I am sitting in the Charlotte airport as I write this, with more breathing room than I have found after the past few connections in this busy airport, and reflecting on NTCA's Summer Symposium, our signature leadership and governance gathering for NTCA's rural broadband directors. It's a good time for me to personally reflect because sometimes the "gas tank" feels a little bit "empty" and I have found that the past few days have been huge in terms of an excellent refill!
There are so many critical issues facing the rural broadband industry lately: the future of USF, the next steps for BEAD funding and how that "historic" infrastructure funding will come down when the states formalize their rules and processes. Couple that with NTCA members building broadband 24/7 and working as hard as they can to reach those un/underserved parts of their communities and you have a very active set of discussions in the meeting rooms and maybe even more in the hallways!
The beauty of working with NTCA governance leadership (board directors) is their perspective as volunteer leaders for their local broadband providers as opposed to those running the day-to-day operations of these entities. The topics we covered over the past few days were as varied as critical conversations in/out of the board room, bylaws, strategic planning, comparing notes among providers of similar size, the policy outlook, and how to juggle all of the many priorities hitting community-based providers at the same time. Whew. That’s a lot.
But the point that I sometimes forget in between NTCA meetings is how much I admire and appreciate these volunteer leaders who have led the way in terms of bringing communications and robust broadband to the communities that they serve. These are folks who are board members of community-based providers and give their time and energy to thinking about what it takes to ensure that their friends and neighbors have the ability to connect and utilize connectivity. No small task.
Why do I find this exchange reinspiring? These are board members who I have known well into decades and every one of them serves because they know they can make a difference. How many of us want to make a difference every day we draw a breath? Now think about the difference they have made over the past few years because they long ago prioritized bringing future-proof technology to their communities. Over 75 percent of NTCA member networks provide Fiber-to-the-Home to their customers, their neighbors, their consumers … their friends. That is life-changing (literally) technology.
Spending the past two days in meeting rooms and hallways listening to the stories of fulfilling needs is what I needed to fill my own tank. I am very purpose-driven, and this purpose and the next steps we have in front of us as we think about the opportunity from the Infrastructure Act are huge and profound and keep someone like me motivated to think about how we can continue to make a difference as a trade association.
Also to that end, I spend a great deal of time thinking about leadership and how we continue to transition to that next generation (don’t get me wrong - I am not going anywhere just yet!). I am hoping that folks noticed the note I sent out at the end of last week sharing how I have promoted Mike Romano, our champion for NTCA members on the policy front, to the role of Executive Vice President for NTCA. Mike has been with me nearly from the very start of my return to NTCA over 12 year ago. I will never forget how I knew, very clearly, what I was looking for. I wanted a senior leader for our advocacy efforts, post-National Broadband Plan, who could tie our regulatory and legislative advocacy efforts together. Someone who could listen to members and synthesize their concerns, but who also had the intuitive ability to read policy “tea leaves” so that we could achieve the art of the possible in that critical realm and who worked well with everyone. - because they listened and had a passion for our mission. I hit the jackpot and beyond with Mike Romano.
I will never forget our cup of coffee downtown after I had been hired by the NTCA Board of Directors, but before I actually started. A mutual friend, now a leader on Capitol Hill, introduced us after I shared what I was looking for. I was high energy but Mike was just as high and as we shared a cup of coffee and compared notes. Our planned quick meeting extended into a few hours - I knew that I had met my soulmate in terms of passion for bringing advanced services to rural America through community-based providers. Over the course of 12 years, we are the perfect combination of ying-yang. Where I am ready to move move move…Mike has been the voice of reason to slow down and to be thoughtful. And where I have blown open doors, Mike has been supportive of my “limited filter” and how that fits with his methodical, building blocks approach. How lucky are we both to have found this type of partnership? Truly.
So that was a long way of saying that the time together with NTCA members this week was just what I needed. A reminder that NTCA is a key partner with our members on bringing broadband to rural America. As a matter of fact, our mission statement notes that we are working on behalf of small broadband providers who are working on behalf of rural America and that frankly says it all.