2026 Summer Training Program

2026 SUMMER TRAINING CONTINUING EDUCATION CONFERENCE

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Welcome to the TTA 2026 Summer Training Continuing Education Conference! We’re glad you’re here, and we’re looking forward to three days of learning, networking, and fun. We hope you enjoy this year’s venue and all of the shopping and dining options that The Domain has to offer.

MAP OF THE DOMAIN

MAP OF DOMAIN NORTHSIDE

ATTENDEE LIST

You can find an updated Summer Training attendee list here.

SPEAKER PRESENTATIONS

Spring Training speaker presentations will be uploaded to this page.

2026 TTA Spring Training Agenda-CPE Credits The objectives of this conference are to improve the skills and knowledge of accounting and other issues related to the telecommunications industry. Participants shall receive 14.2 technical CPE credit hours for participation, and there are no prerequisites for participation. We have registered with the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy as a CPE sponsor. This registration does not constitute an endorsement by the Board as to the quality of our CPE program. TTA Sponsor ID# 010670

Please take a moment to look through the TTA Code of Conduct.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PREMIER SPONSOR

CONFERENCE AGENDA

TUESDAY, JULY 7 TIME

ALL JOINT SESSIONS WILL TAKE PLACE IN PRIMROSE C

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Check-in & Registration

12:45 PM - 1:00 PM

Kickoff Meeting

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Keynote

Leticia Van de Putte, AVDP, LLC, former Texas State Senator

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Future of Broadband Technologies

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Day-to-day Applications of AI for Rural Broadband Providers

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Excuse Me…Your Reputation Is Showing

5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Welcome Cocktail Reception (Bonnell)

Tom Seidl, NECA

Laura Kirk and Ethan Schultz, Baker Tilly Sarah Mueller, Vantage Point Sponsored by Netceed

WEDNESDAY, JULY 8 TIME

FINANCE TRACK Primrose C

MARKETING/SALES/CUSTOMER SERVICE TRACK Primrose AB

7:30 AM

Check-in & Registration

7:30 AM - 9:00 AM

Breakfast (Lantana)

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Please refer to your track for specific session times)

9:00 AM - 9:50 AM Cloud Switching Tom Seidl, NECA

10-Minute Break 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM Switching Gears: Navigating CAF ICC Reform and the Move to the Cloud

9:00 AM - 10:15 AM Unfiltered and Unscripted: The Real Marketers of Broadband (Roundtable)

Plumeria

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM One Team, One Customer Experience

Moderator: Dee Dee Longenecker

Michael Prather, Totelcom; Tara Zielinski, Nortex

15-Minute Break

15-Minute Break

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM They’re Coming for You: Why The Art of Smart: How to Competition in Today’s Telecom Troubleshoot the Devices that Is Inevitable Drive Our Lives Joy Milkowski, CEO-Access (and Drive Us Crazy)

Andrew Adams, Cap Rock; Chris McNamara, Nortex; Emily Schmidt, Marketing; Terry Chevalier, Sunstone Cap Rock Associates Moderator: Sharon Minor, Baker Tilly

Sam Pace, Etex

10-Minute Break

15-Minute Break

11:00 AM - 11:50 AM Time Coding and CPRs

11:15 AM - 12:00 PM A Cut, Now What? Navigating the Obstacles in an Underground Environment

Ryan Denzel, JSI; Lauren Sanders, BBT; Lauren Young, BSGM Moderator: Traci Thomas, BBT

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

TECHNICAL TRACK

Tim Douglass, Riviera Telephone

Lunch on Your Own

TIME

FINANCE TRACK Primrose C

MARKETING/SALES/CUSTOMER SERVICE TRACK Primrose AB

TECHNICAL TRACK Plumeria

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM 1:30 PM - 2:20 PM 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM (Please refer to your Fraud & Internal Controls Who Are You Today? Who Could Sales + Tech = Less Friction, track for specific Steve Dawson, Dawson Forensics; (or Should) You Be Tomorrow?

More Wins session times) Tessa Fowler, HMV; Anne Harvey, Pioneer Utility Sergio Lara, Elizabeth Girndt, Joel Lauren Young, BSGM Resources Green, YK Communications 2:20 PM - 3:20 PM From Static to Cinematic: Click, Record, and Connect! Video Marketing How-to Lean-in and Best Practices Samantha Bailey, Taylor Telecom; Mcxie Hurst, Peoples Telephone; Kerry Sutton, HCTC 15-Minute Break

10-Minute Break

15-Minute Break

3:00 PM - 3:50 PM Budgeting & Excel Tips and Tricks with AI Larissa Shomaker, JSI

3:30 PM - 4:20 PM Nailed It/Failed It: Marketing and Sales Campaign Confessions

2:45 PM - 3:30 PM OTDR Hands-on Training Ben Bond, Matt DeBalski, Exfo

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Operational Efficiencies and Revenue Growth

4:20 PM - 5:00 PM Marketing Perspectives from Outside Telecom

3:40 PM - 4:30 PM Technician Round Table Moderator: Charlie Cano, Etex

Jeremiah Raya, Baker Tilly

5:00 PM

Moderator: Matt Faggione, Etex

David Sierk, Visa Moderator: Kandra Young, Coleman County Telephone Cooperative

Dinner & Activities on Your Own

THURSDAY, JULY 9 TIME

ALL JOINT SESSIONS WILL TAKE PLACE IN PRIMROSE C

7:30 AM

Check-in & Registration

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Breakfast (Lantana)

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

It’s Complicated, An Economic Update

10:00 AM - 10:15 AM 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Hunter Hook, CoBank

15-Minute Break

(If checking out, take this time to grab your bags from your room. We will have space for your luggage.)

How Regulatory Impacts You

Wes Robinson, Eastex; Richard DeBolt, TTA

Community Engagement 101

John Hubbard, Premier Legislative Consulting; Richard DeBolt, TTA

CONFERENCE AGENDA

WEDNESDAY, JULY 8 CONTINUED

CONFERENCE SPEAKERS Andrew Adams Cap Rock Telephone Cooperative, Inc. andrewa@caprock-spur.com Switching Gears: Navigating CAF ICC Reform and the Move to the Cloud

Ryan Denzel JSI Ryan.Denzel@jsitel.com Time Coding and CPRs

Samantha Bailey Taylor Telecom sbailey@taylortel.org From Static to Cinematic

Tim Douglass Riviera Telephone Company, Inc. tim.douglass@rivnet.com A Cut, Now What? Navigating the Obstacles in an Underground Environment

Benjamin Bond

Benjamin (Ben) Bond is a Territory Sales Manager for

Ben Bond EXFO, a communications industry test, monitoring, Exfo and analytics company. He started his career on ben.bond@exfo.com OTDR Hands-on Training night-shift at a wafer fab at Texas Instruments (TI)

Matt Faggione Etex mfaggione@etexfiber.net Nailed It/Failed It

while going to school full-time at the University of

Texas at Dallas. He still credits his time and

Charlie Cano experience at TI as integral in helping him succeed in Etex his career. ccano@etexfiber.net Technician Round Table

Tessa Fowler Heard, McElroy & Vestal, LLC tfowler@hmvcpa.com Fraud & Internal Controls

Ben is a results-oriented professional with knowledge in implementation, training and project management. He’s experienced in customer facing roles where he has

Terry Chevalier assisted vendors with installation and troubleshooting their network, provided Sunstone Associates terry.chevalier@sunstoneassociates.com remote and on-site training, with other functions.in They’ralong e Coming formany You: Why Competition Today’s Telecom Is Inevitable

guidance for best practices in the telecommunications and cable industries, provides

Ben is married to Brooke, his Dawson wife of 25 years and they have three children, Savannah Steve

Dawson (19-year-old freshman at DallasForensics College), Ryder (14-year-old 8th grader), and Brigham steve@dawsonforensics.com Fraud & Internal Controls

(9-year-old 3rd grader). He’s an active member in his church, where he teaches Sunday school, plays in the orchestra and manages the church’s video editing and

Elizabeth Girndt YK Communications elizabeth@ykc.com Sales + Tech = Less Friction, More Wins Joel Green YK Communications joel@ykc.com Sales + Tech = Less Friction, More Wins

stage lighting. He also is a soccer coach, referee, and PTA Treasurer for Elementary.

DeBalskiand is a Class of 1996 alumni.

He was born and raisedMatt in Sherman

Anne Harvey Exfo Pioneer Utility Resources/WordSouth matt.debalski@exfo.com aharvey@pioneer.coop OTDR Ben holds a dual Bachelor of Hands-on Science inTraining Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications Who Are You Today? Who Could (or Should) You Be Tomorrow?

Engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas, as well as a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Texas A&M at Commerce.

CONFERENCE SPEAKERS Hunter Hook CoBank HHook@cobank.com It’s Complicated, An Economic Update

Joy Milkowski Access Marketing joy@accessmarketingcompany.com They’re Coming for You: Why Competition in Today’s Telecom Is Inevitable

John Hubbard Premier Legislative Consulting john@plctexas.com Community Engagement 101

Sharon Minor Baker Tilly sharon.minor@bakertilly.com Switching Gears: Navigating CAF ICC Reform and the Move to the Cloud

Mcxie Hurst Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc. mcxie.hurst@gopeoples.net From Static to Cinematic

Sarah Mueller Vantage Point Sarah.Mueller@vantagepnt.com Excuse Me…Your Reputation Is Showing

Laura Kirk Baker Tilly Laura.Kirk@bakertilly.com Day-to-day Applications of AI for Rural Broadband Providers

Sam Pace Etex Telephone Cooperative, Inc space@etexfiber.net The Art of Smart: How to Troubleshoot the Devices that Drive Our Lives (and Drive Us Crazy)

Sergio Lara YK Communications Sergio@ykc.com Sales + Tech = Less Friction, More Wins

Michael Prather Totelcom michael.prather@totelcom.com One Team, One Customer Experience

Dee Dee Longenecker Eastex deedee@eastex.com Unfiltered and Unscripted: The Real Marketers of Broadband

Jeremiah Raya Baker Tilly jeremiah.raya@bakertilly.com Operational Efficiencies and Revenue Growth

Chris McNamara Nortex Communications cmcnamara@nortex.com Switching Gears: Navigating CAF ICC Reform and the Move to the Cloud

Wes Robinson Eastex wes@eastex.com How Regulatory Impacts You

CONFERENCE SPEAKERS Lauren Sanders Big Bend Telephone lauren.sanders@bbtco.com Time Coding and CPRs

Kerry Sutton Hill Country Telephone Cooperative ksutton@hctc.coop From Static to Cinematic

Emily Schmidt Cap Rock Telephone Cooperative, Inc. emilys@caprock-spur.com Switching Gears: Navigating CAF ICC Reform and the Move to the Cloud

Traci Thomas Big Bend Telephone traci.thomas@bigbend.com Time Coding and CPRs

Ethan Schultz Baker Tilly Ethan.Schultz@bakertilly.com Day-to-day Applications of AI for Rural Broadband Providers

Leticia Van de Putte AVDP, LLC Former Texas State Senator Keynote Speaker

Tom Seidl NECA thseidl@neca.org Future of Broadband Technologies Cloud Switching

Kandra Young Coleman County Telephone Cooperative kandra.young@cctelco.org Marketing Perspectives from Outside Telecom

Larissa Shomaker JSI Larissa.Schomaker@jsitel.com Budgeting & Excel Tips and Tricks with AI

Lauren Young Bolinger, Segars, Gilbert & Moss, LLP lyoung@bsgm.com Time Coding and CPRs Fraud & Internal Controls

David Sierk David.sierk@gmail.com Marketing Perspectives from Outside Telecom

Tara Zielinski Nortex Communications taraz@nortex.com One Team, One Customer Experience

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

PREMIER SPONSOR

GOLD SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSORS Baker Tilly Bolinger, Segars, Gilbert & Moss, LLP Central Texas Telephone Cooperative, Inc. Heard, McElroy & Vestal, LLC Innovative Systems JSI

BRONZE SPONSOR Etex

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