NATE Spring Legislative Trip
This week, I was able to join NATE’s Legislative and Regulatory Council in Washington DC for our Spring meeting circuit to speak with elected officials on policies regarding closing the digital divide and improving workforce development in our industry. We packed 16 meetings into two days, so it was definitely a busy, but very productive trip!
I learned a lot on this trip and it inspired me to keep striving to learn more about our industry and ways I can continue to advocate on behalf of our members. The tower workers who keep our networks up and running are often overlooked as essential employees, but without them, we wouldn’t have the ability to use the technology we can no longer live without. We continue to want faster and more reliable networks, but we can’t have that without the workers who are willing to climb 300+ feet into the air to make it happen. It’s definitely not a job for the weak of heart!
I’m proud that we were able to get our message in front of so many different members of congress, and while it may still take some time for any action to take place, it’s important to keep our voices heard, and keep our message in front of them. Change doesn’t happen over night!
It was also great to be back in DC. I love this city and while I am glad to be back in South Dakota, there are some parts I miss about living out there. It’s nice that I get to go back every now and again. I’m looking forward to the next trip already.
Here are a couple of highlights from this week:
Nathan and I actually made it onto their Twitter video: https://twitter.com/nathanleamerdc/status/1788681159796244673. Also, I love how they were complaining about only men in suits being allowed in when two women walked out – myself included. And they were anything but peaceful. One of them even pushed me out of the way so Nathan would be the focus of their video. It was ridiculous to say the least. But it gave us a good laugh later when we popped up on Twitter!
Overall it was a fun week, but I’m excited to get back home!
Until next time! 🙂
Megan Reiffenberger
