Vermont Business Magazine NEKCV (dba NEK Broadband and CVFiber) is excited to congratulate the latest Broadband Technicians Training graduates and highlight the hard work of four of its employees: Chris Edrington, Pierce Thompson, Owen Carr and Juan Flores. All four have gone through a broadband training session and have now started to advance professionally within the NEKCV organization.
About the graduates
“When I first started at NEKCV, I had just graduated high school and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life,” NEKCV Fiber Install Technician Owen Carr said. “Now I drive all over the Northeast Kingdom helping folks get their internet. I like that there are opportunities here at NEKCV - it’s neat to think about where this could go as a career.”
Carr joined NEKCV in 2024 as a Warehouse Associate. After two months, Carr attended one of the broadband trainings and soon after moved out of the warehouse and into the field as a Fiber Install Technician. In this role, he runs fiber cable from a box typically located on the outside of a house inside to a customer’s modem.
And now Carr is training NEKCV employee Chris Edrington – who graduated from a training in the spring – on how to do fiber installs.
“It feels like there’s always something to learn,” Edrington added. “I like how hard work leads to more learning opportunities. And as people advance, they help the next person move up too.”
NEKCV Warehouse Associate JJ Flores, who completed the Broadband Technician Training in the summer of 2025, now goes out into the field to help with scouting, the process of figuring out how fiber might connect from a utility pole to a house.
“If there is something that needs to be done, and I can do it, sign me up,” NEKCV Warehouse Associate JJ Flores said. “If I can help the team with something, I’m happy. I just want to work.”
About the trainings
The challenge to deliver high‐quality broadband is real. But, as a tool for economic growth, improved health outcomes, increased civic participation and educational advancement, the payoff is worth it.
“Graduates of this Broadband Technician Training will now be one step closer to building the infrastructure needed to connect individuals and communities, as well as provide Vermont economic prosperity,” North Country Career Center Assistant Director for Adult Technical Education Chris Damato said.
The trainings, which are free and have been held in Montpelier and Newport, were created in partnership with North Country Career Center in 2024. They aim to build a workforce capable of continuing the expansion of a new fiber optic network throughout the Northeast Kingdom and Central Vermont. Their lessons focus on basic rigging, fiber optics essentials, bucket truck operations, pole climbing, OSHA training, first aid, flagging, and leadership and communication skills.
Looking ahead
Rural Vermont is ready for the next generation of broadband, and the success of many rural communities depends on this infrastructure.
“This is an investment in long-term sustainability,” NEKCV Director of Marketing and Sales Tonya Ozone said. “We must build the broadband infrastructure needed to carry us into the future and the workforce to make it happen. Because every resident and business in rural Vermont deserves access to the same quality service as those in more urban areas.”
Pierce Thompson, who also started his career with NEKCV in the warehouse, graduated from the training in early October. He and his fellow classmates also believe in the importance of investing in long-term sustainability.
"The training was such a positive experience,” Thompson said. “I learned valuable skills to help further my career, and I'm very happy NEKCV provided me this opportunity."
NEKCV Workforce Development Manager Jared Clark sums it up: “These graduates were so impressive - as individual learners and also as a team. They applied their leadership skills in ways that will carry them far in their professional careers.”
For more information on starting a career in broadband, visit nekcv.org.
NEKCV (dba NEK Broadband and CVFiber) is a communications union district (CUD) that is community-driven and working to ensure every resident across 72 towns in the northeast and central Vermont with utility service has access to high-speed internet with symmetrical speeds up to two gigabits per second. Affordable internet is central to creating greater economic prosperity and educational opportunities. The communications union district is committed to investing profits into the network, increasing affordability and supporting digital access and literacy. More info is available at nekcv.org.
ST. JOHNSBURY, VT (December 9, 2025) – NEKCV
To support vital journalism, access our archives and get unique features like our award-winning profiles, Book of Lists & Business-to-Business Directory, subscribe HERE!
