Rich Fish to Retire After Leading Bluepeak’s Growth into a Multi-State Fiber Provider

DENVER, Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Bluepeak, a leading provider of fiber internet, today announced that Ken Johnson has been named the company’s new Chief Executive Officer, effective October 19, 2026. Johnson joins Bluepeak from Cable One, Inc., where he most recently served as Chief Operating Officer. He succeeds Rich Fish, who will be retiring after leading Bluepeak for six years, during which time he guided the company’s growth into a fast-expanding, multi-state fiber internet provider, and will be transitioning to an advisory role with the company.

Johnson brings more than 30 years of telecommunications and broadband industry experience to the role, with a career-long focus on operational excellence, technology-driven growth, and expanding connectivity. At Cable One, he oversaw Residential and Business Services, Technology Services, Field and Call Center Operations, and Digital Evolution and Integration for a company serving more than one million customers across 24 states. He joined Cable One in 2018 following its acquisition of NewWave Communications, where he served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer. Earlier in his career, Johnson held Chief Technology Officer roles at SureWest Communications and Everest Broadband. He was inducted into the Cable TV Pioneers Class of 2025.

“Bluepeak has built a strong foundation and a clear reputation for delivering fast, reliable fiber internet with a local, customer-first approach,” said Johnson. “I am honored to lead this team into its next chapter. I look forward to building on the momentum Rich and the entire Bluepeak organization have created, to completing the fiber transformation of Bluepeak communities, and to continuing to expand access to best-in-class connectivity across the communities we serve.”

“Ken’s deep operational expertise and his track record of scaling broadband businesses make him the right leader for Bluepeak’s next phase of growth,” said Mark Prybutok, Managing Director and Head of Data Infrastructure at GI Partners. “His experience revitalizing and expanding networks, combined with his focus on the customer experience, align closely with what Bluepeak has built under Rich’s leadership. We are confident he will carry that work forward.”

Rich Fish has served as Bluepeak’s Chief Executive Officer since the company’s acquisition by GI Partners in early 2021, leading the company through its rapid buildout across North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Texas, and overseeing its evolution into a whole-home connectivity provider offering speeds up to 5 Gig for residential customers and 10 Gig and beyond for businesses. 

“Leading Bluepeak has been one of the great privileges of my career,” said Fish. “Together, this team built a company defined by speed, reliability, and genuine local service, and we did it while expanding Bluepeak’s operating footprint into twenty-eight new markets across six states and now reach over 515,000 homes passed. I’m proud of what we’ve built and confident that Ken is the right person to lead Bluepeak forward. I want to thank our employees, our customers, and our communities for the trust they’ve placed in us.”

About Bluepeak

Bluepeak is a new kind of internet provider bringing fast, reliable, affordable internet to places that have needed better options for too long. The company has roots serving Great Plains and Midwest communities going back more than 30 years. As the need for internet in the region has evolved, so has Bluepeak, upgrading and expanding service to several markets in Oklahoma, South Dakota, southwest Minnesota, Wyoming, North Dakota and Texas with the newest cutting-edge technology. These expansion efforts include multi-million-dollar infrastructure projects, community involvement, and growth through local hires. Bluepeak is earning the trust of customers and businesses through simple, affordable offerings, responsive, reliable customer service, and transparent pricing. The company’s unique approach to delivering internet service has earned Bluepeak accolades for customer satisfaction, network performance, workplace culture, and meaningful community partnerships.

About GI Partners

Founded in 2001, GI Partners is a private investment firm with over 150 employees and offices in San Francisco, New York, Dallas, Chicago, Greenwich, Scottsdale, and London. The firm has raised more than $50 billion in capital and invests on behalf of leading institutional investors around the world through its private equity, real estate, and data infrastructure strategies. The private equity team invests primarily in companies in the healthcare, services, and software sectors. The real estate strategy focuses primarily on technology and life sciences properties as well as other specialized types of real estate. The data infrastructure team invests primarily in hard asset infrastructure businesses underpinning the digital economy. For more information, please visit www.gipartners.com.

Media Contact:

Jaime Gardner
jgardner@novitascommunications.com
or 970-597-0696

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SOURCE Bluepeak

Denise Ratliff, Senior Vice President of Lending, has successfully graduated from the Southeastern Regional Credit Union School

MARTINSVILLE, Va., Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — ValleyStar Credit Union is proud to announce that Denise Ratliff, Senior Vice President of Lending, has successfully graduated from the Southeastern Regional Credit Union School (SRCUS) and earned her Certified Credit Union Executive (CCUE) designation.

The CCUE designation is awarded to graduates who complete the rigorous three-year SRCUS program, an immersive leadership development experience designed to strengthen operational knowledge, strategic thinking, and leadership skills for credit union professionals. Throughout the program, participants engage in weeklong classroom sessions, online coursework, team projects, and examinations while learning from University of Georgia faculty and experienced credit union executives.

“Denise’s achievement is a reflection of her unwavering commitment to professional growth and to serving our members with excellence,” said Woody Windley, Interim President/CFO of ValleyStar Credit Union. “Throughout her career, Denise has demonstrated strong leadership, dedication, and a passion for continuous learning. We are incredibly proud of this accomplishment and know the knowledge and experience she has gained through SRCUS will continue to strengthen our organization, our team, and the exceptional service we provide to our members.”

Reflecting on her experience, Ratliff shared how the program challenged and inspired her throughout the past three years.

“The last three years of SRCUS have been a challenging and wonderful experience. I have gained a wealth of knowledge from incredibly talented professors and instructors while developing relationships with my classmates that will last a lifetime. I am truly grateful for the experience and am excited to put everything I’ve learned into practice.”

ValleyStar Credit Union believes investing in employee development is an investment in its members and communities. By supporting continuing education opportunities like SRCUS, ValleyStar equips its team with the knowledge and leadership skills needed to deliver exceptional service and meet the evolving financial needs of its members.

About ValleyStar Credit Union

Serving businesses and families across Virginia since 1953, ValleyStar Credit Union is committed to making banking simple, convenient, and focused on what matters most to its members. Whether helping members purchase a home, finance a vehicle, grow a business, or achieve long-term financial goals, ValleyStar is dedicated to providing trusted financial solutions with exceptional service.

As a member-owned financial cooperative, ValleyStar returns earnings to its members through competitive loan rates, higher returns on deposits, and fewer fees. The credit union is equally committed to strengthening the communities it serves through financial education, community partnerships, and volunteerism, helping members and neighborhoods thrive together.

Media Contact

Kristen Roberson, ValleyStar Credit Union, 1 800.475.6328, kristenr@valleystar.org, https://www.valleystar.org/

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/valleystar-credit-union-celebrates-denise-ratliffs-graduation-from-southeastern-regional-credit-union-school-302868684.html

SOURCE ValleyStar Credit Union

NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Eligible, Inc., the healthcare transaction infrastructure company connecting providers, agents, and insurers, today announced the successful completion of its SOC 2 Type II examination for the Platform Services System. All control activities were accepted with zero exceptions across all four Trust Services Categories evaluated — Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, and Confidentiality. The examination, conducted by independent third-party assessor A-LIGN, assessed the design and operating effectiveness of Eligible’s controls over a defined audit period.

The SOC 2 Type II result follows Eligible’s HITRUST r2 Certification, announced in June 2026, in which all 19 domains achieved certification and scored above the HITRUST industry average. “Two of the most rigorous independent certifications in healthcare, completed in one season, with SOC 2 at zero exceptions,” said Katelyn Gleason, CEO and Founder of Eligible. “That outcome is the direct result of building compliance as a living operational system rather than a once-a-year exercise. When the controls are real and the evidence is a byproduct of how you actually operate, the assessments confirm reality instead of creating stress.”

The SOC 2 Type II examination covers Eligible’s Platform Services System — the REST APIs, application infrastructure, and supporting services through which Eligible processes HIPAA-mandated healthcare financial transactions including eligibility verification (270/271), claims (837/276/277), remittance (835), and acknowledgements (TA1, 997, 999). The Type II report evaluates operating effectiveness over time, providing Eligible’s customers and partners with assurance that controls are not only designed properly but consistently maintained.

Together, the HITRUST r2 Certification and SOC 2 Type II report provide Eligible’s partners — healthcare providers, their agents, and insurers — with two independent, complementary layers of verified assurance that Protected Health Information is handled under the most stringent control frameworks available in the industry.

About Eligible

Eligible provides essential healthcare financial transaction services to healthcare providers and their agents. As one of the few options nationwide that builds direct trading partner integrations with insurers where possible, Eligible delivers a consolidated solution for HIPAA-mandated transactions. Eligible was the first to release the customer-facing concept of a REST API for these essential services, in 2012.

For more information, visit eligible.com.

support@eligible.com

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SOURCE Eligible