The number 13 has a great deal of myth attached to it. Ever notice that? Some people refuse to stay on the thirteenth floor of a hotel while some hotels simply skip having a thirteenth floor (but then isn't the fourteenth floor really the thirteenth anyway? I digress).
Friday the 13th is another omen of foreboding for some. Researchers in this space estimate that as many as 10 percent of the U.S. population has a fear of the number 13 and even estimate that the fear of Friday the 13th, known as paraskevidekatriaphobia (spell that without looking!), results in financial losses in excess of $800 million annually as people avoid traveling, getting married or even working on that day.
But for me this year — and this month — the number 13 was indeed lucky as I celebrated my thirteenth anniversary back at NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association in this role leading the best association team and the most exciting industry.
I spent 20 years at NTCA after working on Capitol Hill and loved everything about the membership that the organization represented. At the time I started, in the dark ages per my daughters, our mission was about bringing telephone service to rural Americans. The technology evolution was rapid and innovative in the rural communications space, and it became clear to me that NTCA members were ahead of the curve in serving their communities. I had a brief detour to work for some large national carriers, enticed in part by the once in a lifetime opportunity to manage large budgets for the Republican and Democratic national conventions in 2008. Most of the original NTCA Board of Directors who hired me in 2010 have since moved on to retirement adventures but I smile every year when LTC Connect (Auburn, Ky.) CEO Greg Hale sends me a note on July 1 congratulating me on achieving another annual milestone. It also gives me another chance to thank him for the opportunity.
And what an opportunity it has been, as our team and membership have forged ahead and worked through nearly every challenge that has been thrown our way. From the National Broadband Plan to numerous resets and critical reforms of the Universal Service Fund to the creation of new deployment programs, everyone has always stepped up to bat. I honestly can’t think of a time when we have been able to say, “Whew,” and kick back for a little bit. But speaking for our entire NTCA team, we love it that way.
All that said, do you know what has made this role so fun and gratifying? It’s been the opportunity to work with the best members in the world. Truly. I was recently spending time with our Tennessee broadband providers at their annual event supporting the Rural Broadband PAC when Levoy Knowles, head state policy guru, noted to the group that, “You’ve always done what you promised to do and that has earned you credibility with policymakers.” NTCA members were building fiber broadband networks and powering Smart Rural Communities long before it was cool to do so.
The other thing I have always loved and valued about our work here at NTCA is our never-ending efforts to identify and eliminate pain points for our membership. This means our collaboration with Corning as supply chains for fiber and cabling ran tight, support of Northwood Technical College’s broadband training and badging program, discounts on General Motors vehicles and Cintas equipment, and recruitment of C-suite executives into our member companies. All of these items (in addition to our robust benefit plans) are designed to allow our member companies to do what they do best: deploy broadband and service their consumers with top customer service.
Last but never least, I have a wonderful spouse of nearly 38 years (gulp, I had to do the math on that one!) who has been willing to hold down the fort and feed the dogs as I travel from North Dakota to Alaska to Tennessee to Maine. I’ve even been known to come back from a trip late at night only to find a note on the counter and a salad in the fridge. This job sometimes takes many partnerships to make it work.