Todd Schlekeway, President/CEO of NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, was awarded the Jay Kitchen Leadership Award at the Radio Club of America Awards Presentation dinner last weekend in Denver. The award is named after Kitchen, who served as an association head for the predecessor of the Wireless Infrastructure Association and as a government policymaker.
Schlekeway became the head of NATE, which represents companies in the diverse tower and communications infrastructure construction, service and maintenance industries, in 2012. Before that, he founded a PR firm, Full Court Strategies LLC, and he served as a State Senator in South Dakota.
During his tenure, the organization’s membership has grown to more than 820 companies. At the same time, the organization’s influence has grown on Capitol Hill, the FCC and the FAA in promoting job site safety for communications infrastructure contractors.
As part of ensuring the continued well-being of tower and communications infrastructure personnel, NATE supports proper training and education, apprenticeships and certification. Additionally, the association helps communications industry contractors attract additional tower technicians.
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
Reader Interactions