Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Award • Northeast Nebraska Telephone Company General Manager Pat McElroy (middle) receives a showcase award from NTCA chief executive officer Shirley Bloomfield and SRC advisory council chair Jill Kuehny at the NTCA conference. NNTC was recognized for its efforts in being not only an internet provider, but a solutions provider by building a Wi-Fi trailer for an event which raises money for women under 40 battling breast cancer.
Northeast Nebraska Telephone Company has been recognized as a 2024 Smart Rural Community Showcase Award winner. The announcement was made by The Rural broadband Association Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield during a conference hosted by the NTCA on Sept. 30.
The Smart Rural Community program is a network of more than 280 communities, supported by NTCA member providers, committed to driving growth through robust broadband service. The Showcase Awards are presented to providers in recognition of their extraordinary achievements in promoting rural broadband networks and innovative applications that create opportunities for the educators, health care providers, farmers, small business owners, public safety professionals and others who help their communities thrive.
NNTC was specifically recognized for the construction of its Free Wi-Fi trailer. The trailer was created in 2017 after Jeremy Stanislav, Founder of Pink Bandana, approached NNTC staff members, seeking a way participants of the Pink Bandana Mud volleyball Tournament in Prague, Nebraska, to easily connect online to increase online donation and event awareness. Within months, NNTC central office technician Matt Muessigmann and other staff members developed the Wi-Fi trailer, essentially a giant Wi-Fi router.
The tournament supports women under 40 battling breast cancer and raises awareness of early signs of breast cancer in young women.
"Very few organizations choose to focus on this group because it is not as common, yet it can be extremely dangerous when young women ignore the early signs. Having a Wi-Fi connection allows for people to share the event and what it stands for, thus spreading the message to travel far past Prague," Stanislav said.
Since that time, the NNTC Wi-Fi trailer has traveled 10,000 miles supporting community events throughout the coverage area, at no charge.
"Every year, I look forward to seeing the exciting ways our Smart Rural Community providers continue to innovate and drive their communities to succeed," said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield. "This year's winners continue to show what is possible when trusted, proven providers work with local partners to address community needs and improve their neighbors' quality of life. These community-driven efforts to connect more rural Americans – and to keep them connected to life-changing technologies – offer stories of success that can be repeated. I would like to congratulate Northeast Nebraska Telephone Company on this accomplishment!"
Other winners were Adams Fiber of Golden, Illinois; Highline of Escanaba, Michigan; SCTelcom of Medicine Lodge, Kansas; SRT Communications of Minot, North Dakota; and Whidbey Telecom of Langley, Washington.
For more information on the Smart Rural Community designation and what it means to NNTC communities, visit http://www.NNTC.net/SRC.
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