Boerne Town Hall Meeting - Correct Date

Dear Neighbors, My apologies for the typo yesterday. Following is the correct date for the BEC Boerne Town Hall Meeting which I sincerely hope you make every effort to attend: Boerne Town Hall Friday Feb 17, 6-7 p.m. Patrick Heath Public Library 451 N. Main Street Boerne, TX 78006 In addition, see the following story written by BEC and posted to their website (https://joinbec.banderaelectric.com/#Updates) about our efforts: Why Boerne? Don't they already have high-speed internet? 8:52pm February 1, 2017 Many have asked why BEC's first fiber pilot is being built and tested in North Boerne. This is an interesting story. There is an area north of Boerne, on the way to Sisterdale that is in a "dead zone" for any type of high-speed internet. The people who live in this area are BEC members, and have satellite internet and cell phone data as their only internet options -- not unlike many other BEC neighborhoods. A year ago, BEC was not aware of the internet issues in this area. However, one frustrated BEC member and his neighbors took it upon themselves to "rally the troops" to bring high-speed internet to their homes. It all started with a free online petition and neighborhood website, door to door canvasing by volunteers and many emails to BEC. This neighborhood's grass roots efforts caught our attention. BEC called a town hall meeting last summer and the room was packed with these neighbors asking that we listen to their needs and help them to bridge the "digital divide," improving their quality of life. We asked them to get 50% of their neighborhood, and the surrounding neighborhood to sign up, and we promised take the proposal to the BEC board of directors for consideration of a pilot project. This group of grassroots advocates did just that. Within weeks, the Boerne pilot was approved and the BEC Fiber (formerly BEC Broadband) staff hit the ground running! Since then, the interest from other neighborhoods in the BEC service territory has grown exponentially, and BEC introduced this site to help members manage the interest. Just as we did 78 years ago when BEC brought electricity to the area, we are working to bring you high-speed internet. But, just like 78 years ago, it takes time to develop and build the infrastructure. We see the interest keeps growing and we need our member-owners to help us keep the momentum going forward. This is where you come in. Please, attend the town hall meetings, come to the Annual Meeting (Sat, May 20), sign up on this site, talk to your friends and neighbors and please help to spread the word! This is your cooperative and we are here to provide you reliable service and improve your quality of life the best we can.