Caption: (Above) Paul R. Gearheart with wife Elaine Gearheart (Right) pictured with the sign that was presented by the Kentucky Transportation Department on August 31st, 2009. (August 31st, 2009 will also be known as Paul R. Gearheart Day in Floyd County)

After Monday, August 31, 2009, people might still call it the Harold Bridge, but its official name will be the Paul R. Gearheart Bridge.

Follow up:

In a public ceremony of August 31st, 2009, in the front parking area of Gearheart Communications headquarters at Harold, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet joined the Floyd Fiscal Court to name the Harold bridge in honor of a man who has dedicated his life’s work to improving and stabilizing the economy of Floyd County through his various business enterprises: Paul Roberts Gearheart.
Born near the head of Toler on Big Mud in July 1925, Gearheart moved with his family to Harold in 1930 and still lives there. He attended Harold Grade School and was graduated from Betsy Layne High School as valedictorian of the Class of 1943.

Ten years later he married Elaine Ward of Boones Camp, Johnson County. They are the parents of two children, Paul Douglas (PD) Gearheart and Susan Gearheart Schmoldt. They have six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

The Gearhearts bought Roberts/Olga Telephone Company on June 1, 1953. At the time, the business served 72 customers with crank phones.

Today, Gearheart Communications employs more than 150 people and touches more than 100,000 homes and businesses in more than half of Kentucky as well as two other states, Virginia and West Virginia.

Coalfields Telephone Company serves more than 7,000 landline phones in parts of Pike and Floyd counties.

Inter Mountain Cable began operations in 1965 and provides service for approximately 25,000 homes in parts of six counties in Kentucky as well as Mingo County, West Virginia, and Buchanan County, Virginia.

Coalfields Long Distance, a division of Inter Mountain Cable, serves about 5,600 long distance subscribers. CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) serves about 600 subscribers and has a telecommunications switch in Lexington.

Home Satellite Service, another division of Inter Mountain Cable, handles sales, installation, billing, and collection for DirecTV.

WPRG is the local access television channel for Inter Mountain Cable. WPRG is affiliated with radio stations WXLR-FM (Harold/Pikeville) and WXKZ-FM (Prestonsburg/Paintsville). The radio stations are owned and operated by Adam Gearheart, grandson of Paul and Elaine and son of Paul D. Gearheart.

PDNS, LLC, is owned by Paul D. Gearheart and Susan Gearheart Schmoldt. This company has two main divisions: Mikrotec Internet Service and Mountain Telephone and Data Systems (MTS). Mikrotec Internet Services takes care of 14,000 customers in 57 Kentucky counties and three states, with network operating centers at Harold and on Winchester Road in Lexington. Mikrotec also has a data center which manages servers for various customers around the world and a 24/7 Help Desk with clients all over the country, including major hotel chains. Mountain Telephone and Data Systems provides installation and maintenance for Lucent and IBM equipment statewide as well as commercial telephone and data networking. Its customers include a number of school districts, Keeneland Race Course, Toyota, about 10 hospitals and numerous banks.

Gearheart Communications owns a 20% interest in East Kentucky Network. East Kentucky Network owns a 350-mile redundant fiber ring that connects the independent telephone companies of Eastern Kentucky to Winchester. EKN also owns Appalachian Wireless, which serves about 43,000 cellular customers, 11,500 paging customers, and 5,500 prepaid cellular customers. Appalachian Wireless operates in 19 Kentucky counties as well as Buchanan and Dickenson counties in Virginia. The paging footprint covers more than one-half of the state of Kentucky.

A member of the Church of Christ, Paul D. Gearheart’s civic and professional interests include the Thomas C. Cecil Masonic Lodge (member since 1956), Sandy Valley Water District (founder), Big Sandy Area Development District (chairman in 1968), Kentucky Telephone Association Board of Directors (president in 1979), Floyd County Development Authority, Prestonsburg Community College Advisory Board (1987-2000; chairman the last six years), Bank Josephine Board of Directors (1987-1993), Kentucky Opry (original Board of Directors), Center for Rural Development (Board of Directors), and the Kentucky Cable TV Association (Board of Directors).

In January 2001, he was selected Gearheart as one of Pike County’s Most Significant People in the 20th Century. He received an honorary degree from Pikeville College in 2001, an honorary Associate Degree in Humane Letters from Big Sandy Community & Technical College in 2005, and was recognized in 2006 as a board member emeritus for his loyal service and dedication to the Kentucky Community & Technical College System.

Despite being 84 and blind, Gearheart is at his office every day. He continues to be directly involved in the operations of the companies, although to a lesser degree than in the past. He says he has no plans to retire.

Monday’s ceremony will include remarks from State Senator Johnnie Ray Turner, State Rep. Greg Stumbo, State Rep. Hubert Collins, and Floyd County Judge/Executive R.D. “Doc” Marshall. Kevin Damron, Chief District Engineer, Highway District 12, will emcee the event. In case of rain, the ceremony will be held in the training/conference room at Gearheart Communications.