Jason Dandridge, CEO of Palmetto Rural Telephone Cooperative (PRTC) in Walterboro, South Carolina, and the newest Utility Capital Solutions Class T director, was no stranger to the cooperative world growing up.
His father, Danny Dandridge joined PRTC in 1971, a year before his son was born, eventually rising to the chief post. Jason was introduced to the industry at an early age, often tagging along to telecom meetings as a child.
Danny served on the board of the Rural Telephone Finance Cooperative, now Utility Capital Solutions, from 2002 to 2014. A dozen years later, Jason is at the helm of PRTC and starting his first term representing District 2 on the Utility Capital board.
Despite continuing the family legacy of service to his hometown community and rural telecom providers across the country, Jason says he initially had no intention of following the same path as his father. Jason attended Clemson University and earned a degree in civil engineering. A few months before graduation, his father happened to meet an engineer from a South Carolina firm that handled both civil and telecommunications work.
The connection led to an interview, and the firm offered Jason a choice: Work in civil engineering or on the telecommunications side of the business.
“I answered, ‘Well, if you’re giving me a paycheck every week, you tell me what you want me to do, and that’s what I’ll do,’” Jason said. “They sent me an offer three days after I graduated and put me on the telecom side. I don’t know that I’ve ever used my civil engineering degree for anything other than a wall decoration.”
That decision set the course for a telecom career that has now spanned three decades. “Thirty years later, here we are,” he said.
Expanding Service Across the Lowcountry
One of the accomplishments Jason is most proud of is PRTC’s growth during his tenure. When he started, the cooperative served primarily Colleton County, South Carolina, with copper-based infrastructure and was just entering the digital subscriber line market. Today, PRTC operates a 100% fiber network, all of it buried, serving communities across 10 counties in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
“Creating top-notch fiber connectivity for folks has been very rewarding,” he said.
That work proved especially meaningful during the COVID-19 pandemic. With PRTC’s fiber buildout nearly complete, Jason saw firsthand how broadband access changed lives in his community, particularly for families in areas that previously had no reliable service.
“People would come up to me at the store, at ball games, at church and tell me about the challenges they were facing,” he said. “Then a month or two later, after we connected their homes with fiber, they’d come back and tell us what an incredible difference it had made. Knowing you’re doing something that helps future generations succeed is very meaningful.”
In addition to leading PRTC, Jason serves as CEO of Communications Data Group, a billing systems company the cooperative acquired in 2020 as part of an effort to diversify its business.
Continuing a Legacy with Utility Capital Solutions
As he begins his board service, Jason hopes to draw on his experience navigating the challenges of financing infrastructure projects.
“I understand the challenges of obtaining capital for projects,” he said. “There are plenty of good, inexpensive means of getting money out there, but the hoops you have to jump through can sometimes be very challenging. Being able to help provide easier access to capital and reduce some of the red tape is a good thing.”
His decision to serve was influenced by his father and the many respected industry leaders who preceded him on the board, including current and former directors Toney Prather, Jimmy Todd, Fred Johnson and Allen Hoopes.
“Just knowing the caliber of people who served on that board meant a lot,” he said. “They served on boards for the right reasons: to help do good things for rural America.”
That sense of purpose continues to motivate Jason as he begins this new role.
“I've always known that whenever you went to an event with rural telecommunications people, you were around some of the best people in the country,” he said. “Being able to work in the same industry, follow in their footsteps and hopefully make some kind of positive impact, as many of them did, means a lot.”
Outside of work, Jason enjoys traveling with his wife, spending time with their two children, both Clemson graduates, and cheering on the Tigers at football games each fall. He also enjoys deer hunting.
Jason celebrates his son’s graduation from Clemson University with family.