Best Rural Employee of the Year - Richard Blackburn of Airband

Airband Community Internet specialises in delivering superfast connectivity to rural and hard-to-reach areas. Site acquisition manager Richard Blackburn is the face of the company on the ground. Based in Devon, one of Airband's key deployment areas, Richard has to forge and nurture relationships with site owners that can facilitate the best deployment of the network and deliver the best possible benefits to the community. He oversees the setting up of all the key network sites, and has built up a reputation for his negotiation and problem-solving skills, as well as his friendly manner and can-do attitude.