cfx_september-2024 - 8

INDEPENDENT OPERATOR OF THE YEAR
FAMILY MATTERS
Schurz's Tight-Knit Culture Stands Firm for Generations
By Noah Ziegler
It's one thing to say a company has a familylike
culture. For Schurz Communications, family
isn't just a corporate buzzword-it has six
generations of proof, and they've helped build
a company with a wide-spanning footprint and
a hunger for growth.
The family influence throughout the history
of Schurz is evident at the top of the chain.
John Reardon, who stepped into the role of
President and CEO in February 2023, is only
the second non-family member in the company's
152-year history to become the CEO. At
the time, he took over from Todd Schurz, who'd
held the chief position for more than 15 years.
Family or not, it's an interesting task to try
and align six broadband companies across
nine states, spanning as far west as Arizona
and as east as Vermont. But the company's
culture doesn't abide by state lines. When
Reardon officially took over, he framed it as " I
took over for what I call a winning coach. [Schurz]
is already a winning program. "
" My first job was doing what I call the 'Listen
and Learn Tour,' where I spent the first three or
four months just visiting these locations, " Reardon
says. " First of all, I was very impressed
with how long a lot of people have been here-
10, 20, 30 years-and how I kept hearing the
word love. 'I love the company,' 'I love my job.'
And I would dig a little deeper into that ... and a
lot of it was the fact that we continue to invest
in people's education and training. We work a
lot with getting certifications through NCTI and
SCTE. We invest a lot in our people continuing
to learn. We send a number of people back to
get their MBA degrees. "
Those investments benefit employees
across Schurz's six properties based in various
states: Antietam Broadband in Maryland, Burlington
Telecom in Vermont, Hiawatha Broadband
in Minnesota, Long Lines Broadband in
Iowa, NKTelco in Ohio and Orbitel Communications
in Arizona. The training programs and additional
education opportunities have helped
with attracting talent and retention. VP, People
and Culture Scott Schurz Jr. says the company
8
Antietam Broadband was founded in 1966
and calls Hagerstown, Maryland, home.
has 97% of its positions filled.
Once Reardon got acclimated and gained a
better understanding of the inner workings of
Schurz, he set forth on his pursuit of growth.
He helped close a new credit facility with CoBank
last April, which raised several hundred
million dollars that have gone toward building
additional fiber passings and overbuilding
where Schurz already has HFC plants.
" That was really my vision: get the funding,
invest in fiber, upgrade the networks where
they were not the leading technology, and then
innovate, " Reardon says.
Helping to lead that investment in fiber is
EVP, Broadband Diego Anderson, who replaced
Brian Lynch in January after Lynch stepped into
retirement following a 14-year stay with the
company. Anderson has been in the telecommunications
industry for more than 30 years,
but relishes the opportunity to lead Schurz's fiber
evolution within the communities it serves.
" We were a legacy company with cable, and
we're building more of a fiber brand because
the communities are asking for it and that's
where the marketplace is going, " Anderson
says. " We're leading with a reliable broadband
pipe. Preferably fiber, but reliable broadband
pipe. With that, when we get [a] connection
into the home, business, wherever it is, we're
overlaying that with additional product solutions.
Whether it's our video solution, whether
September 2024
Hiawatha Broadband employees celebrate
Steamboat Days in Winona.
it's WiFi, whether it's cloud, voice or some
other managed service, we're overlaying applications
on top of that to help the customer
solve problems and provide an exceptional
customer experience. "
Anderson and the rest of the Schurz team
take an opportunistic approach with inorganic
and organic expansion. They work with the local
GMs of properties to identify how to bolster
their respective marketplace with additional
investments and new product solutions.
Additionally, Schurz has worked with the
telecommunications, media and technology
strategy consulting firm Altman Solong to
identify areas for expansion. It also uses the
FCC's map of unserved and underserved locations
to make sure the company is correctly
represented for areas it serves as a defensive
maneuver as well as pinpointing areas that
could use additional service.
" You're seeing a lot more competition obviously
with the private equity money coming
into the marketplace building fiber. Public
companies are starting to expand and overbuild
themselves. You have the grant money
that's coming into the marketplace, " Anderson
says. " There's a lot more capital that's being
deployed to build fiber and be first to market
with fiber. "
The increased competition places more
importance on the marketing Schurz and its
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