Document:

Exhibit 10.14

  Exhibit 10.14
 
November 30, 2015
  
 New Ulm Telecom, Inc.
 400 Second Street North
 P.O. Box 697
 New Ulm, Minnesota  56073-0697 
 Attn:  Manager
 Fax No.:  507-354-1982
  
 with a copy to:
  
 Lindquist & Vennum PLLP
 4200 IDS Center
 80 South Eighth Street
 Minneapolis, Minnesota  55402
 Attn:  Thomas Lovett, IV
 Fax No.:  612-371-3207
  
 Re:  Waiver and Consent
  
 Ladies and Gentlemen:
  
 Reference is made to the Amended and Restated Master Loan Agreement, dated as of December 31, 2014, between New Ulm Telecom, Inc. (the “Borrower”) and CoBank, ACB (“CoBank”) (as may be amended, modified, extended or restated from time to time, the “MLA”) and as supplemented by that certain Amended and Restated Second Supplement to the Amended and Restated Master Agreement, dated as of December 31, 2014 (as may be amended, modified, extended or restated from time to time, the “Second Supplement”), and as supplemented by that certain Amended and Restated Third Supplement to the Amended and Restated Master Agreement, dated as of December 31, 2014 (as may be amended, modified, extended or restated from time to time, the “Third Supplement”) (the MLA, as so supplemented, the “Loan Agreement”).
 
Waiver
  
 The Borrower has adopted that certain 2015 Stock Plan (the “2015 Stock Plan”), under which the Borrower plans to issue to its employees up to 200,000 shares of its common stock. Subsection 4(B) of the MLA requires the Borrower, immediately upon receipt of proceeds from the issuance of any ownership interests in the Borrower, to repay the Loans in an amount equal to the amount of the Net Proceeds received in connection with such equity issuance, and the Borrower is therefore required under Subsection 4(B) of MLA to repay the Loans in an amount equal to the Net Proceeds of the issuances under the 2015 Stock Plan (the “Repayment Requirement”).
  
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 The Borrower has requested that CoBank waive the Repayment Requirement. In reliance on the representations, warranties and agreements provided and made by the Loan Parties to CoBank in this letter agreement and effective upon receipt by CoBank of an execution counterpart of this letter agreement signed by each of the Loan Parties and CoBank, CoBank hereby waives the Repayment Requirement.
  
 Additionally, the Loan Parties have informed CoBank that one or more of the Loan Parties intends to make a loan to FiberComm, LLC, in a principal amount of $139,930 (the “FiberComm Note”). Pursuant to Sections 3.5 and 4.5 of the Pledge and Security Agreement, the Loan Parties are required to endorse and deliver to CoBank the original of any promissory notes payable to them in excess of $100,000. CoBank hereby waives the endorsement and delivery to CoBank of the FiberComm Note; provided, that, upon CoBank’s request, the Loan Parties agree to promptly deliver to CoBank the original of the FiberComm Note, together with such endorsements thereto as CoBank shall reasonably request.
  
 Consent to Dissolution of Certain Subsidiaries
  
 Pursuant to Section 8(A) of the MLA, each Loan Party is required to preserve and maintain in full force and affect its existence and good standing in the jurisdiction of its organization. The Borrower and the other Loan Parties have requested that CoBank consent to the dissolution (the “Subject Dissolutions”) of New Ulm Exchange, LLC, New Ulm Cellular #9, Inc., New Ulm Long Distance, Inc. and New Ulm Phonery, Inc. (the “Dissolving Entities.”). In reliance on the representations and warranties provided by the Borrower and the other Loan Parties to CoBank in connection with the request for this waiver and consent and the representations and warranties and release provided for herein, CoBank hereby consents to the Subject Dissolutions, so long as (a) prior to the Subject Dissolutions, all or substantially all of the assets of each Dissolving Entity are transferred to one or more Loan Parties that are not Dissolving Entities, (b) within thirty (30) days of the Subject Dissolutions, the Borrower shall provide to CoBank copies of the certificates of dissolution of each of the Dissolving Entities, duly executed and recorded with the Secretary of State of Minnesota, and (c) within ninety (90) days of the date hereof, the Borrower shall provide to CoBank the following, each in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to CoBank: (1) recorded deeds to all parcels of real property encumbered by the New Ulm Exchange Mortgage (the “Transfer Deeds”), evidencing the transfer of such real property to a Loan Party that is not a Dissolving Entity (such Loan Party, the “Assuming Loan Party”), (2)  an assignment and assumption of the New Ulm Exchange Mortgage by the Assuming Loan Party (the “Mortgage Assumption”), executed by the Assuming Loan Party, New Ulm Exchange, LLC and CoBank, duly recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Brown County, Minnesota, and (3) an endorsement to the lender’s title policy relating to the New Ulm Exchange Mortgage, reflecting the Transfer Deeds and the Mortgage Assumption.
  
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 General
  
 Except as expressly provided by this letter agreement, the terms and provisions of the Loan Agreement and the other Loan Documents are hereby ratified and confirmed and shall continue in full force and effect. By agreeing to this letter agreement as acknowledged below, the Borrower and each Guarantor hereby certifies and warrants to CoBank that each of its representations and warranties contained in the Loan Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which it is a party are true and correct as of the effective date of this letter agreement, including that no Event of Default exists, with the same effect as though made on such effective date (except to the extent any such representation or warranty is expressly stated to have been made as of a specific date, in which case such representations or warranty shall be true and correct as of such specified date). The waivers and consent contained herein shall not constitute a course of dealing among the Borrower, the Guarantors and CoBank, and, except as otherwise provided for herein, shall not constitute a waiver, extension or forbearance of any Potential Default or Event of Default, now or hereafter arising, or an amendment of any provision of the Loan Agreement or the other Loan Documents. The waivers provided herein shall be effective only upon receipt by CoBank of an execution counterpart of this letter agreement signed by each of the Loan Parties and CoBank, and is conditioned upon the correctness of all representations and warranties made by each of Loan Parties. The Borrower agrees to pay to CoBank, on demand, all out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred by CoBank, including, without limitation, the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel retained by CoBank, in connection with the negotiation, preparation, execution and delivery of this letter agreement and all other instruments and documents contemplated hereby. This letter agreement shall be governed by, construed and enforced in accordance with all provisions of the Loan Agreement and may be executed in multiple counterparts.
  
 Reaffirmation
  
 By its execution hereof, each of the Guarantors listed below hereby consents and agrees to the terms and provisions of this letter agreement and consents and agrees that the Continuing Guaranty, the Pledge and Security Agreement, each Mortgage and each other Loan Document to which it is a party remain in full force and effect and continue to be the legal, valid and binding obligation of it, enforceable against it in accordance with the terms thereof.
  
     
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  Please evidence your acknowledgment of and agreement to the foregoing by executing this letter agreement in the place indicated below.
 Sincerely,
  
  
 	 COBANK, ACB

	 	
	 By:
	  /s/ Lennie Blakeslee 

	 	 Name: Lennie Blakeslee

	 	 Title:   Vice President

  
  
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 Agreed and accepted as of the date first written above:
  
  
  
 	 NEW ULM TELECOM, INC., as the Borrower

	 	
	 	 
	 By: 
	 /s/ Curtis O. Kawlewski

	 	 Curtis Kawlewski

	 	 Chief Financial Officer

  
  
 	 HUTCHINSON TELEPHONE COMPANY, as a Guarantor

	 	
	 	 
	 By: 
	 /s/ Curtis O. Kawlewski

	 	 Name:  Curtis Kawlewski

	 	 Title:    Chief Financial Officer

  
  
 	 NEW ULM LONG DISTANCE, INC., as a Guarantor

	 	
	 	 
	 By: 
	 /s/ Curtis O. Kawlewski

	 	 Name:  Curtis Kawlewski

	 	 Title:    Chief Financial Officer

  
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 	 NEW ULM CELLULAR #9, INC. as a Guarantor

	 	
	 	 
	 By: 
	 /s/ Curtis O. Kawlewski

	 	 Name:  Curtis Kawlewski

	 	 Title:    Chief Financial Officer

  
  
 	 NEW ULM PHONERY, INC. as a Guarantor

	 	
	 	 
	 By: 
	 /s/ Curtis O. Kawlewski

	 	 Name:  Curtis Kawlewski

	 	 Title:    Chief Financial Officer

  
  
  
 	 PEOPLES TELEPHONE COMPANY, as a Guarantor

	 	
	 	 
	 By: 
	 /s/ Curtis O. Kawlewski

	 	 Name:  Curtis Kawlewski

	 	 Title:    Chief Financial Officer

  
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 	 WESTERN TELEPHONE COMPANY, as a Guarantor

	 	
	 	 
	 By: 
	 /s/ Curtis O. Kawlewski

	 	 Name:  Curtis Kawlewski

	 	 Title:    Chief Financial Officer

  
  
 	 HUTCHINSON TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INC., as a Guarantor

	 	
	 	 
	 By: 
	 /s/ Curtis O. Kawlewski

	 	 Name:  Curtis Kawlewski

	 	 Title:    Chief Financial Officer

  
  
 	 HUTCHINSON CELLULAR, INC., as a Guarantor

	 	
	 	 
	 By: 
	 /s/ Curtis O. Kawlewski

	 	 Name:  Curtis Kawlewski

	 	 Title:    Chief Financial Officer

  
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 	 SLEEPY EYE TELEPHONE COMPANY, as a Guarantor

	 	
	 	 
	 By: 
	 /s/ Curtis O. Kawlewski

	 	 Name:  Curtis Kawlewski

	 	 Title:    Chief Financial Officer

                
 	 TECH TRENDS, INC., as a Guarantor

	 	
	 	 
	 By: 
	 /s/ Curtis O. Kawlewski

	 	 Name:  Curtis Kawlewski

	 	 Title:    Chief Financial Officer

                                    
  
 	 NEW ULM EXCHANGE, LLC,  as a Guarantor

	 	
	 	 
	 By:
	  /s/ Bill Otis

	 	 Name: Bill Otis

	 	 Title:   President and Chief Manager

  
 8Exhibit

Exhibit 10.4

HESKA CORPORATION 1997 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN 
STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT 
(EMPLOYEES AND CONSULTANTS) 

		
	Tax Treatment
	This option is intended to be an incentive stock option under section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code or a nonstatutory option, as provided in the Notice of Stock Option Grant.

Vesting/        This option will be cancelled and of no further force or effect in the event that    
		
	Exercisability
	Heska Corporation’s stockholders fail to approve, at an annual or special meeting called for the purpose, an increase in the total number of authorized shares of the Company’s Public Common Stock to at least 8,500,000 shares on or before December 31, 2022. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this or any other section of this Stock Option Agreement or in the Notice of Stock Option Grant, the option is not vested and shall not be exercisable unless and until such stockholder approval is effective.

This option vests and becomes exercisable in installments, as shown in the Notice of Stock Option Grant. In addition, this option shall vest and become exercisable in full if one of the following events occurs:

		
	• 
	Your service as an Employee, Consultant or Outside Director of the Company or a Subsidiary terminates because of death, or

		
	•
	The Company is a party to a merger or other reorganization while you are an Employee or Consultant of the Company or a Subsidiary, this option is not continued by the Company and is not assumed by the surviving corporation or its parent, and the surviving corporation or its parent does not substitute its own option for this option, or

		
	•
	The Company is subject to a “Change in Control” while you are an Employee or Consultant of the Company or a Subsidiary and, within 12 months after the Change in Control, the surviving entity terminates your service without your consent and without Cause, as defined below. If the surviving entity demotes you to a lower position, materially reduces your authority or responsibilities, materially reduces your total compensation or announces its intention to relocate your principal place of work by more than 20 miles, then that action will be treated as a termination of your service.

		
	•
	“Cause” shall mean (i) your failure to perform your assigned duties or responsibilities as an Employee or Consultant of the Company or a Subsidiary (other than a failure resulting from total and permanent disability, as discussed below) after notice thereof from the Company describing your failure to perform such duties or responsibilities; (ii) your material breach of any confidentiality agreement or invention assignment agreement between you and the Company or a Subsidiary; (iii) your engaging in any act of dishonesty, fraud, misrepresentation, moral turpitude or misappropriation of material property that was or is materially injurious to the Company or its affiliates; (iv) your violation of any federal or state law or regulation applicable to the Company’s business; or (v) your being convicted of, or entering a plea of nolo contendere to, any crime.

No additional shares become vested after your service as an Employee, Consultant or Outside Director of the Company or a Subsidiary has terminated for any reason other than those outlined herein.

		
	Term
	This option expires in any event at the close of business at Company headquarters on the day before the 10th anniversary of the Date of Grant, as shown in the Notice of Stock Option Grant. (It will expire earlier if your service terminates, as described below.)

		
	Regular Termination
	If your service as an Employee, Consultant or Outside Director of the Company or a Subsidiary terminates for any reason except death or total and permanent disability, then this option will expire at the close of business at Company headquarters on the date three months after your termination date. The Company determines when your service terminates for this purpose.

		
	Death
	If your service as an Employee, Consultant or Outside Director of the Company or a Subsidiary terminates because of your death, then this option will expire at the close of business at Company headquarters on the date 12 months after the date of death.

		
	Disability
	If your service as an Employee, Consultant or Outside Director of the Company or a Subsidiary terminates because of your total and permanent disability, then this option will expire at the close of business at Company headquarters on the date 12 months after your termination date.

For all purposes under this Agreement, “total and permanent disability” means that you are unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted, or can be expected to last, for a continuous period of not less than one year.

		
	Leaves of Absence
	Vesting of this option shall be suspended during any unpaid leave of absence unless continued vesting is required by the terms of the leave or by applicable law.

For purposes of this option, your service does not terminate when you go on a military leave, a sick leave or another bona fide leave of absence, if the Company approved your leave in writing and if continued crediting of service is required by the terms of the leave or by applicable law.

For purposes of incentive stock options, no such leave may exceed 90 days, unless reemployment upon expiration of such leave is guaranteed by the terms of the leave or by applicable law. If reemployment upon expiration of a leave of absence approved by the Company is not so guaranteed, then three months following the 91st day of such leave, an incentive stock option shall cease to be treated as an incentive stock option and shall be treated for tax purposes as a nonstatutory option.

Unless you immediately return to active work when the approved leave ends, your service will terminate.

		
	Restrictions on
	The Company will not permit you to exercise this option if the issuance of shares at that

		
	Exercise
	time would violate any law or regulation.

		
	Notice of
	When you wish to exercise this option, you must notify the Company by filing the proper

		
	Exercise
	“Notice of Exercise” form at the address given on the form. Your notice must specify how many shares you wish to purchase. The exercise will be effective when the Company receives the Notice of Exercise with the option exercise payment described herein.

If someone else wants to exercise this option after your death, that person must prove to the Company’s satisfaction that he or she is entitled to do so.

		
	Form of
	When you submit your notice of exercise, you must include payment of the option exercise

		
	Payment
	price for the shares you are purchasing. Payment may be made in one (or a combination of two or more) of the following forms:

		
	•
	Your personal check, a cashier’s check or a money order.

		
	•
	Certificates for shares of Company stock that you own, along with any forms needed to affect a transfer of those shares to the Company. The value of the shares, determined as of the effective date of the option exercise, will be applied to the option exercise price. However, you may not surrender shares of Company stock in payment of the exercise price if your action would cause the Company to recognize compensation expense (or additional compensation expense) with respect to this option for financial reporting purposes.

		
	•
	Irrevocable directions to a securities broker approved by the Company to sell all or part of your option shares and to deliver to the Company proceeds from the sale in an amount sufficient to pay the option exercise price and any withholding taxes. (The balance of the sale proceeds, if any, will be delivered to you.) The directions must be given by signing a special “Notice of Exercise” form provided by the Company.

		
	Withholding
	You will not be allowed to exercise this option unless you make arrangements acceptable

		
	Taxes and Stock
	to the Company to pay any withholding taxes that may be due as a result of the option

		
	Withholding
	exercise. These arrangements may include (with the Company's approval) withholding

shares of Company stock that otherwise would be issued to you when you exercise this option. The value of these shares, determined as of the effective date of the option exercise, will be applied to the withholding taxes.

		
	Restrictions on 
	By signing this Agreement, you agree not to sell any option shares at a time when

		
	Resale
	applicable laws, Company policies or an agreement between the Company and its underwriters prohibit a sale. This restriction will apply as long as you are an Employee, Consultant or Outside Director of the Company or a Subsidiary.

		
	Transfer of
	Prior to your death, only you may exercise this option. You cannot transfer or assign

		
	Option
	this option. For instance, you may not sell this option or use it as security for a loan. You may, however, dispose of this option in your will, by the laws of descent and distribution or through a beneficiary designation.

Regardless of any marital property settlement agreement, the Company is not obligated to honor a notice of exercise from your former spouse, nor is the Company obligated to recognize your former spouse’s interest in your option in any other way.

		
	Retention Rights
	Neither your option nor this Agreement gives you the right to be employed or otherwise retained by the Company or a Subsidiary in any capacity. The Company or a Subsidiary reserves the right to terminate your service at any time, with or without cause.

		
	Stockholder
	You, or your estate or heirs, have no rights as a stockholder of the Company until you

		
	Rights
	have exercised this option by giving the required notice to the Company and paying the exercise price.

		
	Applicable Law
	This Agreement will be interpreted and enforced under the laws of the State of Colorado (without giving effect to its conflict of laws provisions).

		
	The Plan and
	The 1997 Stock Incentive Plan is incorporated in this Agreement by reference. Unless

		
	Other
	otherwise defined herein, all capitalized terms herein have the same defined meanings

		
	Agreements
	as in the 1997 Stock Incentive Plan.

This Agreement and the Plan constitute the entire understanding between you and the Company regarding this option. Any prior agreements, commitments or negotiations concerning this option are superseded. This Agreement may be amended only by another written agreement, signed by both parties.

BY SIGNING THE NOTICE OF STOCK OPTION GRANT OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOU AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS DESCRIBED ABOVE AND IN THE 1997 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN.

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