started in the media business by selling advertising on Vaudeville curtains and then later progressed into owning and operating broadcast radio and television stations, acquiring its first TV station in Philadelphia, PA in 1950. By 1964, Harron obtained the franchise to build and operate its first cable television system in Utica, New York. Harron, Jr., who succeeded his father as President and CE
O of Harron in 1977, the company rapidly expanded to serve more than 300,000 subscribers in seven states. Paul Harron, Jr. also was an early board member of C-SPAN, the private, non-profit public-affairs network created in 1979 by the cable television industry that provides the public with live gavel-to-gavel proceedings of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, as well as access to public policy debate and discussion. The vision, leadership, and entrepreneurial spirit of both men were recognized when they were posthumously inducted into the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2010. In September of 2005, the Harron family formed Harron Communications, LP, doing business as MetroCast Communications, which today serves residential and business customers in New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Local MetroCast managers serve on state cable television association boards, and are members of local Chamber of Commerce and other civic groups. The Harron family’s tradition of leadership and innovation in broadband communications continues to this day. James J. Bruder, Jr., nephew of Paul F. Harron, Jr., is Harron Communications’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In 2009, CableFAX, the national industry publication, recognized Mr. Bruder for his leadership qualities and cited his industry-wide influence as vice-chairman of the American Cable Association. The publication also noted that for Mr. Bruder, who founded “The MetroCast Foundation” to fund and encourage financial support of initiatives that benefit local communities, his “mantra is community connection.”
Under the leadership of Mr. Bruder, and Thomas M. Marturano, President and Chief Operating Officer, and more than 500 dedicated team members, MetroCast has guided its customers into the digital age. Today it provides a vast array of quality entertainment and information choices to residential and commercial customers over its advanced fiber optic networks, including digital video, video-on-demand, high definition television, high speed data, and digital telephone services. Advances in technology hold great promise for the future. Yet, the team at MetroCast believes that technological innovation alone is not enough. Rather, MetroCast always is committed to finding ways to match new technological developments with real needs to ensure that technology always is in the service of the customers and communities it serves.
