Jason Smith, CEO, Reflects on 25 Years at Rainbow It’s hard to believe that I’ve worked for Rainbow for 25 years. I’m incredibly grateful for the time I spent at our company, the opportunities I had, and people I met along the way who enhanced my life. The rural telecommunications industry has changed significantly in the past 25 years, and I know it will keep changing. In 1998, Rainbow provided landline phone service to 1,500 locations and was just starting to offer dial-up Internet service with a speed of 33.6 Kbps over a copperbased network. Today, we can provide broadband services with speeds of 1 Gbps and hosted voice services to over 10,000 locations over a fiber-based network. Rainbow’s evolution would not have been possible without the board’s foresight, the leadership of the management that preceded me, and the company’s past and present staff, who have embraced change daily to deliver exceptional service to our customers. I am blessed to be surrounded by great people and look forward to carrying out the company’s mission with them for years to come. Community foundations focus on building and strengthening communities by pooling resources from individuals, businesses, and other organizations to support local initiatives.These foundations are unique because they can serve as a bridge between donors and local organizations, providing a centralized platform for philanthropy and community development. Each community foundation throughout the Rainbow service area hosts a Match Day. Its purpose is to help the foundation raise money for its various funds by collecting matching dollars donated by individuals and businesses. This allows the dollars raised to go further for each fund that receives donations. “Match Day is a way to give back to local nonprofits and funds within the community foundation. No donation is too small to make a positive impact. Last year, there was a child who donated $10 (of her hard-earned babysitting money), joyfully giving to several funds. It brought tears to my eyes to see her thoughtfully ask about the funds and who would be impacted by her donation. What a heart for serving others in need,” said Tory Jost, Nemaha County Step Foundation President. In 2023, Rainbow donated $3,000 in match dollars to each of our local community foundations, totaling $18,000 for Match Days. “We hope this matching fund donation can help make a larger overall impact on our local community groups,” commented Jason Smith, Rainbow General Manager/CEO. Please help our communities by donating during their designated Match Days. Listed below are the local community foundations with their upcoming 2023 dates and where to get details. • South Brown County Community Foundation – July 11-14 – www.growsouthbrown.com • Atchison Area Community Foundation – August 18 – www.allaboardatchison.com • Nemaha STEP Foundation – August 25 – www.steupnemaha.com • Greater Sabetha Community Foundation – November 17-20 – www.givetogrowday.com • Doniphan County Community Foundation – December 1 – www.givewhereyouliveday.com The Hiawatha Community Foundation’s Match Day was May 26-29, 2023. You can see the results at www.givebacktomoveforward.com. Rainbow Donates Match Money to Local Foundations Jason Smith presents a donation to Jackie Petersen and Krissy Torkelson of the South Brown County Community Foundation.
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