Connecting Your Business to the Future

Alan Morse joined Ritter Communications in February, 2014 as President and was named Chief Executive Officer in October, 2019.

Alan is a highly accomplished telecommunications executive with an extensive background in strategic planning, sales, marketing, network engineering and operations. Immediately prior to joining Ritter, he was the principal of the Morse Consulting Group, having successfully served as President and CEO of Integrated Mobile, Inc. leading up to its 2012 acquisition.   

From 2002 to 2007 Alan was COO for iPCS, Inc., a publicly-traded wireless communications affiliate of Sprint based in Chicago with service areas spanning 15 states. Prior to that, he was COO for Telepacific Communications, Inc., a private equity-backed CLEC providing business internet, telephone and data services in the California and Nevada markets.   

Alan is a graduate of The Ohio State University. He’s involved in numerous philanthropic organizations, including the American Cancer Society, the Arkansas State University EARIS business incubator program, the Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce and The Ohio State University President’s Club.

Heath Simpson, President and Chief Operating Officer, joined Ritter Communications in March 2020. His 25-year career includes extensive financial and operational experience in telecommunications. During his decade at AT&T, Heath was actively involved in industry transformative transactions. He also led corporate development, strategy and financial planning and analysis at Frontier Communications as a senior executive officer, and was previously CFO at BACOM, a privately held telecom infrastructure company.

Heath joined Ritter Communications as Chief Financial Officer with his responsibilities including all aspects of financial management, including planning, capital allocation, risk assessment and mitigation, and reporting. His responsibilities were later extended to include executive-level leadership to human resources, information technologies, program management and facilities. As President and Chief Operating Officer, Heath’s duties also include customer experience and field operations in support of Ritter Communications’ position as a premier independent broadband internet provider.

A former officer in the Army Reserve, Heath earned his MBA and undergraduate business degrees from Texas Christian University. He is from Dallas, Texas and is married with three daughters. Heath enjoys traveling with his family, playing guitar, and spending time outdoors.

Susan Christian joined Ritter Communications in 2005 and currently serves as the Chief Marketing Official. Susan leads all of the company’s communication and advertising efforts, serves as an official spokeswoman for company-related matters, works closely with cable networks regarding negotiations and supervises the “Tubetown” staff, Ritter’s local content production team. During her time at Ritter, Susan was previously responsible for managing the company’s residential customer care and product development team. In 2018, Susan was named Independent Marketing Executive of the Year by Cablefax, a leading industry publication.

Prior to joining Ritter, Susan spent seven years as Director of Account Services with TRUE Visionary advertising agency in Jonesboro and worked four years as a Marketing Manager for Cott Beverages in Dallas. She is a Jonesboro native and earned a degree in Business Administration/Marketing from Southern Methodist University. Susan serves on the Board of Directors at BRIDGES in Memphis where she holds the office of Secretary on the Executive Committee.

Lexanne Horton was hired as E. Ritter Company’s controller in February of 2015. In October 2019, Lexanne was promoted to vice president/controller  and now serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Ritter Communications. She oversees accounting, financial planning and analysis, treasury management, billing, risk management and purchasing.

Lexanne holds an MBA from Union University as well as a B.B.A. in accounting from the University of Memphis. Prior to joining Ritter, she spent 24 years in the healthcare industry.  She started her career with Deloitte and Touche.

A native of Jackson, Tenn., Lexanne serves on the Board of Directors for CASA of the 2nd Judicial District of Arkansas Court Appointed Special Advocates, an organization that provides support and advocacy for children who are in the foster system, and serves on the Board of Directors and the Workforce Development Committee at the Chamber of Commerce of Jonesboro. Lexanne and her husband Mike have three children and two grandchildren.

Kyle Keith, Chief Revenue Officer, oversees a number of areas, including expansion of the company’s business services offerings into new markets, development of our cloud product suite and continuing to grow the company’s customer base through its expanding fiber optic network.

Kyle joined Ritter Communications as a Market Sales Manager in 2013 and was promoted to Director of Business Sales in 2014.  In that role, Kyle lead Ritter’s enterprise sales team and worked to establish new relationships with businesses throughout our territories while also strengthening established ones. He was named Senior Vice President/General Manager of Enterprise, Wholesale and Cloud Solutions in 2018.

Prior to joining Ritter, Kyle was an account manager at Optus Inc. and worked in sales and marketing for Alltel. Born and raised in Jonesboro, Kyle studied business management at Arkansas State University. He and his wife Lauren have two children, son Jack and daughter Rebecca. Kyle enjoys golf, fishing, and cheering for the Boston Red Sox.

Greg Sunderwood joined Ritter Communications as Director of Network Architecture in 2012. He served as the company's Vice President of Engineering and Products for five years, was promoted to Senior Vice President, Technology in September of 2018 and now serves as Chief Technology Officer. Currently, Greg leads Ritter’s Network Engineering, Outside Plant Engineering and Product and Service Development teams and provides executive level leadership with respect to all technology and network related strategies. He boasts over 25 years of experience in telecommunications engineering, with leadership roles in BCTel/Telus, 360networks, Bell Canada and Nortel.

Greg is a native of British Columbia and holds an electrical engineering degree from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He enjoys spending time outdoors and cheering for the Vancouver Canucks.

Susan Beasley joined Ritter Communications as Project Administration Manager in 2015, was promoted to Director of Information Systems and Program Management in 2016 and was again promoted in 2018 to Vice President/Information Technologies, Program Management & Facilities. In her role, Susan supervises Ritter Communications’ Information Services team, Cloud Support and is the lead project manager for all the company’s facility and fiber construction initiatives. She also serves as the corporate Information Security Officer.

In 2020 Susan was Project Manager for the build of our state-of-the-art Data Technology Center. With this initiative she has led her team through SOC 2 Type 2 and HIPAA Compliance.

Susan holds more than 30 years of IT administration experience. Prior to joining Ritter Communications, she spent 14 years at St. Bernards Healthcare. She obtained a Master of Health Informatics and Information Management from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and a B.S. in Management Information Systems/Data Telecommunications from Arkansas State University. She also holds a Certificate of the Business Continuity Institute (CBCI). In 2020 she was name one of NEA Women in Business by NE Arkansas Talk Business & Politics.

Susan is active with several charities in Northeast Arkansas and serves on the STEM Advisory board for Jonesboro High School and the Arkansas State University Neil Griffin College of Business IT-IS Advisory Board. In her spare time, she loves spending quality time with her children and grandchildren.

Shane Bryan joined Ritter Communications as the Vice President of OSP Engineering & Construction in March of 2022.

Prior to working at Ritter Communications, Shane served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Gable Gain Services. He has over 20 years of experience in leading telecommunications construction and installation teams.

As Vice President, Shane oversees all outside plant engineering and construction activities for Ritter Communications.

Shane graduated with his Business Administration degree from the University of Arkansas in Fort Smith.

Originally from Mansfield, AR, Shane and his wife Tara live in Russellville, AR with their two children, Audrey and Christian. Shane enjoys attending church, spending time with family and is an avid outdoorsman.

Jeff Flowers joined Ritter Communications as the VP of Carrier & Wholesale Services in March of 2022.

Prior to working at Ritter Communications, Jeff served as the Vice President of the Wholesale Division then the Wholesale Kinetic Division of Windstream in Little Rock, AR. His experience in corporate partnerships, contract negotiation, account management and go-to-market strategies are integral in supporting his team with lead generation and building sales solutions proposals for our prospective customers.

Jeff is our primary liaison with wholesale carrier customers and is responsible for overseeing proposals for products and services, originating new business orders and serving as support between customers and internal team members.

Jeff Kulas joined Ritter Communications as Director of Customer Care in 2015 and was promoted to Vice President of Customer Experience in 2017. Jeff is responsible for coordinating all customer service strategies, methodologies and messaging. In addition, Jeff supervises Ritter’s key and business account reps (KARs and BARs), oversees the residential Customer Care team and is responsible for all inbound Customer Care, including phone calls and walk-ins at our retail locations.

Prior to his arrival at Ritter, Jeff spent two years at Concentrix, a business outsourcing provider in Phoenix.  There he was the Senior Manager of Sales Operations for Verizon Telematics. Prior to that, he was an Operations Manager with Pace for seven years, on their AT&T account. Jeff attended Western International University and Mesa Community College. The Phoenix-area native enjoys photography and painting and has volunteered with organizations such as the Salvation Army and OneNTen, an organization that helps provide positive role models and support for at-risk teens in Phoenix. Jeff has two sons and two grandchildren.

Mark McHale joined Ritter Communications in January 2022 as Vice President, Public Affairs and Community Relations.

Mark's background in strategic communications, public policy, and media relations will prove to be a valuable asset to Ritter Communications’ expansion efforts in the mid-south. His most recent work as the Associate Administrator in the Office of Strategic Communication with the U.S. General Services Administration kept Mark abreast of telecom and technology modernization initiatives across federal and state governments. His technology experience will be vital in supporting Ritter Communications’ mission to close the digital divide and connectivity gaps in our rural communities.

As VP of Public Affairs and Community Relations, Mark focuses on establishing and deepening business relationships with public officials and leaders in markets we currently serve and plan to serve. Mark also keeps current on the rapidly changing federal, state, and local regulations, identifies and investigates state/federal funding opportunities, and explores potential public-private partnerships – and coordinates our response in those areas.

Mark is a graduate of Miami University (Oxford, OH) and a native of Cleveland, OH. He and his wife Wendy have two sons, John and Robert. Mark is an avid golfer, reader and sports fan.

Tony McKay serves as the Vice President of Field Operations for Ritter Communications. He has responsibility for Installation & Repair and OSP Maintenance across all customer and product types and all of our service territories. He is also responsible for Solutions Delivery and Plant Operations.

Tony came to Ritter in 2005 and spent five years as a network operations center (NOC) technician, as well as seven years of leadership in network operations. Prior to his current role, Tony was named Director of Solution Delivery and Hometown Installation and Repair.  He holds a B.A. in business administration from Southern Arkansas University. Tony is a native of Camden, Arkansas, and is a motorcycle enthusiast. He and his wife Sheila have one daughter, Tiffany.

Heather Terry has been a member of the Ritter Communications team since 2010. She spent her first four years in the accounting department before moving to Carrier Operations in 2014. There, she served as Carrier Sales Manager and soon moved up, becoming Director of Carrier and Wholesale Services, then she was promoted to Director of  F&P and Carrier Relations. Currently, Heather serves as the Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis.

Heather is a certified public accountant with a Master of Accounting degree from Arkansas State University.

Heather is a native of Cardwell, Missouri and received her Master of Accounting degree from Arkansas State University. During her time as an undergraduate, she played volleyball for the Red Wolves and still loves hitting the court whenever possible.

Danny Smith joined E. Ritter & Company in 2006 and was promoted to director of human resources in 2012. In October 2019, Danny was named vice president of human resources. In this role, Danny is responsible for all human resources policies, programs and services for the organization. Areas of responsibility include talent acquisition, training and development, employee relations, compensation and benefits, employee health and safety, performance management and compliance with all applicable federal, state and local employment laws.

Danny is a native of Tyronza, Arkansas, and lives in Lepanto, Arkansas. He holds a B.S. in business management from Arkansas State University and spent 15 years as an HR manager in the manufacturing industry prior to his arrival at Ritter. Danny and his wife, Carey, have two adult children – son, Chandler, and daughter, Olivia. Danny enjoys spending time with family and is passionate about college football.

Jane Marie Woodruff joined Ritter Communications in 2007 and currently serves as the Vice President of Marketing for Ritter Communications. She is responsible for leading and supporting the development and execution of marketing strategy for all operations and all classes of products and services, including market research, advertising strategies and execution, sales support, customer retention up-sell strategies and communications. 

Jane Marie grew up in Jonesboro and holds a degree in marketing from Arkansas State University. Prior to joining Ritter Communications, she spent 17 years working in various healthcare marketing roles. Jane Marie and her husband Lee have two sons and daughters-in-law and four grandchildren.

Gerald Barber serves as our Director of  Construction and Maintenance. He oversees construction efforts related to our aggressive growth strategy in Arkansas. Prior to this role, Gerald served as Ritter’s Director of Outside Plant Construction. He has been with the company since 1990. The construction teams bury and hang aerial cable and transport fiber to support voice, cable TV and internet.

He was born and raised in Oxford, Mississippi and attended the University of Mississippi. Gerald has lived in Brookland, Arkansas for 35 years. He enjoys camping, hunting and working on the farm. He and his wife Janet have one son, Daniel.

Paige began her career at Ritter Communications in 2013.  A leader on the Human Resources Team for many years, she was promoted to Director of Employee Relations in December 2021.

Prior to joining Ritter, Paige worked in Payroll/Operations at A.I.D. Temporary Services, Inc. for 12 years. She has more than 20 years of experience in Human Resources, and as Director of Employee Relations, Paige is responsible for compensation and benefits, performance management, employee engagement and satisfaction and employee safety as well as all related policies and procedures.

Born and raised in Jonesboro, AR, Paige and her husband Brad have 4 children: Chandler, Kendall, Brody and Stewart. When not at work, Paige enjoys playing golf, traveling (especially to any beach) and spending time with family & friends.

Rich Busby joined Ritter in 2006 as an engineer specializing in fiber optic communications, including plant design, install supervision, testing, documentation and overall maintenance. He was named Director of Outside Plant Engineering in 2018, and is responsible for leading the daily execution of the Outside Plant Engineering team for projects and deliverables.

He also provides leadership to the OSP Engineering Team by developing and guiding team members and maintaining close working relationships with all partners to support build activities within the network.

Rich has over thirty years of experience in the industry and has a wide range of certifications.  He is from Marion, Arkansas and has one daughter.

Eric Coble was named Director of Accounting at Ritter Communications in 2022. In this role he is responsible for financial reporting, treasury management, debt compliance and tax reporting. Prior to this role, Eric served as the Sr. Accountant and Accounting Manager for the organization.

Born and raised in Pottsville, AR, Eric earned his Bachelor's degree from Arkansas Tech University, Masters in Accountancy from Arkansas State University and his CPA.

Eric and his wife Rebecca currently live in Paragould, AR with their children Reese and Erin. He enjoys cycling, running, playing outdoors with his family, and eating enough food to necessitate all of the cycling and running.

Darrious Duffin serves as the Director of Sales Operations and Service Delivery.  He oversees the Sales Operations and Service Delivery teams and is responsible for revenue delivery, sales analytics and sales process improvement for Ritter Communications. Prior to his promotion, Darrious served as the Service Delivery Manager and before that served on the Ritter Communications finance team as an Analyst.

Originally from Marion AR, Darrious earned his Bachelors of Science, Finance and Marketing from Arkansas State University, and completed his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Memphis.

Darrious currently lives in Jonesboro, AR. He is an avid Memphis Grizzlies fan and world traveler. He equates a passport stamp to winning a Grammy or an Oscar and enjoys making memories with family and friends.

Jerry was appointed Director of Enterprise Sales at Ritter Communications in 2019, where he is responsible for enterprise sales revenue and new market growth. In this role oversees a number of areas, including expansion of the company’s business services offerings into new markets, development of our cloud product suite and continuing to grow the company’s customer base through its expanding fiber optic network.

He holds various certifications and service credentials from Nortel, NEC, Motorola, Nokia, Cisco, Cradlepoint, Sierra Wireless and Nextivity. Jerry also completed the AXIOM Selling Sciences Program™ (SSP).  

His telecom career began with Alltel Communications in 1995, where he held positions ranging from Wireless and Wireline Technician to Enterprise Solutions Service Delivery Manager. Most recently, he was Director of Data Sales for Verizon Wireless Communications.

Jerry earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology from the University of Central Arkansas, where he also minored in Business Management.

His hometown is Cabot, where he lives with his wife, Holly and his son Jerry Fleenor, Jr.. An avid outdoorsman, Jerry enjoys hunting and fishing, and is a motorcycle and automotive hobbyist and enthusiast.

Walter Glass joined Ritter Communications in 2015 as an Installation and Repair Dispatcher. Walter has an in-depth knowledge of the Ritter Communications network. He has held several roles throughout the organization, including Network Engineering Technician, Network Engineer and Manager of Network Deployment. His background and proven ability to take on new responsibilities prepared him for his promotion to Director of Network Planning in 2022.

As Director of Network Planning, Walter is responsible for planning and deployment of all aspects of the Ritter Communications network, including IP/MLS, access, transport, voice and critical infrastructure. Walter also oversees the planning and engineering for all wholesale services, network field engineering and manages capital budgets for network expansions.

Walter lives in Jonesboro, AR, where he enjoys bowling, watching college football, camping, fishing, PC gaming and networking.

Erin join Ritter Communications in 2019 as the Network Operations Center (NOC) Manager and was promoted to Director of Network Operations in 2021.

Prior to working at Ritter Communications, Erin worked for Windstream for 15 years; four of which were spent in management over Operations and Test and Turnup teams.

As Director, Erin has responsibility for all network operations teams including the Enterprise Technical Assistance Center (ETAC), NOC, and NOC Engineering.

Erin is originally from Galva, KS. He earned his Bachelor’s in Computer Science from Kansas State University. He and his wife, Amy, currently live in Harrisburg, AR with their three children. Erin enjoys home-roasting coffee, discovering new music and traveling with his family.

Michael Herring became a part of the Ritter Communications family in 2022 when he began his role as the Director of Quality Assurance and Compliance.

Previously employed for Spectrum, Michael is well-versed with process improvement in telecommunications. He is Six-Sigma and CompTIA+ certified and uses his experience to support Ritter Communications in the drive for delivering an unbeatable customer experience. Michael manages our organization's internal and external customer experience measuring platforms. He also leads the Ritter Communications Enterprise Customer Care team.

Michael is originally from Rochester, MN. He and his wife Ashley now live in Jonesboro, AR with their children Haley, Kolten and Wilhelm. Michael is an outdoorsman and avid hunter. When not in the woods, he enjoys spending time with his family.

Trevor Jines, Director of Enterprise Sales, oversees Sales and Solutions Engineering teams for Northeast Arkansas, West Tennessee, Missouri & Texas. He is responsible for a number of areas including expansion of the company’s business services offerings into new markets, development of our product suite and continuing to grow the company’s customer base in new & existing markets.

Trevor joined Ritter Communications in 2018 as a Small Business Sales Representative. Trevor was then promoted to Small Business Sales Manager, building out a team of representatives to establish new relationships with businesses throughout Ritter’s expanding fiber footprint. He was then promoted to Director of Enterprise Sales (NEA/TN/MO/TX) in 2020.

Born and raised in Jonesboro, Trevor completed his Bachelors of Business Management and Bachelors of Marketing Management at Arkansas State University. Trevor and his wife Morgan have a daughter, Kennedy. He enjoys traveling, reading, running and watching sports with his family.

Scott Johnson joined Ritter Communications in 2019 as the Sr. OSP Engineer and then OSP Engineering Manager. In 2022 he was promoted to the Director of OSP Engineering and Construction for Enterprise. In this position, Scott oversees all OSP engineering and construction activities for enterprise and wholesale customers including all small business accounts, mid/major accounts, and multi-site business customers. Scott works directly with our enterprise sales teams to improve the time to service for new business customers. 

With a telecom career that began in 1997, Scott completed his College Certificate in Aviation/Electronics at the Pulaski Technical College in Little Rock, AR.

Scott lives in his hometown of Mount Vernon, AR with his wife Jamie. He has two children and two grandchildren. He enjoys spending time with his family, playing music and is an avid outdoorsman. Scott also serves as the youth minister and the praise and worship leader at his church. 

Mark Martin joined Ritter Communications in 2002. Throughout the years he has supported the growth of our organization in various engineering and IT roles; he has also held numerous leadership positions. In his current role as Director of Network and Service Architecture, Mark is responsible for standardizing Ritter Communications services and the equipment used to provide those services.

With almost 20 years of service and an array of credentials such as CompTIA, CCNA, Security +, MEF CECP 2.0, Mark brings a wealth of knowledge to the team.

Mark earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Arkansas State University. The Jonesboro native lives here with his wife and their children. He enjoys motorcycles, biking, scuba diving and boating with his family.

Rodney became a member of the Ritter Communications family in 2019 when he began his role as a Sr. Project Administration Manager. He was promoted to Manager of Program Management in 2020 and then he advanced to Program Management Office (PMO) director in 2021.

Prior to joining Ritter, Rodney worked for AT&T for 20 years. His experience includes Professional Technology Project Management, Lead Manager for OSP Planning and Engineering Design as well as Fiber Splicing. Rodney holds a Journeyman Electrician’s License, studied Mobile Technology and has extensive Telecommunications Training.

As Director, Rodney is responsible for leading our team of project managers and project administration specialists to ensure that internal and external teams are focused on meeting or exceeding established timelines and budgets as Ritter Communications builds out to new markets and new customers.

Rodney and his wife Deania, along with their two sons Dylan and Drew, live in Jonesboro, AR. When he’s not watching his sons run cross country, play soccer, baseball and basketball, Rodney and his family love to swim, fish, go on road trips and cheer on the Chicago Cubs.  

Michele Watson serves as the Director of Strategic Accounts and Business Development. She is responsible for managing the Indirect and Cloud Solutions team and developing new business relationships in all markets across the Ritter Communications footprint.

With over 20 years of telecom experience, Michele is an asset to our Enterprise Sales Team. She began her career at Ritter Communications in 2010 as an Enterprise Sales Representative.

Originally from Little Rock, AR, Michele received a Bachelor's degree from Arkansas State University. She and her husband Bryan live in Little Rock. They have two children, Connor and Carson. Michele enjoys spending time with her friends and family, watching Razorback football, visiting the lake and going to the beach.

Josh Worley was named Director of Outside Plant Planning in 2022. In this role, he is responsible for central planning of network capacity. Josh will work closely with the Outside Plant, Construction and Project Management teams.

Josh joined Ritter Communications in 2019 as a Sr. Project Manager, where he had responsibility for tracking and reporting all tasks related to a new market launch from start to finish. In 2020, he was promoted to Carrier Relations Manager, where he maintained and established new business relationships with other telco partners, orders and tracking of all carrier services.

Originally from Poplar Bluff, MO, Josh and his wife Crystal now live in Jonesboro, AR. He is dedicated to Bible education, enjoys playing guitar and going to the beach.