Nex-Tech Blog

One of the things we do as part of our community engagement efforts is to engage with local decision-makers, often in government, in the interest of the customers and communities Nex-Tech serves. When we talk with officials, we tend to ask questions relating to government policy, and also express the feedback we have received from our customers and our communities. It’s a great relationship where the public and private sectors work together to make lives better.

On Monday, November 4th, 2024, we joined our CEO Jimmy Todd, as he presented a check of $12,000 to support the endowment funds of Nex-Generation Round Up for Youth, Inc (NGRUFY). For over a decade, we have championed the cause of the next generation by supporting and in some cases, underwriting the youth development programs and initiatives of NGRUFY.

Nex-Tech is supporting a new train-the-trainer, volunteer-led effort to address the broadband knowledge and affordability gap in Kansas. It is called the Digital Ambassadors Program. The program seeks to increase digital literacy and skills among Kansas citizens.

One of the priorities of our CEO, Jimmy Todd, has been to reposition and enhance Nex-Tech’s engagement with local stakeholders across western Kansas. As part of that effort, we have ramped up our support for the activities of WKREDA.

I have discovered that rural economic development in small towns will always be possible if towns maximize their natural competitive advantage. What I mean is that a coastal location should focus on having economic activities around the water body already provided by nature. If a location has fertile soils, focusing on cutting-edge ways to grow crops and maximize yields may be sensible.

The Saline County government has joined the Nex-Tech Academy Network for Digital Skills. Community Engagement Specialist, Friday Otuya explains what this means for the Salina community.

Today stakeholders agree that there is a direct relationship between the availability of adequate and affordable childcare and the presence of a professional and ready workforce in a community. When families have adequate childcare, they are more likely to increase the time they invest in economic activities, thereby contributing to the local economy. In turn, families can earn more income to afford the goods or services of a company.

Our grant team works tirelessly to prepare applications and explain all these facts to grant-giving bodies on why rural communities should get high-quality connectivity. But we also do more.

For many years, Nex-Tech has supported rural communities across our service footprint. Today we continue to do so by offering advice and guidance to local leaders on innovative ways to foster development. Community Engagement Specialist, Friday Otuya, writes about an innovative engagement cycle that could lead to community progress on local issues.

At the end of July 2024, the fiber broadband industry will gather in the city of Nashville, Tennessee for Fiber Connect 2024. With the industry getting excited about what could be the biggest fiber broadband expansion period in the industry thanks to BEAD funding, I have been reflecting on one of Nex-Tech’s most impactful fiber deployment projects – the deployment of fiber to McCarty Family Farms, in Rexford, Kansas.