Gene Scott Education Award presented at Fiber Connect 2023 for advancing fiber training

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) today announced that it presented S&N Communications, Inc., with the Gene Scott Education Award on Tuesday at Fiber Connect 2023. The award recognizes a person, community, or institution that has significantly impacted the advancement of education in the fiber industry.

S&N Communications is a provider of turn-key infrastructure construction, power distribution construction, gas construction, design, and underground utility locating services. The company has been an enthusiastic supporter of FBA’s Optical Telecom Installer Certification (OpTIC Path™) workforce development program.

Among its many contributions to the OpTIC Path program, S&N Communications leveraged its practical experience employing fiber optic technicians to develop the popular “Documentation, Values, and Success in the Field” module for the OpTIC Path course. The module distinguishes FBA’s program from other fiber optic training courses by highlighting actions to help make technicians successful in the field, including a focus on safety, craftsmanship, documentation, and customer service.

S&N Communications also served as a valued participant in the OpTIC Path Train the Trainer classes, implemented new video recording tools for the course, and continues to enthusiastically promote the program to state organizations. In 2022, it pioneered a partnership with the Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives (VMDAEC) to leverage the OpTIC Path program, expand training focus, grow the fiber technician workforce, and support intense fiber network construction plans across the U.S.

“It is an honor to present S&N Communications with the Gene Scott Education Award. Gene was a long-time advocate for community broadband, workforce development, and the fiber broadband industry, and we see those same qualities in the work that S&N Communications is showcasing every day,” said Deborah Kish, Vice President of Research and Workforce Development at the Fiber Broadband Association. “We greatly appreciate all of S&N Communications’ contributions and look forward to its continued support of the OpTIC Path program as it expands nationwide.”

Before his passing in 2022, Gene Scott served as Chairman of FBA’s Education Subcommittee and was instrumental in the development of FBA’s OpTIC Path workforce development program. To learn more about the program, visit fiberbroadband.org/fba-optic-optical-telecom-installation-certification.

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About the Fiber Broadband Association

The Fiber Broadband Association is the largest and only trade association that represents the complete fiber ecosystem of service providers, manufacturers, industry experts, and deployment specialists dedicated to the advancement of fiber broadband deployment and the pursuit of a world where communications are limitless, advancing quality of life and digital equity anywhere and everywhere. The Fiber Broadband Association helps providers, communities, and policy makers make informed decisions about how, where, and why to build better fiber broadband networks. Since 2001, these companies, organizations, and members have worked with communities and consumers in mind to build the critical infrastructure that provides the economic and societal benefits that only fiber can deliver. The Fiber Broadband Association is part of the Fibre Council Global Alliance, which is a platform of six global FTTH Councils in North America, LATAM, Europe, MEA, APAC, and North Africa. Learn more at fiberbroadband.org.

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