Expansion of talent pool, product portfolio and fiber footprint position this leading provider for further success
BLAIR, Nebraska, February 4, 2020 — Great Plains Communications, the largest privately-owned telecommunications provider in Nebraska, begins 2020 with the announcement of multiple promotions and new hires in finance, human resources and sales. The company’s expansion supports a strategic and aggressive growth strategy to enhance and extend the reach of their 11,500-mile robust fiber network which currently touches 11 states. These plans include network enhancements to support new products and services that meet rising bandwidth demands and drive efficiencies for regional and national enterprise and carrier clients. The company will also continue exploring opportunities to extend their national fiber footprint and expand into new markets.
New employee appointments include Doug Brown as the Director of Wholesale & Carrier Services, Jo Anne Bowden as Area Sales Manager, and the promotions of Kim Ptacnik as Vice President of Human Resources and Mark Kerns as Vice President of Accounting and Finance.
“Our people are our greatest resource. Kim and Mark have played significant roles in the growth of Great Plains Communications and we are delighted to recognize our employees for their demonstrated leadership. I am confident they will continue to contribute significantly in their expanded roles,” said Todd Foje, CEO of Great Plains Communications. “We are also excited to welcome two new Great Plains Communications employees as we keep pace with the increasing bandwidth demands of our growing markets. Jo Anne and Doug bring advanced technology expertise and deep industry knowledge, as well as an entrepreneurial spirit that will be valuable as we look to expand and capture new opportunities.”
Here are the Great Plains Communications employees and their new roles:
Doug Brown joins as Director of Wholesale & Carrier Services. With a record of driving expansion into new markets and developing effective strategic alliances with telecommunications industry leaders, Doug will lead the expansion of network and carrier services in the wholesale markets for Great Plains Communications. Previously, Doug held sales leadership and channel sales roles at Everstream, Crown Castle Fiber, FairPoint Communications and Verizon Communications. Doug received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Saint Bonaventure University.
Jo Anne Bowden joins as Area Sales Manager. Jo Anne’s successful entrepreneurial background and demonstrated track record of surpassing goals at companies such as Cox Business, Nextel Partners and InfoUSA will help Great Plains Communications extend fiber broadband and deliver cloud-based services to business customers. Jo Anne will oversee and support enterprise solutions, including Internet, managed Ethernet, cloud communications, managed Wi-Fi, voice and video for businesses of all sizes. Jo Anne received a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
Kim Ptacnik promoted to Vice President of Human Resources. Kim joined Great Plains Communications as an HR Assistant after graduating from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in 1985. Over the years she has served in roles ranging from supervisor to senior director, playing an important part in developing and inspiring the culture that’s the backbone of Great Plains Communications: high-performing people. In her expanded role, Kim will continue to bring talented new hires to the company, focus on developing talent internally through training and employee development and will continue to drive and foster the positive culture of Great Plains Communications.
Mark Kerns promoted to Vice President of Accounting and Finance. Mark will direct the company’s financial management strategy as Great Plains Communications continues a growth trajectory while overseeing all aspects of the accounting operations. Formerly with Lutz & Company, Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Coopers & Lybrand, Mark joined Great Plains Communications as a Senior Accounting Manager in 2012. He graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degrees in Accounting.
About Great Plains Communications
Great Plains Communications is the largest privately-owned telecommunications provider in Nebraska. They have over a century of experience providing business, carrier and residential customers with forward-thinking, fiber-based technology services including Ethernet, Internet, video, hosted and voice solutions across an 11-state footprint. The company also prides itself on their progressive approach to accommodating the unique needs of all regional and national telecommunications carriers, LECs, ISPs, wireless carriers and other service providers utilizing superior engineering and custom build strategies. At the core of their service offering is an extensive 11,500-mile regional fiber network, including long-haul and metro networks that span the state of Nebraska extending into Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota and Wyoming. The network offers community access rings, last-mile and middle-mile solutions, all fully supported by their 24x7x365 Network Operations Center. For more information visit www.gpcom.com.
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