As originally posted in the Blandin eNews…
Stirring the Pot
Over the past two weeks and in the near term future, our Blandin team gets the pleasure of hearing our Blandin Broadband Communities’ teams “Strut Their Stuff.” These presentations are a chance for them to reflect and report on their activities of the past twenty months. From team formation, planning, project development and implementation, they all have great stories to tell and results to show. A common phrase that we love to hear “We are not done yet!” The accomplishment list and the to-do list seem to grow in tandem, possibly with the to-do lists growing a bit faster as the communities see an expanding list of possibilities. These teams are implementing projects that have real impact on their communities with both old and new leadership. When one person is given accolades, their response is to always point to others who deserve the credit. The Blandin on Broadband Blog has been reporting on these meetings so I encourage you to check out the details on their accomplishments. http://blandinonbroadband.org
Our Blandin team looks forward to even more fun in the upcoming months; that is, selecting our new Blandin Broadband Communities. We hope that it is a difficult task to choose among many communities that are ready to pursue this type of initiative. Your community could be a city, a county, a tribe, a region, a telecom provider service area – whatever makes sense to you and your team. Be ready to make a commitment to making things happen. With a quick organizational and planning phase, our Blandin Broadband Communities quickly move into project development, funding and implementation. One extremely positive aspect of the work that our communities have accomplished is silo-busting. Even in smaller communities, our BBC’s are partnering in new and exciting ways with organizations down the street and across the state. http://broadband.blandinfoundation.org/programs/programs-detail.php?intResourceID=3168
For our BBC and MIRC alumni, we will be expanding opportunities to continue in partnership. I am very much looking forward to that!
More program and application details are included in this newsletter and online so check out the details there.