MARCH 2014
7
business
solutions
BLUE VALLEY GIVING
TREE MAKES WISHES
COME TRUE
2013 marked BVTC’s 18th year of
running the Blue Valley Giving Tree, a
gift-giving program for those in need.
This year the program assisted with
making Christmas wishes come true
for 363 local individuals. The program
reaches out to area agencies, schools,
and churches in Marshall, Nemaha,
Pottawatomie, and Washington counties
to ensure all families have access to Giving
Tree applications.
For the families included in the program,
each family member’s name is written
on their own Christmas card and those
cards are put on a Blue Valley Giving Tree.
These trees are distributed throughout
the Blue Valley service area, with BVTC
being the “hub” for all the gifts to be
returned and distributed.
Angie Armstrong, Marketing Supervisor
at BVTC, says, “Blue Valley donates em-
ployee time for the program, as well as
generously filling wishes on the cards
that don’t get adopted. It’s an amazing
program and we couldn’t do it without
the support of our generous patrons.
Let me tell you, Blue Valley is the place
to visit around Christmas if you want
your cup to overflow with holiday spirit
and giving!”
For more information on the BVTC
Giving Tree, contact Jada Ackerman
at 785-799-3311.
B
VTC, along with our service area, was named a paradigm winner of the Smart
Rural Communities award by NTCA - The Rural Broadband Association. In
July 2013, rural providers from across the country submitted applications to be
recognized as Smart Rural Communities. These applications were reviewed and vetted
by a panel of experts from the fields of telecommunications, software and technology
services, education, health care, and finance.
At a gathering of more than 1,000 leaders of rural telecommunications providers hosted
by NTCA, BVTC was honored with an award for deploying and leveraging advanced
technologies to enable innovation. “BVTC’s service area is a prime example of the power
of a broadband connection and a steadfast commitment to growth and prosperity,” said
NTCA Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield.
NTCA represents independent, community-based telecommunications companies in
rural and small-town areas in the U.S. that focus on innovation. The NTCA Smart Rural
Community program promotes rural broadband networks and applications that, according
to the NTCAwebsite, “communities can leverage to foster innovative economic devel-
opment and commerce, blue-ribbon education, first-rate health care, cutting-edge government
services, robust security, and more efficient energy distribution and use.”
Any community can be a Smart Rural Community. The path that a community takes toward
this goal should reflect that particular community’s needs. NTCAworks with industry
leaders to create pilot smart rural communities and toolkits to assist providers and their
communities in these efforts.
For more information about the NTCA award, including videos,
visit bluevalley.net/smart.
BVTC Wins Smart Rural
Communities Award
We’re honored to be recognized
for our technological contributions
BVTC employee Emily Ford
Back L to R: Rachel Strunk, Emily Ford, and Jada Ackerman
Front L to R: Angie Armstrong, Brian Thomason, and Candace Wright
