For our next edition of Lunch and Learn, we'll turn our focus to one of CBAN's newest provider members that's blazed a lonely trail in the state of Wisconsin. Reedsburg Utility Commission has operated a fiber-to-the-home network since 2003. As Wisconsin's only municipal broadband utility, RUC, LightSpeed has a great story to tell! And that's exactly what we'll do when we feature RUC on our Lunch and Learn on May 12th at Noon Central. The Reedsburg, Wisconsin Story
Wednesday, May 12, 2021 Noon Central CLICK HERE to register Hosts: Curtis Dean, Todd Kielkopf, and Jon Anne Will with CBAN Guest: Brett Schuppner, RUC General Manager
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CBAN would like to welcome our newest associate member, The Mike Thissen Group. Michael Thissen is the Founder of the Mike Thissen Group (MTG), A strategic planning firm using innovation and agile facilitation for communities and organizations who want to exist in the future. MTG has a nationwide footprint however the business is focused on the midwest to address the gaps and needs a community might have in going forward. "Communities and organizations sometimes need that outside resource to convene and blend a strategic plan with the realization that THEY are the ones they've been waiting for." Says Thissen. "We pull in the necessary collaborators to complete a living and breathing document for the client to utilize. We assign timelines and ownership and then we follow up so plans do not collect dust as they do so often". Aside from the strategic planning department, MTG is also heavily engaged in start-up innovation and new infrastructure such as broadband and alternative energy to build a sustainable future. Michael has been pivotal in partnering with honest brokers to deliver rural broadband to residents most in need, recently landing a $5.7M project in Southern Indiana. "It is always a team approach as no one person can accomplish the sheer magnitude of the private, public, partnership. We have structured this model to benefit all involved." Michael also works very closely with local SBDC offices to help in business planning and judges entrepreneur pitch competitions as a "hobby". Previously Michael has worked in the public and academic sectors and was the lead part of teams that have won two national awards for innovation & community development. MTG is thrilled to be a member of CBAN and is available for free pre-consulting calls at Thissen@earthlink.net Drumroll please.....CBAN is now 100+ strong and growing! With several new members joining in the past few weeks, CBAN now has 103 members! We now have members from 12 states from California to Virginia! Check out our updated membership roster below. And if you notice a community, provider, advocate, or company missing that you think should join CBAN, please let them know about us and encourage them to join the team! Membership details are at www.broadbandaction.com Community Members1. Beaver Island (MI) Association 2. City of Belmond, IA 3. City of Carlisle, IA 4. City of Charles City, IA 5. City of Denison, IA 6. City of Fort Dodge, IA 7. City of Fort Morgan, CO 8. City of Ionia, IA 9. City of Johnston, IA 10. City of Lone Tree, IA 11. Clinton County, IA 12. Crawford County, Indiana Economic Development Partnership 13. Madison County (IA) Economic Development Group 14. Madrid (IA) Area Chamber of Commerce 15. Mapleton (IA) Community Development Corp. 16. Montgomery County (IA) Development Corporation 17. City of Mount Ayr, IA 18. New Hampton Municipal Utilities (IA) 19. City of Pella, IA 20. City of Randolph, IA 21. Ringgold County (IA) Development Corporation 22. City of Solon, IA 23. City of Tipton, IA 24. City of Treynor, IA 25. City of Van Meter, IA 26. City of Webster City, IA 27. City of Williamsburg, IA 28. City of Winterset, IA 29. City of Woodbine, IA Provider Members1. Algona Municipal Utilities (IA) 2. Allo Communications 3. City of Bellevue (IA) 4. Cedar Falls Utilities (IA) 5. Grand Mound Cooperative Telephone (IA) 6. Harlan Municipal Utilities (IA) 7. ImOn Communications, LLC 8. Indianola Municipal Utilities (IA) 9. Lightspeed (Reedsburg, WI Utility Commission 10. Manning Municipal Utilities (IA) 11. Miles Communications (IA) 12. Osage Municipal Utilities (IA) 13. Ottumwa Fiber LLC (IA) 14. Reinbeck Telecommunications Utility (IA) 15. Rocket Broadband 16. Router12 Networks 17. Spencer Municipal Utilities (IA) 18. iVinton (Vinton Municipal Communications Utility, IA) 19. Waverly Utilities (IA) Advocate Member - Organizations1. Iowa Area Development Group/Ripple Effect 2. Iowa Finance Authority 3. Technology Association of Iowa 4. Makanda Township Citizens Broadband Group (IL) 5. City of Newport News, VA Advocate Member - IndividualsCommunities of residence 1. Ames, Iowa 2. Arlington, Virginia 3. Burlington, Iowa 4. Charles City, Iowa 5. Davenport, Iowa 6. Decorah, Iowa 7. Des Moines, Iowa 8. Des Moines, Iowa 9. Des Moines, Iowa 10. Dubuque, Iowa 11. Elllison Bay, Wisconsin 12. Elgin, Iowa 13. Erie, Pennsylvania 14. Garden Grove, California 15. Harlan, Iowa 16. Indian Head Park, Illinois 17. Johnston, Iowa 18. Madrid, Iowa 19. Maquoketa, Iowa 20. Westminster, Colorado 21. Woodstock, Illinois 22. Gravois Mills, Missouri 23. Savannah, Georgia Associate MembersAs special thank you to these businesses whose support helps CBAN tick! 1. The Bill Menner Group
2. Broadband Development Partners, LLC 3. Calix 4. Consortia Consulting 5. Crystal Clear Communications 6. D.A. Davidson & Co. 7. eX2 Technology, LLC 8. FARR Technologies 9. HBK Engineering 10. HR Green 11. Huntel Consulting 12. ICAN, Inc. 13. Innovative Systems LLC 14. Institute for Local Self-Reliance 15. ISPN 16. Kielkopf Advisory Services 17. Midwest Video Solutions 18. The Mike Thissen Group 19. Monkeythis 20. Nokia 21. Ovation Networks, Inc. 22. Patriot Communications, LLC 23. Power & Tel 24. SmartSource Consulting 25. Tii Technologies Inc. 26. UltraVue Satellite & Security 27. WIN Technology Have you heard of Clubhouse? It's a social networking app that lets people gather in audio chat rooms and discuss various topics. CBAN co-founders Curtis Dean and Todd Kielkopf have been participating in various Clubhouse activities for the past several weeks, and we'd love to see CBAN members join the conversation! One of the things we noticed when we started using Clubhouse was the lack of any broadband discussion. There are Clubhouse "clubs" on about any topic you can imagine, but none that really focus on broadband. So, we have created one! Our club is called Broadband Action and we're in the process of growing the club as THE place to go to talk about better broadband on Clubhouse. Clubhouse is still technically in beta right now, and while an Android version is on the way, as of today it's Apple only. It's also by invitation only for now, but Todd and Curtis have invitations to share if you decide to give Clubhouse a try. Here's how to do it: 1. Drop CBAN an email at hello@broadbandaction.com to let us know you would like an invitation. We'll need your cell phone number in order to send the invitation to you 2. We'll send you an invitation to join Clubhouse. You'll follow the instructions to install the app and set up a free account. You can also download the app and set up an account before you receive an invitation, but you won't be able to do anything. 3. Once you are in Clubhouse, search for the Broadband Action club and ask to join. We'll let you in and you can start participating. CBAN will be hosting rooms about various topics as we move forward. A room is a place where people gather to discuss issues. You can come into the room to just listen or the room hosts can invite you "on stage" to be a speaker if you'd like.
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