Welcome message from the conference chair

Craig Settles, President, SUCCESSFUL.COM

On behalf of Strategy Institute, the conference sponsors and our impressive lineup of speakers, welcome to this strategic planning conference and thank you for attending.

This is an exciting time in North America for pursuing community broadband networks.  A year ago, many projects were put on hold as the economic downturn and general uncertainty prevailed. But now, thanks in large part to economic stimulus grants targeted specifically to broadband, new life has been breathed into hundreds of projects.

Take maximum advantage of these next two days. There are over a dozen speakers from public and private sector organizations with significant expertise and experiences from the trenches on both sides of the Atlantic. They have implemented or facilitated broadband deployments. Learn from them.
There also are the many people attending this conference with you. Exchange with each other ideas, experiences and stories from your respective communities. Though we may be taking different paths, we are all on the same journey to bring affordable, effective broadband to our communities that transform local economies and advance the common good.