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A Miracle League on the Home Field
[Author’s Note: This post is dedicated to the late Shawnie Ellis and the people he inspired to bring Challenger baseball to Moreland Little League. The positive impact of that effort, and efforts like what is described below, on the buddies, their coaches, and the families, last long beyond the baseball field. Those efforts add empathy…
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From Marine Biologist to Grassroots Spirit Award Winner – #TIS22
One would not expect a former marine biologist to win the 2022 ACA Connects Lyn Simpson Grassroots Spirit Award. But serving local communities, which is the essence of that important award, is in Marty Carollo’s blood. His grandfather brought cable television to his part of “The Equality State” in 1956 and Marty grew up in…
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From Broadband to Economic Development to Philanthropy & Beekeeping
What a pleasant surprise to see retired ACA Connects Chairman, Bob Gessner at the 2022 Independent Show. It was Matt Polka’s retirement that spurred Gessner to make the trip to Orlando. At TIS22 and in the above interview Gessner had some moving words about Matt and his 25 years as ACA Connects’ leader. Gessner has…
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Doing It Her Way – A Conversation with the Chairman of the Board, Patty Boyers
Whether it is at the Independent Show or the ACA Connects Summit, a highlight of these conferences is catching up with Boycom president and ACA Connects Chairman, Patty Boyers. In the above interview, filmed at TIS22, Boyers explains why she chose the moniker, Chairman. It has been a particularly busy time for Boyers as she…
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Navigating Rural Broadband Funding in a Sea of Uncertainty – #TIS22
“We actually saw a pretty sizable, almost 30% increase in prices for all of our equipment,” says Ross Petrick, GM & CEO of Garretson, South Dakota-based, Alliance Communications. Speaking at the 2022 Independent Show, Petrick explains some of the financial challenges of expanding broadband to unserved households in rural South Dakota. At almost $7,700 per…
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A New Horizon of Midwestern Connectivity via FTTH
With announcements about fiber expansion happening every day, it was refreshing to catch up with a local service provider that has been on the leading edge of technology deployments for decades. The above interview with Jim Capuano, CEO for Horizon, and Misty Tuttle, General Manager of Business Operations for Horizon, echo the words of retired…