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June 15, 2010

Dear Colleagues, Stakeholders and Rotarians,

So much is happening so fast that we thought it would be good to bring you up to date. Please consider this a form of a Blog and add your comments by emailing me back (John Klug at klug.john@comcast.net), which I will act on, or post for others, as appropriate.

Due Diligence Phase
First the good news. Last week the EagleNet Round II grant application was moved into the “due diligence” phase, meaning that we made the first cut. That is a huge step. But it also increases the pressure immeasurably, both time-wise, and in terms of rallying citizen and institutional support to put this application over the top. We thought we still had several weeks to rally support...now that has been compressed.

Presentations and Contacts
1.    Mayor Hickenlooper
A presentation was made June 4, to Denver Mayor Hickenlooper and his campaign manager, Mike Melanson. The Mayor is a quick study and immediately grasped the implications for Denver and the entire state. (You’ll recall that the Mayor is running for Governor). He also immediately emailed Senator Bennet suggesting that he get out in front of this issue. However, we have still been unable to make direct contact with Senator Bennett. Bottom line, the Mayor is a great believer and ally in this effort. Thank you Mayor.

2.   Gary Massaro, Villager Publishing
The PowerPoint presentation was given and the story immediately picked up by the local newspaper in the Greenwood Village area. Thank you Gary.

3.   Dean Lehman
Dean is the current chairman of the Colorado Press Association and president of Lehman Publishing which has newspapers such as the Longmont Times-Call, Loveland Reporter-Herald, etc. We made the PP presentation to Dean, who gave the story to his staff to pick up for his publications. Dean also facilitated on short notice giving the PP presentation to the CPA board meeting last Friday, attended by representatives of major publications from throughout the state. The response was enthusiastic, and several publications also wish to pick up the story, including possibly the Denver Post. Thank you Dean.

4.   Joe Blake, Chancellor Colorado State
Joe received the PP presentation and was most supportive. He will assist by making various contacts to the Congressional Delegation, etc. Thank you Joe.

5.   Rotary District Governors
Bryan Cooke, the incoming DG of 25 Clubs in northern Colorado has been wonderfully supportive, and has sent the PP and sample support letters out to the Clubs in his district. Thanks Governor Cooke.

Peter Jeschofnig, the DG of the southern and western district has been equally supportive, and actually accompanied us to the presentation at the Villager publication. He too will get the info to all his clubs. Thanks Governor Jeschofnig.

We presented the PP to Karen Sekich, the incoming DG of the district that includes the Denver area, who had great suggestions how to improve the impact of the PP, and who also assured the support of her district. Thanks Governor Sekich.

6.   Governor Lamm
The former Governor has received the PP presentation, and has been most helpful. Thanks Governor Lamm.

7.   Kelly Brough, CEO of Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce
Kelly was most appreciative and enthusiastic. She pointed out that it is a major strategic thrust for the Chamber to involve itself in improving education in Colorado. She will be calling the Congressional Delegation. Also will help facilitate a jump to Jane Norton. Thanks Kelly.

Upcoming Presentations
We have been asked to present at various Rotary Clubs throughout the state.

And, we will continue trying to galvanize the Congressional Delegation as/when they are available. (Where are our leaders when we need them??) Especially important is Diana DeGette, who sits on the Commerce Committee. (The Dept of Commerce is the lead agency for the Round II grants.) Also important is Jared Polis with his technology background, John Salazar who represents much of the rural area of the state, Senator Udall, Representative Coffman, etc. If you have contacts with any of our Congressional delegation, it is imperative that you help us get before them ASAP to present the PP and the case for working to push the Colorado Round II grant over the top. (Full disclosure: All but Representative Doug Lamborn of the 5th District have indicated their support in a letter to the Dept of Commerce (See the attached letter) ...but that is a far cry from making calls and actively working to get this grant over the top.)

ACTION:   To obtain links to all the Congressional Delegation for letters, calls, emails, etc., please CLICK HERE.

Action Steps
Links to two versions of the PowerPoint presentation (saved as pdf’s to reduce their file size) are provided as follows. This version will appeal most to Rotarians. This is for non-Rotarians. But the basic facts in both are the same. Take a look at the presentation and tell us if you need us to personally present it to any groups you are involved with.

Also click here for a Sample Letter you can use to send, or have your circle of contacts send, to support this effort.

Finally, click here for an ActionPak that gives you the addresses, and exactly how to send the letters. Two things: 1. PERSONALIZE the letters. A “form” letter does little good. Tell your story. Show how our inadequate broadband in Colorado adversely affects you, your business or institution, children, grandchildren, etc. 2. FAX and/or EMAIL the letters to the places noted in the ActionPak, in addition to sending hard copies by snail mail. That will assure that even if your letter is delayed by post, it will still be timely and effective.

As you can see by clicking on Who Else Supports This?, we have garnered broad support among our Colorado politicians for this project, but of course there are many other worthy projects all around the country competing for these limited funds. Therefore, your letters, phone calls, emails, etc., as requested above are vital to securing the funds for this critical project."

Well, this is a pretty good overview of what is happening. Very exciting. Thanks for everything you are doing...and let’s all work together to make sure that we leave our kids an educational opportunity at least as good, if not far better, then we received from our own parents and forefathers. Until the next update...

Sincerely,
John Klug, Doug McLemore, Grant Wilkins, Seth Patterson, André van Hall and the “Rotary 100 Years” team.