July 2 Rural Broadband Webcast From Montrose, Colorado, Features Mayor Roy Anderson, Electric Coop, and Entrepreneurs

Join the FREE National Webcast to Hear How Rural America Can Benefit from Better Broadband

MONTROSE, Colorado, July 1, 2019 – Join an esteemed panel of visionaries, practitioners and entrepreneurs who have successfully used broadband to advance economic development on Colorado’s rural Western Slope.

This is the launch of the Rural Telecommunications Congress’ #ruralbroadband webcast on Tuesday, July 2, 2019, at 1 p.m. ET/11 a.m. MT.

Montrose, a city of about 20,000 and the seat of Montrose County, has empowered its rural community through the deployment of gigabit fiber infrastructure. It’s made use of this infrastructure through civic engagement about the power of broadband to improve the quality of life.

Rural Telecommunications Congress President Drew Clark will showcase the city, the role of the Delta Montrose Electric Association and its Elevate Internet subsidiary, and local entrepreneurs who have made a difference in the lives of the community. The event will take place at on Tuesday, July 2, at 1 p.m. ET/11 a.m. MT at the Montrose City Hall.

While all are welcome to join us at the Montrose City Hall, we particularly invite you to watch it for FREE through the RTC’s national webcast, “Fueling the Fire of Rural Innovation,” and tweet to us at #ruralbroadband.

Register for the event at www.ruraltelecom.org/events.

Panelists:

• Councilmember Roy Anderson

After a career in the computer industry and 35 years in Colorado’s Front Range, Roy Anderson and his wife realized their dream of retiring to Colorado’s Western Slope, choosing Montrose for its beauty, size, climate and the friendliness of its citizens. Since retiring from Hewlett Packard, Roy has managed his own marketing consulting company from Montrose. He can do this thanks to a robust communications infrastructure and the Montrose Regional Airport. He is a member of the City Council, and has also served as mayor of Montrose, a city with a population of 19,132 in the 2010 Census.

• Virgil Turner

Virgil Turner has served as Montrose’s director of innovation and citizen engagement since 2012. Virgil works to drive innovation and improve the value proposition in the provision of public services to citizens and to make Montrose a place where current and future generations can thrive. Initiatives which Virgil is actively working on include broadband, shared services, active transportation, activating public places and housing.

• Kent Blackwell

Kent Blackwell is chief technology officer of Delta Montrose Electric Association and Elevate Internet, its local fiber internet company that provides ultra-fast broadband internet service to the rural homes and businesses in Montrose and Delta counties. A wholly, owned subsidiary of the rural electric co-op, DMEA, Elevate is building a fiber network across all parts of the co-op’s service territory to improve the quality of life. Service offerings include internet speeds starting at 100 Mbps up to 1 Gig, television, and home phone.

• Dennis Lankes

Dennis Lankes is the co-founder and serves as the chief visionary officer for a software platform called Proximity Space. He is a serial entrepreneur who has started more than 12 businesses, including several in the entertainment, e-commerce, and co-working. He has spent the last 16 years on Colorado’s Western Slope, promoting and facilitating economic progress through better connectivity.

Moderator:

• Drew Clark

Drew Clark founded BroadbandBreakfast.com in 2008 to advocate for Better Broadband and Better Lives. A nationally-respected telecom attorney, Clark brings experts and practitioners together to advance the benefits provided by broadband. As president of the Rural Telecommunications Congress, he wants to highlight and promote “best practices” for rural broadband in America.

Sponsored by:

The first Rural Telecommunications Congress webcast will be in Montrose, Colorado on Tuesday, July 2, 2019. It will feature the successes of Delta and Montrose Counties in deploying and using broadband. We are planning to livestream the event from the Montrose Visitor Center/Council Chambers at 107 S Cascade Ave. in Montrose. The event will begin at 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT/11 a.m. MT/10 a.m. PT.

Join us online by registering to attend the online webinar!