We are excited to welcome Broadband Services Coordinator Luke Burkhart to the Paulding Putnam team! Luke brings over 30 years of experience in internet and communications—and he's a Paulding Putnam Electric member!

Here's a fun Q&A  with Luke to help our members get to know the newest member of our Paulding Putnam family. 

Tell us a bit about your family and where you're from. 

"I've spent nearly my entire life in primarily the Ottoville and Fort Jennings areas, with all but two years in Auglaize County in Wapakoneta. I met my wife, April, on a blind date in November of 2002. After a whirlwind six-week courtship, we got engaged that Christmas and married in April 2004. Together, we have three children: Lillian, 20, Ella, 18, and Wyatt, 16. Our family also includes two pitbull puppies, Kyra, 8, and Sophie, 4. 

We reside on a two-acre homestead between Wetzel and Ottoville, just inside Van Wert County. There, we run a small operation providing fresh produce, eggs, breads, and other goods to our community, fostering connections through our shared love of sustainable living."

Why did you want to work at Paulding Putnam?

"My passion for the internet and communications industry began in the late 1990s, starting on the operations side before transitioning to the vendor side for the past 18+ years. During that time, I traveled extensively nationwide, collaborating with various broadband companies and cooperatives. These experiences deepened my admiration for the cooperative model’s unique culture and commitment to its members. 

As a long time member of Ottoville Mutual and later, since 2017, a member of Paulding Putnam after moving to our current home, I’ve personally experienced the cooperative difference in electric service as well. This solidified my enthusiasm for the cooperative world. When I learned that Paulding Putnam was expanding into fiber services, I saw a unique opportunity to contribute my over 20 years of expertise in the internet and broadband industry to an organization I deeply respect.

After months of patience and prayer, I’m thrilled to be here, ready to serve with the Paulding Putnam family and help deliver the cooperative difference to our members and the communities we serve in fiber broadband services."

Tell us about your work history.

"Before joining the team at PP, I served as an Account Executive at ISPN, LLC in Lenexa, Kansas for over two years. In this role, I traveled across the country, collaborating with sales, marketing, and operations teams to deliver support solutions that created win-win outcomes for broadband providers, their customers, and ISPN. My focus was on maximizing the customer experience, ensuring all parties benefited from tailored, effective solutions.

During my time at ISPN, I had the privilege of meeting incredible people in the broadband industry, building on the relationships I had cultivated in my previous role at Com Net, Inc. (CNI). At CNI, I spent 16 years in a similar sales position, fostering strong client connections and driving business growth through technology solutions.

My career in the internet and broadband industry began on the Operations side of internet back in September 1997 during my senior year at Ottoville High School when I accepted a part time job helping on the support side for the local bright.net office in Fort Jennings, serving Putnam, Van Wert, and Allen counties. Starting with dial-up internet, I progressed through the evolution of ISDN, Fixed Wireless, and DSL technologies, gaining deep operational expertise. In November 2006, I transitioned to Com Net, Inc., where I further honed my skills in sales and client relations.

Returning to my roots in operations at PP feels like a natural fit. I deeply value the relationships I’ve built over the past two decades and am excited to nurture existing connections while forging new ones with the PP team and its members."

What will you be doing here at Paulding Putnam?

"Well, the job summary goes as such:

1. The Broadband Services Coordinator plays a vital role in the day-to-day operations of broadband services. This position is primarily responsible for coordinating and scheduling fiber installations, managing business-class broadband accounts, and supporting the delivery of managed services. The coordinator acts as a central liaison among internal departments, field technicians, and external partners, who provide after-hours support and network monitoring.
2. As a new member of the PPEC family, I’m still refining my goals as I settle into my role, I do have several key objectives in mind however:
   1. Broaden my expertise in the electric utility sector: I aim to deepen my understanding of the electric side of PPEC’s operations to become a well-rounded team member, complementing my existing telecommunications experience.
   2. Streamline broadband integration processes: I plan to collaborate with NISC and ISPN to finalize the auto-provisioning integration between their systems at the earliest and most feasible time available. This will simplify the service order process for our team, enhancing efficiency and customer experience.
   3. Develop data-driven goals: Once I have a clear grasp of the key performance metrics and expectations for broadband deployment, I will establish additional targeted goals to support PPEC’s objectives.
   4. Build and nurture relationships: With onboarding largely complete, my immediate focus is to connect with our vendor partners and strengthen those relationships. Equally important, I’m eager to engage with our members and business partners at events like Member Appreciation Day in July. Building these connections now will lay a strong foundation for fostering trust and collaboration as we prepare to roll out active fiber services this summer/fall."

What are you looking forward to?

"I’m thrilled to return to my roots in operations and excited about the opportunities ahead at PPEC. I look forward to contributing to a deployment that will bring high-speed fiber broadband to our communities, providing new options for those without access and offering choice to those currently limited to a single provider. My focus is to be an integral part of the PP team to deliver exceptional services and customer experiences, not only as we have historically with the PP electric services but also in the PP fiber broadband offerings. Options empower our communities, and I’m committed to ensuring no one feels constrained by a lack of choices or reliance on a single provider."

What are some of your hobbies and interests outside of work?

• "Homesteading – ducks, chickens (meat and eggs), baking fresh artesian breads, etc..
• Soccer Officiating for USSF and OHSAA
• Travel – everything from hiking in the forests and mountains of Alaska and Tennessee to strolling along the beaches of North Carolina and Florida."

A fun fact about you?

"A fun fact about me is I am a board member of Christians in Communications.  Christians in Communications started out as Christians in Cable and then rebranded to Christians in Communications a few years back.  I have been involved for a couple years now and volunteered at Prayer Breakfasts and other CIC events when I was able to attend.   It is through CIC I have had the privilege in life to meet and share testimonies with not just many fellow Christian brothers and sisters in the communications space but also on occasion some more well-known people like Kevin Sorbo, Karen Abercrombie, and last year Ricky Skaggs.  Some great experiences indeed, but the true joy I find in being a part of CIC is the creating of opportunities for Christians to have dedicated time for fellowship and prayer in conjunction with Internet/Communications industry events."

A favorite quote or motto that inspires you or that you like to live by?

"When someone asks how you are doing, I like to use this: 

Living the Dream… because dreaming to live sucks… or dreaming to live is no way to live at all. 😉 

This perspective reminds me that, no matter how challenging life may seem, my struggles are often first-world problems compared to the hardships faced by our brothers and sisters overseas and even some areas here in the USA. I choose to embrace every moment, living the dream rather than dreaming to live, knowing we have just one life on this earth before returning home. My goal is to make every moment count, uplifting others and spreading positivity with every breath I’m given, to help make the world a brighter place."

Anything else you would like to add?

"2 quick items:

• My oldest Daughter, Lillian, recently got engaged and April and I are excited for her and the future ahead for here and her fiancé Adam.
• After over 28 years in the vendor space, collaborating with cooperatives nationwide, I am deeply honored and blessed to join the PPEC family and contribute directly to our cooperative mission. I’m thrilled to bring my experience to this role, particularly in supporting our fiber broadband deployment, which will enhance connectivity and opportunities for our members and communities. Thank you, PPEC, for this opportunity to serve and make a meaningful impact together for our member owners and the communities that we serve."

Welcome to the Paulding Putnam family, Luke!