Spotlight on United's 30,000th High-Speed Internet Subscribers

For United members Ali Dee and Cory Melton, who recently became United Cooperative Services’ 30,000th high-speed internet subscribers, mornings start dark and early. It’s really the only way the two business owners and entrepreneurs said they can accomplish the myriad tasks ahead of them.

The pair share a passion for rural living, rodeo and the Western lifestyle. They’ve built businesses and brands around their shared passion through their own entrepreneurial spirits. 

“That’s all I’ve ever learned to be was an entrepreneur, I guess you could say,” Melton said. “I’ve always had that mentality. On a day-to-day basis, it can be pretty stressful, because if you don’t do it, it doesn’t get done. But also, with that being said, I get up and do what I want to do every day, and that’s kind of the give-and-take to being an entrepreneur. It’s maybe a little bit more stressful, but I think it would be more stressful working for somebody else.”

Melton, a two-time National Finals Rodeo (NFR) bull rider, is also general manager of Stockyards ProRodeo. He owns the nationally renowned Melton Bull Co., where he raises World Champions, Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and NFR Qualifiers, and Top Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association  bucking bulls. 

The stock contractor’s early mornings begin by feeding the animals and livestock, then attending to clients who may be interested in purchasing stock or having him train their bulls, as well as all maintenance required to keep the family’s ranch at top speed. He also keeps a close eye on online livestock sales as he looks for the next big contender.

Bulls have been Cory’s passion since early childhood, he said. He fell in love with the sport and became a professional bull rider at 19. He spent about a decade traveling the country and trying to stay on thrashing bulls for eight seconds.

“I involved myself in everything that rodeo and bull riding was, and it’s been a part of my life every day since I was born, essentially,” he said. “Now, I enjoy the maintenance and care of the animals, which is number one. But number two, when you start taking pride in having good animals—some of the best animals that are going on the circuit. It’s all I think about every day.”

Bull riding is how the couple initially met, Dee said. After college at the University of Miami, Dee took an internship with a sports station in Seattle and eventually wound up as a dancer for the Seattle SuperSonics. While in Washington, Dee visited a friend in Puyallup in 2006, and the pair decided to attend a bull riding competition on a whim. 

Dee said she’d never attended a bull riding competition before, and the pair got front-row tickets to watch the fun.

That’s when she saw Cory for the first time.

“After he rode, Cory was pick-up man—just for fun, I guess,” she said, laughing. “He rode up to us in the front row and said, ‘Hey, you guys want to have a drink after?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ So then afterwards, we just hung out for a little while and kept in touch. And then, here I am today.”

Despite Dee’s plans to move to Los Angeles, Melton joked that he wooed her instead with the promise of married life and country living at his ranch in Tolar, Texas. 

“It was a good change,” Dee said. “I’ve always loved this lifestyle. And so, for me, it was a no-brainer. I always saw myself living in the country being able to do what I want and having a business. It made sense for me. Plus, he was pretty cool. He checked the boxes.”

The former NBA dancer, reality TV star (CMT’s “Texas Women”) and country singer/songwriter is a veritable business powerhouse. 

Dee said she wakes up early to get her 3-year-old daughter, Monroe, dressed and her 5-year-old son, Pecos, ready for school before she attends to the tasks of her multiple business ventures. To keep it all straight, she said she runs her life from to-do lists that help her manage her multiple ventures. 

She’s been an Emmy Award-winning television host for the Dallas Mavericks for the past 18 years and pre-game host for the Dallas Cowboys for more than a decade. On top of that, she records a podcast called “The Ali Dee Show” and manages her Ali Dee women’s clothing and Rodeo Ranch men’s clothing lines.

“My clothing line is focused on women who love the Western lifestyle and cowgirl lifestyle,” she said. “It has been really successful. We’re in major retailers all over the country, and now we’re working with Buc-ee’s. That’s been a really fun, crazy experience.”

That doesn’t include the business coaching and education company called Trendsetter that came from an idea she had one day while working in her Tolar clothing boutique, “The Vintage Drugstore.” After speaking with other Western boutique owners and hearing their questions about social media, website content and marketing, she said she saw an untapped niche in the market and another opportunity to apply her creativity to mentor others on growing and scaling their business. 

“Being a business mentor has really been one of the most satisfying and fulfilling things I’ve ever done,” she said. “It’s been so fun to take all the knowledge that I’ve learned in the trenches over the years and give it to these women so that they can have a fast track.”

Even though she no longer owns “The Vintage Drugstore” boutique, she does still own the 100+-year-old building she lovingly restored for that business and recently added landlord to her list of business endeavors. 

Whether conducting business in the city or in the country, one familiar axiom about business remains true for both entrepreneurs: Time is money.

Since becoming United high-speed internet subscribers, the couple said they have one less thing to worry about when it comes to the improved connectivity and abilities from their United internet service. 

“So much of this business has moved online,” Melton said. “We do 200 rodeo performances a year, so we’re steadily in communication with the rodeo production office with what needs to be done that week. There are multiple sales of livestock, which are live-streaming. So, the faster your internet is, the better it can be, because it might cost you a lot of money to be late. 

“I’ve never considered myself an internet or email guy, but I tend to be on the computer about as much as anybody in this business. It’s extremely helpful for me to have something that I can rely on that’s fast and that I know I can count on. … Anytime you can get something to make what we do more efficient, less stressful, it’ll help in the long run in your business.”

Both said they’ve seen marked improvement in their ability to connect to the internet, which has, in turn, improved their abilities to promote their work and reach their customers.

“I do so much of my work online,” Dee said. “Having kids, you only get like, 10 or 15 minutes here and there to get your work done. … The slow internet we had made very quick tasks like uploading a podcast episode take an hour instead of two minutes. Now, I just click on the button, and away it goes. The task is done, and now I can accomplish a lot more in a shorter amount of time, and then move on to the next task. Having that ability is really important.”

While reaching 30,000 members is a momentous occasion for the co-op, the real accomplishment is providing the quality-of-service United residential and business subscribers are currently receiving that many of them lacked entirely, said Chris MacIntyre, vice president of internet services.

“There are 30,000 fewer members in United’s territory who lack adequate or any internet access in a time where access to the internet is essential to education, healthcare, banking, and everyday life,” he said. “The thing that’s most important to us is getting our membership served as quickly as possible for decades to come. The milestones are wonderful, and we always pause to celebrate them. Then, it’s back to enhancing lives and providing exceptional service and value. The team at United is second to none, and I am fortunate to work with and lead such a great group of people who truly care about our members.”