Vice President, Meadville Master Antenna; Founder, 2010 Cable Hall of Fame
In an industry with several prominent father-son combinations, Yolanda Barco was half of the most prominent father-daughter combination.
Ms. Barco was the first woman general manager of a cable system, the first woman to be elected to the NCTA board of directors and the first woman to be elected president of a state cable industry association, where she served three terms, the only person to ever do so. She also was the first woman to receive the Vanguard Award for Leadership.
She represented the cable industry in the lawsuit that won relief from the onerous eight percent excise tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Service on all cable subscription fees in the early 1950s and in the pole attachment and other regulatory fights. She was a founder of the Pennsylvania Cable Network, the first statewide network in the nation to offer educational and public affairs programming to cable customers. She also played a central role in the establishment The Cable Center.
As a strong voice in industry affairs, her opinions have withstood the test of time. Over the years, she and her father played prominent roles at national, state and local regulatory, judicial and legislative hearings on the cable industry. Their role in pole attachment regulations helped gain for the cable industry what many have called the most valuable real estate – three inches of space for cable utility poles – in the country.
Yolanda Barco passed away in May of 2000.
