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Beekeepers know the power of pollination. Ideas spread the same way, helping a community bloom. As a flower farmer and apiarist, Carrie Huckeby paired her pollen-loving pastimes with a four-decade career in telecommunications, spurring the growth of ideas to strengthen industry peers across the nation.
Huckeby, executive director of the Tennessee Broadband Association, is Pioneer Utility Resources’ 2026 D’Avanzo Communications Leadership Award winner.
“Carrie consistently models leadership by encouraging her peers, continuously learning and sharing ideas,” Pioneer CEO Michael Shepard said. “This award, named for our friend Dave D’Avanzo, recognizes folks who work to create a better community for all of us. Carrie has a long legacy of helping others and we can learn from her example.”
Huckeby was surprised with the award three days before the announcement was made at Pioneer’s Cooperative Member Meeting in June.
“The award was such a nice surprise and served as a reminder of how truly blessed I’ve been in this 40-year career,” Huckeby said. “I’ve worked with so many talented people who have mentored, collaborated, and supported me through the years. I can’t think of anything more fulfilling than to share the stories of our industry and our communities.”
Pioneer’s D’Avanzo Communications Leadership Award honors individuals for outstanding service to Utility Pioneers. Nominations focus on:
- Communication skills
- Industry leadership
- Mentorship
- Community service
Service Grown
Huckeby began her career at McMinnville Electric System in 1978 as a customer representative before moving to Ben Lomand Connect in McMinnville, Tennessee, a few years later. After a decade of helping subscribers on the front line, she moved into marketing roles. In 2010, Ben Lomand Connect teamed up on marketing with WK&T in Mayfield, Kentucky, and Ardmore Telephone Company in Ardmore, Alabama. For a time, Huckeby managed marketing, public relations and sales for all three utilities.
Projects she led won multiple NTCA TeleChoice awards. To share lessons learned with peers, she served as a longtime member and chair of the marketing committee for NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association.
Her unique perspective led her to work for several years as the content marketing officer for Telecom Management Services group, where she helped guide marketing strategies for three providers. In 2013, she helped WordSouth create a member-focused broadband storytelling channel, the Rural Telco Magazine. Pioneer acquired WordSouth in 2020.
“Carrie grasped the vision of a member-focused magazine that multiple broadband providers could participate in to not only share costs, but also—and more importantly—to share their story across a broad region,” Pioneer SVP of Broadband and Organizational Strategy and WordSouth founder Stephen V. Smith said. “Her leadership on what became the Regional Telco Magazine resulted in a publication that enables individual providers to tell their local stories while also sharing news, tips and feature stories about the life-changing power of broadband.”
Shortly after completing her MBA at Bethel University, Huckeby joined Pioneer, then WordSouth, in 2018 as director of strategy and training. She took lessons learned to utilities nationwide, teaching tried and true customer service tactics.
“Those whose careers have intersected with hers know that Carrie believes she is only successful when those around her are successful,” a colleague said in one nomination.
While at Pioneer, she hosted a miniseries of “StoryConnect” podcast episodes exploring the customer experience. She interviewed seven peers about each aspect of the customer experience:
The miniseries has 768 downloads and continues to serve as a handy storytelling resource for broadband providers.
In the latest chapter of her career, Huckeby serves as executive director of the Tennessee Broadband Association, where she helps 16 utilities across Tennessee work together to strengthen telecommunications services and solutions. At the annual TNBA convention, Huckeby brings together regional and national voices to help her members grow confidently. She continued her work as an advocate for Pioneer members, serving on the Pioneer Board of Directors from 2023-25.
Community Roots
Huckeby helps her local community grow, too. As a founding member of The Power of 100 Warren County, she leads a network of women that has donated more than $470,000 to local nonprofits since 2018.
A flower farmer on a Tennessee state-recognized Century Farm, Huckeby has grown a legacy of giving bouquets to local nursing homes, hospitals, Meals on Wheels homes, first responders and strangers who need a smile in their day.
“A commitment to storytelling excellence is a hallmark of Carrie’s career,” a nominator wrote of Carrie. “But more than that, Carrie’s giving spirit has always been the foundation of the actions she has taken, extending well beyond whatever her job description may be.”
The Dave D’Avanzo Communications Leadership Award
The award is named in honor of longtime communicator Dave D’Avanzo, who was known for always giving, helping and making other people better.
During a cooperative career spanning nearly four decades, D’Avanzo worked at four utilities: Umatilla Electric Cooperative, in Hermiston, Oregon; Claverack Rural Electric, in Wysox, Pennsylvania; Midstate Electric Cooperative, in La Pine, Oregon; and, most recently, Lane Electric Cooperative, in Eugene, Oregon.
He earned top communicator honors for his exceptional work and dedication serving his cooperative on Ruralite magazine. D’Avanzo died in 2020 after a long battle with cancer.
Nominees are evaluated based on communication skills, industry leadership, mentorship and community service.
To be eligible, nominees must have at least 10 years of combined service time employed at telcos, electric utilities, broadband providers, statewide associations or industry vendors and must work at a Pioneer-member utility or broadband provider in a communications or marketing role. Nominations are accepted each spring at pioneer.coop/award.
About Pioneer Utility Resources
Pioneer is a not-for-profit communications and marketing cooperative based in Hillsboro, Oregon. Formed in 1956, it provides agency-style communications services to consumer-owned utilities and affiliated organizations in 46 states. Marquee products and services include 11 consumer magazine brands reaching more than 1.3 million U.S. utility households. The cooperative also provides broadband marketing, social media engagement, responsive website design and hosting, podcast production and custom communications services. Pioneer is built to share member stories.
Pioneer also owns Efficiency Services Group, which specializes in energy-efficiency program support and installation services primarily in the West, and NewsData, which publishes industry-leading, independent newsletters covering the utility sector in California and the Pacific Northwest. Pioneer is also the largest shareholder in General Pacific, a Fairview, Oregon-based electric supply company. Learn more at pioneer.coop.