Construction Season Means Building for the Future of NTCA

June 2019

With summer construction season in full swing, the NTCA Board of Directors has been doing some building of our own—building for the future of our association.

At our recent Summer Business Conference, the NTCA board discussed ongoing strategic plan initiatives as well as some aspirations for the future. From exploring new member benefits to more acutely focusing on cybersecurity training and information-sharing, our discussion about future opportunities was robust.

We also celebrated the launch of the newly expanded Smart Rural Communities™ program and reflected on our progress making more members feel at home with NTCA through member engagement and advocacy strategies that create opportunities for companies of all shapes and sizes.

For many of us, talking about our accomplishments can feel a little uncomfortable. But telling our stories is such an important part of what we do, and thanks to NTCA, we now have a bit more help. The Smart Rural Communities™ program now boasts 69 NTCA member communities, and with its recent expansion to include a national branding platform, even more of our companies can “get smart and show it.” We encourage you to check out the new options at www.ntca.org/smart.

That is just one way we are working to advance our companies and communities through a strong, national voice. Our voice has grown stronger as we have bolstered advocacy efforts around building future-proof fiber optic networks to support our country’s race to 5G, for example. We have also seen more support in Congress and the FCC for edging out our networks, creating better broadband maps and combatting tricky issues like robocalling—all vitally important to our communities.

Of course, none of this would be possible without your support, and the dues structure NTCA implemented in 2018 has been a valuable tool in promoting viability. As a full year has passed since the dues change, the board reviewed the impact on members and discussed the trend toward consolidation we are seeing in our industry. We continue to seek a balance in the need for long-term sustainability for our association and the impacts on individual companies, and this will continue to be a focus for the NTCA board.

On the employee benefits front, we continue to sincerely appreciate the hard work of our member-run trust committees in finding cost-savings while delivering top-notch health and retirement services. The board heard an update from the Group Health Program Trust Committee about new coverage options in the 2019 open enrollment cycle and steps the trust has taken to enroll more companies in the GHP Wellness Connections plan to help our employees embrace healthy lifestyles.

We have a lot to be proud of. And, yet, there is always more to do. As your regional representatives on the NTCA Board of Directors, we very much welcome your input on these and other matters. Please contact us to share your perspective.

Thank you for your membership and engagement.