MAKE a JOYFUL NOISE Sacred Harp Convention Celebrates 100Th Year
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ConnectedSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 Published for customers of MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE Sacred Harp convention celebrates 100th year GOING NATIVE YEAR IN REVIEW Locals develop app to Check out the notes from help businesses thrive the annual meeting INDUSTRY NEWS What is your broadband story? Rural Connections BY SHIRLEY BLOOMFIELD, CEO The internet touches so many parts of our society, but how does it personally NTCA–THE RURAL BROADBAND ASSOCIatION impact you? We are looking for stories of people who use their broadband internet connection in ways that enhance or improve their lives. Do you: g Subscribe to monthly box services such as Blue Apron (food), Stitch Fix Talk to candidates (clothing), BarkBox (dog goodies) or Made South (products made by Southern artisans)? g Publish books online? about the impact g Run a home-based business? g Create or stream video through Facebook Live, Periscope, Blab or YouTube? of rural broadband g Play online games such as Minecraft, Call of Duty or Destiny? ith just two months until g Take online classes through a community college or university, or courses Election Day, you have the through Khan Academy, Lynda.com or Treehouse? attention of candidates for We want to hear from you! Visit www.howdoyoubroadband.com and W national office. Those running for U.S. share your broadband internet story with us. We may contact you to be Senate and U.S. House of Representatives featured in a story for this magazine. want you to know why they are best suited for the job, and chances are you will have an opportunity to attend a town hall meet- Broadband: It’s a matter of health ing or similar gathering soon where you can hear them speak and share with them Rural health care is among the many Indeed, Maggie Elehwany, vice presi- your concerns. important factors driving our com- dent of government affairs and policy for Earlier in the year, NTCA reminded mitment to build a robust broadband the National Rural Health Association, both parties leading up to their national network. agrees, saying, “Not only do you need the conventions that broadband is vital to Writing in The Huffington Post, health appropriate internet connection, you need enabling all Americans to participate in economist Jane Sarasohn-Kahn recently the appropriate bandwidth to do various a vibrant national economy — and that it stated that “broadband is now a social types of telehealth.” promotes civic engagement and critical determinant of health. Without connectiv- How much of an impact can broad- access to essential services. Investments in ity to internet clouds, data platforms and band internet service have on a person’s rural communications touch all segments telemedicine channels to specialists, rural health? Quite a bit, apparently. “Only a of the U.S. economy. In fact, the biggest health care providers and others in under- portion of the public’s health,” Sarasohn- benefit actually goes to urban America served communities will not be able to Kahn writes,” is attributable to genetics.” when a rural communications provider provide evidence-based care in ways A full 80 percent is attributable to access invests in their networks. that can scale in economically sustain- to care, environment and health behav- That message is even more powerful able ways using 21st-century digital and iors, all of which can be impacted by when it comes from you. It is so important telehealth technologies.” broadband. to your communities that our national government supports rural broadband. Factors that determine health NTCA has developed the fact sheet on Access to Care 10% the following page to help you share that Broadband connectivity Genetics 20% message. Please use this information when can impact communicating with candidates. Tell them Environment 20% your local telecommunications provider is 80% dedicated to building a strong connected of the factors that future, but they need their help to ensure Health Behaviors 50% determine a person’s health. continued success. See you at the polls! Source: IFTF; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2 | September/October 2016 know your numbers! Fact sheet for discussing the impact of rural broadband with your elected officials High-speed internet access improves lives and benefits of rural broadband access. has a positive impact on the economy, education With 20 percent of Americans living in rural and health care, according to recently released communities, it’s crucial to keep these areas up research. to speed. Luckily, advocates such as NTCA–The “The Economic Impact of Rural Broadband,” a Rural Broadband Association are boosting the recent report released by the Hudson Institute efforts of independent telecommunications and and commissioned by the Foundation for Rural broadband providers nationwide to deploy high- Service, reveals the many economic and social speed services to schools, libraries and more. September/October 2016 | 3 FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER Connected SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 VOL. 20, NO. 5 Connected is a bimonthly magazine Watch out for that tree published by Farmers Telecommun- ications Cooperative, © 2016. It At moments like these I run the real risk of going completely off the is distributed without charge to all deep end in terms of my frustration with certain aspects of technology. customers of FTC. Frankly folks, that is not good for the leader of a technology company. I am supposed to be cheerleader-in-chief for all that connected devices can do for you, but let me be perfectly candid. There are times when I simply cannot believe where our attachment to these devices leads. Many of you will remember the familiar jingle. “George, George, George of the Jungle — Watch out for that tree!” Seems as though George always got FRED JOHNSON distracted and forgot to watch where he was going. That may have been FTC is a member-owned corporation Executive Vice President funny on the screen, but the present reality is a bit darker. and General Manager dedicated to providing communications A few hours ago I received an alert from the strategic business technology to the people of Northeast partner that aids us in assisting U.S. law enforcement efforts. The alert Alabama. The company has more than concerned the security and personal danger posed by the current video craze “Pokemon Go.” It 15,000 access lines, making it the state’s was the first such alert related to a consumer game I have ever received from them. If you haven’t largest telecommunications cooperative. heard about “Pokemon Go,” I strongly urge you to immediately become familiar with it. The most sensational headlines involve reports of people so engrossed in playing the game on their cellphone Farmers Telecommunications that they literally walk out into the street into traffic or, as at least one case was reported, off a cliff. Cooperative, Inc. As unfortunate as those incidents are, there is an even more widespread and sinister danger. Make P.O. Box 217 • 144 McCurdy Ave. N. sure that you and your children understand that if mishandled, unintentionally or not, the game may Rainsville, AL 35986 pose a threat to your phone, all of the data on it and more important, to your personal safety. Call me Telephone: 256-638-2144 old-fashioned, naive or just plain paranoid, but why anyone would give a world of complete strang- www.farmerstel.com ers access to almost everything there is to know about your life and your present location is simply beyond my comprehension. BOARD OF TRUSTEES This is really part of a much bigger societal change we are all undergoing. About a week ago, I Randy Wright, President introduced my wife to a little corner of my business world. As we strolled through a particular space, Flat Rock Exchange I invited her to observe the number of connected devices in use and the interaction of the people Garry Smith, Vice President using them. She hadn’t done that in a while and was, frankly, amazed. It is absolutely unreal the Fyffe Exchange degree to which these devices and their content impact the way we now interact with one another. Danny R. Richey, Secretary Simply put, electronic connected devices influence and control an amazing amount of our life. There Geraldine Exchange may be a temptation to see yourself as isolated from this world, especially if you don’t have a smart- phone, but don’t kid yourself. If you surf the web, use a credit or debit card, visit a doctor or ever Lynn Welden, Treasurer Bryant Exchange get a prescription filled, you would be startled to learn how much data actually exists in cyberspace regarding your life. Kenneth Gilbert I realize these words are not exactly inspirational or uplifting. They are probably alarmist. But Pisgah Exchange can we get real for just a moment? Did you ever expect to read about people being so engrossed in Gregg Griffith a video game that they would actually walk out into a street in an attempt to capture an imaginary Henagar Exchange character? That’s not fiction. That’s reality. My goal for this article is actually quite simple. In two Randy Tumlin points, PLEASE: Rainsville Exchange 1) Treat all technology with the same caution you would a complete stranger. If you would not hand your wallet, camera, house keys and a file containing all your bank records to a hooded Produced for FTC by: stranger on a dark street simply because they asked you nicely, then don’t trust any of this informa- tion to a smartphone app from anything or anyone other than a trusted and reputable source such as your bank. A Content Marketing Company 2) Remember, there is never, ever such a thing as a free lunch.