What do a university, true crime, motivational videos, farmers and the news have in common?

Stories.

Storytellers from other industries are a key feature of StoryConnect, Pioneer’s annual conference designed to help communicators at rural broadband providers, telcos and electric utilities discover and refine their corporate storytelling skills. 

The full lineup of speakers for StoryConnect 2023 includes: 

• Tim Marema, editor of the Daily Yonder and one of the founders of the Center for Rural Strategies 
• Mackenzie Durbin, host of the “Crimeaholics” podcast 
• Brian Canever, content marketing manager for the University of Tennessee’s Global Supply Chain Institute 
• Glen Liford, communications manager for Tennessee Farmers Co-op 
• Sean Vanslyke, CEO/GM of SEMO Electric Cooperative and GOSEMOFiber and founder of #TheFridayFeature. 
• Lindsay Tyson, chief marketing officer at Meridian Cooperative 
• Laura Withers, VP of strategic communications at NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association 
• Rudy Tober, chief marketing officer at NRTC Broadband Solutions

What do a university, true crime, motivational videos, farmers and the news have in common?

Stories.

Storytellers from other industries are a key feature of StoryConnect, Pioneer’s annual conference designed to help communicators at rural broadband providers, telcos and electric utilities discover and refine their corporate storytelling skills. 

The full lineup of speakers for StoryConnect 2023 includes: 

• Tim Marema, editor of the Daily Yonder and one of the founders of the Center for Rural Strategies 
• Mackenzie Durbin, host of the “Crimeaholics” podcast 
• Brian Canever, content marketing manager for the University of Tennessee’s Global Supply Chain Institute 
• Glen Liford, communications manager for Tennessee Farmers Co-op 
• Sean Vanslyke, CEO/GM of SEMO Electric Cooperative and GOSEMOFiber and founder of #TheFridayFeature. 
• Lindsay Tyson, chief marketing officer at Meridian Cooperative 
• Laura Withers, VP of strategic communications at NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association 
• Rudy Tober, chief marketing officer at NRTC Broadband Solutions

Sessions are focused on inspiring ideas among utility communicators. Several members of Pioneer’s team of utility storytellers will also lead sessions and panels.  

Focus on Writing and Photography  

Based on a model used successfully for decades in our West Coast-based workshops, Pioneer added a hands-on writing and photography track to StoryConnect.  

Writing sessions will be led by Kim Trevathan, an award-winning author, outdoor columnist and writing professor at Maryville College. Writers will dig into headline writing, ledes, writing for the web and story strategy. 

Photography sessions include picture assignments and a photo walk with photographer Robin Conover, who spent the last three decades documenting the people and places of Tennessee as editor of The Tennessee Magazine. 

StoryConnect attendees can pick and choose sessions from the track, book one-on-one reviews with editors and work on writing and photography assignments together. 

The writing and photography sessions are geared specifically for communicators responsible for writing and photography in their broadband or utility magazine, but are open to everyone. 

Join us! 

It’s not too late to join us March 8-10 in the Great Smoky Mountains! Swap stories, share inspiration and connect with other broadband and electric utility communicators. Learn more about our storytellers and how to join us at StoryConnect.com.