As part of a small rural communications company, all employees learn from day one to wear many hats. I myself started green right out of college and was given a chance to learn and hone my skills on the run. I wasn't anticipating that one day I would be teching a customer over the phone and the next helping put Fiber Optic cable in the ground and the next climbing towers for wireless installations and the next upgrading server equipment and so on. I started as a field tech in 2004 and was promoted to the lead Information Systems Administrator, then IT Manager, and in 2013 General Manager of the company and its subsidiaries. I may not be wearing the same hats now in my current role, but as I create our short and long term strategy and direction, I still take an active role in engineering, development, and R&D of our fiber and wireless networks and the services on them, along with all the typical management, HR, and financial duties. As General Manager/CEO of the Bascom Communications family, I have pushed my team to build upon the infrastructure that was put in place by my predecessors and take it to new levels. We have expanded our coverage areas and offerings while getting into emerging technologies and partnerships with local entities, producing strategic growth for both sides, all while maintaining our accountability of quality and great customer service. We are using our fiber assets to help create private networks through dark fiber leasing and Ethernet transport for entities much larger than ourselves. We are proud to be a small company “punching well above our weight class”. Since becoming General Manager/CEO, I have had the wonderful opportunity to join multiple Boards of Directors/Trustees. I have used this time to learn from others in our industry and other successful business people to see different views and insights, along with strengthening my knowledge into areas I may not tackle daily.