announced in December 2001 it would sell ICTC.

Lumpkin, whose family founded Illinois Consolidated in 1894, entered into an agreement in July 2002 to purchase ICTC and related subsidiaries. The transaction includes Mattoon-based Operator Services, Public Services, Mobile Services, Integrated Business Systems and Consolidated Market response. The combined units employ about 900 people in East-Central Illinois. Lumpkin said he expects to retain and grow the workforce.

The new holding company, Consolidated Communications Inc., is headed by Currey, who serves as president and CEO. He served as president of ICTC prior to the merger with McLeodUSA.                                   

Lumpkin, donning a hard hat, was lifted in a bucket to the top floor of the building Thursday where the new sign had been installed earlier in the day. The Rocky movie theme song "Gonna Fly Now" played as the bucket ascended to the top floor .

As Lumpkin prepared to plug in the sign to light it, employees on the streets began counting down from 10 and when they reached 1, Lumpkin plugged the sign in.

He turned and smiled at the cheering crowd in the street below. As the bucket descended, Lumpkin inspected the sign once more. The disc jockey played the U2 song "Beautiful Day ."

Once Lumpkin returned to the ground, he took the microphone and told the crowd, "That was fun. It was a better ride than the mechanical bull."

Lumpkin told the crowd that earlier in the day on Thursday he greeted employees in the building who were continually congratulating him. But, he said, it was the employees who deserve to be congratulated because they were the reason Consolidated Communications was an asset worth owning.

Lumpkin said he was glad Consolidated Communications was again locally owned.

After the ceremony, Lumpkin said that he didn't have a problem with heights, so riding up to the top of the building in the bucket wasn't a problem. He enjoyed the enthusiasm of the crowd.

"It's a great way to start the year ," Lumpkin said. "It was wonderful to have all the employees here. They made it , all possible."

Other top officers include Donald R. Shassian, senior vice president of finance and administration, who formerly was senior vice president and chief financial officer of Southern New England Telecommunications; Steve J. Shirar, senior vice president and president of Consolidated's enterprise businesses, formerly group vice president at McLeodUSA; and Joe Dively, senior vice president and general manager of the Mattoon operations.

Contact Krista Lewin at klewin@jg-tc.com.