“We’re not just building networks. We’re actually building bridges into our future and ultimately building bridges of freedom.” Mickey Smith, Jr. at NTCA’s RTIME 2023

As the keynote speaker at NTCA’s annual event, Smith encapsulates the importance of NTCA members’ work in the above interview. The connections he made and the stories from growing up in a rural Louisiana hamlet that is long gone had a huge influence on who he has become.

As a musician, he is a 2020 Grammy winner. As an educator, he is a 7-time Teacher of the Year. Music is the medium he uses to help people discover insight about themselves by “seeing their sound”.

He briefly demonstrated the ability to use music to make connections as he had the audience actively participating in his keynote. He emphasizes that life is better when people band together in community, as an ensemble. He suggests that the collective work of NTCA’s members in serving and bringing communities together serves to make the country better.

ViodiTV coverage of NTCA’s RTIME 2023 courtesy of Calix.