There was a collective sigh of relief as NTCA was able to hold its first large, in-person gathering in 19 months as we hosted our Fall Conference last week in Nashville.
After weeks of pondering, reviewing safety protocols, working with the NTCA board on implementing a mask mandate at the conference, creating a hybrid meeting platform for those who wanted to view from anywhere, and revising agendas to address each of the hottest topics in what has been an extremely active year on the rural broadband front, we hit the ground running. It was great to stop worrying and pivoting and just start doing.
The conference was jam-packed with contention topics including federal infrastructure investment, recruiting in a competitive market, partnering for a rural renaissance, how legislative and regulatory changes could impact the industry over the next decade, and how ISPs should be thinking about working with their local realtors.
Fred Johnson, CEO of Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative (Rainsville, Ala.), and Chairman of NTCA’s Board of Directors, challenged NTCA member to recommit to the association through committee participation and engaging in advocacy and to not let the differences between cooperatives and commercials companies distract in any way from the mission critical role that NTCA members will play in closing the digital divide.
The Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) hosted a classic Nashville fundraiser and the Tennessee member companies hosted a fabulous event at the Grand Ole Opry on behalf of NTCA’s Rural Broadband PAC. We also hosted an EXPO for the first time at a Fall Conference to make up for missed opportunities for our fabulous vendor community to connect with our membership. All of these events highlighted the main reason for this meeting- to allow this industry to connect and network for the first time in nearly two years. You could see the joy in everyone’s eyes and you knew folks were smiling behind their masks.
Fall Conference ended on a high note as September 22 was declared “Smart Rural Community Day” by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. The proclamation was delivered by the deputy head of the state’s economic development office and is in part a tribute to the amazing work that our Tennessee cooperatives and companies have done to keep their communities connected during the pandemic. This recognition of NTCA members AND our Smart Rural Community™ program made my heart smile.
Then it was time to pack up, take off the high heels and have our team get their PCR tests before returning to the office. It takes a village to run a conference like this one and I have the best association team in the country who pulled it off beautifully.
