Shane Trotman of Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative wins 2011 FTTXcellence Award

Shane Trotman, senior operations supervisor at Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative (FTC) of Alabama, received the 2011 FTTXcellence Award during the closing ceremonies of the 2011 FTTH Conference in Orlando, FL, September 30. The award, sponsored by Corning Inc. (NYSE:GLW) and Lightwave, recognizes leadership in the advancement of fiber to the x (FTTx) deployment in North America.

Trotman received the award in recognition of his role in FTC’s fiber to the home (FTTH) deployment, as well as his leadership in enabling FTC to restore network services after severe tornadoes this past April devastated the area FTC serves.

Clark Kinlin, president and chief executive officer of Corning Cable Systems, and Stephen Hardy, editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave, presented the award to Trotman.

“It takes an innovative, field-savvy pioneer with a vision who embraces this new technology and is determined to persevere in championing a deployment project to bring fiber-to-the-home benefits to a rural area. It requires a champion who, together with the appropriate decision-makers, recognizes the real-world issues, understands the technology, sees past existing constraints and actually goes out to build these networks,” Kinlin said in a speech to FTTH Conference attendees announcing Trotman as the eighth winner of the FTTXcellence Award. “Our 2011 recipient is such a champion.”

In his remarks upon accepting the award, Trotman thanked his co-workers as well as the many crews from around the region that came to FTC’s aid in the wake of the tornadoes.

Trotman received a statue made of Steuben glass in recognition of his achievement. In addition, a donation of $5,000 was made in his name to One Economy Corp., a global, non-profit organization that leverages 21st-century technology to help low-income families build assets and raise their standard of living.

"We at Lightwave are pleased to join Corning in recognizing Shane," said Stephen Hardy, editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave, after the ceremony. “His central role in FTC’s FTTH roll out and his leadership in helping FTC to overcome the effects of natural disasters is emblematic of the customer-centric spirit that is a common catalyst among FTTH deployments throughout North America.”