FROM PAGE ONE
Thursday, June 9, 2022
The OBserVer — A3
EONI
Continued from Page A1
access to fiber in the Northwest is
unmatched and we’re proud to be
joining in that effort.”
When the deal becomes final,
Mutch, the president of EONI,
said he will retire and Crews
will remain and help lead the
company under the Ziply banner.
“This was an opportunity
for Jeff to continue to be part
of the team with lots of addi-
tional resources and assistance
from Ziply,” Mutch said. “Our
service areas overlap a ton, if
not entirely, so it made sense. It
turned out to be the most com-
patible and cooperative situation
for us that we could find.”
Mutch said when the
announcement was made to staff
June 7, the response was mostly
positive.
“I think three-quarters of
them were positive and the
others had questions,” he said.
“What we’ve told them is hang
around, give it some time and
you’ll see things are going to be
good.”
Mutch and Crews started
EONI in 1996. The company
serves approximately 3,000 cus-
tomers in Baker, Union and
Wallowa counties and employs
15 people, including the two
owners.
Mutch said EONI staff will
have the opportunity to remain
on with Ziply.
“It was important to us that
the employees had an opportu-
nity as well,” he said.
Both Crews and Mutch
said keeping up with all of the
advancements in broadband and
mining federal programs for
available funding is challenging
for a small, rural company.
“Realistically, I can’t get
my head around the amount
of money the federal govern-
ment is putting out to close the
digital divide on rural broad-
band,” Crews said. “It’s very
hard to navigate those programs.
We’ve gone down that road a
ways before. You really have
to have a couple of full-time
people to navigate these federal
programs.”
EOU
Continued from Page A1
of its board of trustees.
Mendoza grew up in
Central Mexico and in 1968
moved to Union County for
a year when he was an inter-
national student at Union
High School for a year. He
came to Union after meeting
a group of Eastern stu-
dents who were in Mexico
attending a summer educa-
tion program the school was
conducting there.
Mendoza became a good
friend of one of the students,
Robert Sheehy, who invited
him to come to Union and
stay with his family for a
year while attending Union
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Jeff Crews, co-owner and vice president of Eastern Oregon Net Inc., works at his
desk on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, in La Grande. Ziply Fiber plans to acquire EONI, and
Crews will stay on during the transition.
Kelly Mutch, co-owner and president of Eastern Oregon Net Inc., works at his desk
on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, in La Grande. Mutch said he plans to retire when Ziply
Fiber acquires EONI.
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Eastern Oregon Net Inc.’s office sits
at the corner of Jefferson Avenue
and Chestnut Street in La Grande on
Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Ziply Fiber’s La
Grande office is just a block away on
Adams Avenue.
Ziply Fiber has its headquar-
tersin Kirkland, Washington,
and has major offices in Bea-
verton, Everett, Washington, and
Hayden, Idaho. The La Grande
office is on Adams Avenue, just
a block from EONI.
“Ziply Fiber is a Northwest
company that’s here to simplify
and elevate the connected lives
of the people in the communi-
ties where we live and work. We
believe that simple, easy access
High School. Mendoza, who
had already earned a high
school diploma in Mexico,
went on to graduate from
Union High School in 1969.
The youth, who had
thought college was out of
reach because his family
was of modest means, then
enrolled at Eastern after
receiving a scholarship
that covered his tuition.
Mendoza graduated from
Eastern in just three years
and later earned a doctorate
in chemistry from Wash-
ington State University.
He was next hired by Dow
Chemical, which he worked
for in Midland, Michigan,
for 26 years before retiring.
Mendoza was so successful
at Dow Chemical that in
An Eastern Oregon Net Inc. truck sits in the garage Tuesday, June 7, 2022, the day
Ziply Fiber announced plans to acquire the La Grande-based company.
to fast and reliable internet is
fundamentally important for
families and businesses,” said
Harold Zeitz, chief executive
officer of Ziply Fiber. “So, when
we looked around the Northwest
and saw what Jeff and Kelly had
created, it was no surprise to us
to learn that they also believe in
‘The Internet Done Right.’ Our
values were aligned years before
we chose to make our joining
forces a reality.”
Mutch said it was that aligned
vision between the two compa-
nies that made it easier when the
idea of the purchase was first
broached.
“The timing’s good, the sit-
A fortunate decision
Mendoza, after his
career with Dow, was hired
as a chemistry professor at
Eastern in 2004 where he
taught through 2014, before
being appointed to a posi-
tion on Eastern’s board of
trustees.
Today, he credits much
of his success in life to
attending Eastern.
“Going to Eastern totally
changed my life,” Mendoza
said.
He noted that he had a
job with a telephone com-
pany in Mexico when he
Continued from Page A1
FEEL THE SPEED,
EVEN AT PEAK TIMES.
Wallowa Mountain hells Canyon Trails association/Contributed Photo
Volunteers with the Wallowa Mountain Hells Canyon Trails
Association work with the Forest Service to maintain trails in this
undated photo. On June 17-19, 2022, one of these projects is offered
as a “work vacation” with Go Wild: American Adventures. For details
and cost, visit www.gowildusa.com/volunteervacations.
The camping experi-
ence, Sizer said, could be
described as “glamping” —
glamorous camping.
“The cooking will be a
highlight — that’s what Go
Wild is known for,” he said.
“We’re taking the modern
culinary craft movement to
the backcountry.”
The group will leave
Baker City at 8 a.m. Friday,
June 17. The day includes
trail work in the afternoon,
then cocktail hour and a
campfire dinner.
The main work day is
Saturday, June 18. Sizer
said maintenance will
include cutting small trees
out of the trail, trimming
back bushes and clearing
rocks.
“The point is to get folks
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the road in the late 1960s
and he is thankful he
decided to pursue a higher
education.
out and have a good time,”
Sizer said. “We can find
something for anyone to
do.”
And it’s OK to enjoy the
view.
“Take breaks, enjoy the
scenery, have fun doing
trail work,” he said.
Sunday, June 19,
includes breakfast, cleaning
up camp and an after-party.
For more informa-
tion, or to register, go to
www.gowildusa.com/
volunteervacations.
years or more,” Hansen
said.
He said the group has
worked on about eight proj-
ects since March in the
Hells Canyon area.
The Go Wild excursion
will continue work they’ve
already started.
“Any help his group can
give us is really welcome,”
Hansen said.
Over 99% reliability.
Excludes DSL. Based on network availability.
The trail work will be
facilitated by members
of the Wallowa Mountain
Hells Canyon Trails Associ-
ation, which started in 2017.
“Our mission is to help
the Forest Service main-
tain the trails,” said Mike
Hansen, executive director.
The association works
with the Forest Service to
identify “deferred mainte-
nance trails.”
“Those are the ones they
haven’t gotten to in three
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“I walked into a dream,”
he said.
The 10th child in a
family of 15, Mendoza was
the first in his family to
attend college. Since then,
70% of his nephews and
nieces have followed in his
footsteps.
“I showed them that it
could be done,” he said.
“They realized then that
education was the door to
the middle class.”
Mendoza, who now lives
in Haines with his wife,
Sherry, wants to make
EOU’s graduates appreciate
how fortunate they are to
have attended Eastern.
“Hopefully, I can convey
just how special Eastern is,”
he said.
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The Observer, File
Eastern Oregon University students prepare to receive their diplomas
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uation is good and the out-
come for employees is good,” he
said. “We know there are cus-
tomers who’ve had a less than
ideal relationship with Ziply
and that’s why they are our cus-
tomers and (Ziply knows) that
too. We both agree that this is
an opportunity to make both of
us better.”
Ziply Fiber has been busy
with fiber construction projects
in more than 80 towns across the
Northwest, including communi-
ties in Union and Wallowa coun-
ties, since it began its aggressive
fiber expansion efforts in the
summer of 2020.
“Ziply’s whole thing is build
1989 he received Eastern’s
Distinguished Alumnus
award for his work with the
company.
TRAILS
trail that needs work,” said
Dan Sizer, who owns Go
Wild.
The trail is also part of
the Blue Mountain Trail, a
530-mile route in Eastern
Oregon.
Sizer said the idea for
this trip came from a con-
versation about “regenera-
tive tourism.”
“It’s a give-back mindset
to tourism,” Sizer said.
It is the first such trip Go
Wild has offered.
“This is our pilot pro-
gram,” he said.
The cost is $450, which
includes gear, meals, trans-
portation, live music and
pre- and post-parties.
“You’ll show up with
a tent set up, a cot, a pad
on your cot, and a cocktail
waiting for you,” he said.
The only specific sup-
plies to bring are boots,
good work gloves and lunch
snacks.
fiber and super-fast broadband
at an affordable level to as many
customers as they could, and
the same for us,” Mutch said.
“There’s a lot of money out there
for building broadband avail-
able, and for us to take advan-
tage of that would have been
a bit more difficult. The chal-
lenges were really steep for a
very small company, but by
going with them, we could con-
tinue to do that and increase the
resources available to us to be a
part of that when it happens.”
Crews said he is excited to
see what the future holds with
Ziply.
“While this transition is hap-
pening, the EONI team is still
going to be led by me and I’m
still here to make sure this flies
right,” he said. “I’m not moving,
I’m not going anywhere.”
When Mutch’s time with the
company ends, he said, it will
come with “mixed emotions.”
“This is the best team, the
best group of people we’ve ever
had. This is really, truly a great
team,” he said. “It’s difficult to
leave, because they’re family.
This is my daytime family.
Never expected to be doing this
as long as I have. I could not
have imagined doing this for 26
years. I have given it my all but
I need to be realistic and prag-
matic about it and realize it’s
someone else’s turn. I have really
enjoyed doing this.”
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