Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

RALEIGH – Bringing high speed broadband internet to a rural county takes a lot of painstaking work in the planning and implementation stages.

That work has been accomplished in Gates County due to the efforts of many individuals. Two of those individuals were recognized March 25-26 in Raleigh at the annual Rural Summit.

Dr. Althea Riddick, former chair of the Gates County Board of Commissioners, and Erna Bright, who served as the county’s liaison working daily with contractors installing internet cable, were among those named as Community Advocates of the Year across the state.

Dr. Riddick’s main motivations around broadband and connectivity in Gates County came after the pandemic, when she heard stories about school children completing assignments on school buses with hotspots because they lacked transportation to the library or were totally without the opportunity to have high-speed fiber optic internet in their homes due to the lack of availability in a rural area.

“I’m proud to say that Gates County is now 99 percent covered when it comes to broadband internet,” Dr. Riddick said. “That is one of the biggest highlights of my career as a commissioner.”

In the early stages of attempting to gain support from internet providers, Dr. Riddick said she encountered a few snags.

“But I wouldn’t take no for an answer; I kept pushing, our board of commissioners kept pushing until we finally started to see our efforts pay off,” she stressed. “I was passionate about seeing our county have that type of access to the rest of the world. I see high speed internet as a utility, not a luxury.

“I wanted to make sure the money we received from state and federal grants was being spent the right way to ensure that all 10,400 citizens of Gates County had the opportunity for internet access,” she added.

When asked about receiving the award from the NC Rural Center, Dr. Riddick stated, “I was very surprised, but keep in mind that the efforts I put in were not focused on awards or rewards, but rather what was best for all of our citizens.”

Bright, who lives near Sunbury, has over 40 years of service in the telecommunications industry in northeastern North Carolina. In 2022, he used his vast knowledge of the industry and industry standards to serve the residents of his community and his county in achieving full fiber deployment.

Bright has been a valuable asset to the Rural Center’s Collaborative Broadband Initiative. He has volunteered considerable time traveling throughout Gates County, meeting with fiber crews in the field, verifying service to homes, and providing reports to the Gates County Board of Commissioners. Fully understanding the need for connectivity, he has consistently gone above and beyond to make an impact.

“I kept a close eye on the contractors, making sure that what our county received in state and federal funding for broadband deployment was being installed,” Bright said. “While that work was in progress, I verified it through the maps of where the cable was being installed and I found a few areas that were overlooked.”

As Riddick verified, 99 percent of the county is covered by three internet providers.

“Most counties across the state have 50 to 60 percent coverage,” Bright noted. “For a rural county like us to have 99 percent coverage is amazing. It’s something I never would have believed five years ago.”

The Rural Summit included remarks from Governor Josh Stein, Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt and Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green who joined more than 600 policymakers and advocates at the event. All shared their plans for strengthening rural North Carolina.

In addition to Dr. Riddick and Bright, several others were recognized for their work in infrastructure, health, education and workforce, and business and economic development.

Named as Legislative Advocates of the Year were Senator Dan Blue of Wake County, Senator Kevin Corbin of Macon County, and Representative Jake Johnson of Polk County.

Others named as Community Advocates of the Year were AMEXCAN – an association serving the Mexican and Latino community, Gig East – a technology hub based in Wilson that helps connect the Research Triangle and Eastern North Carolina, David Jackson, president and CEO of the Boone Chamber of Commerce, Jeff Lee, chair of the Macon County Broadband Committee, Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers, Teresa Strom, executive director of the Hot Springs Health Program serving Madison County, and Leonard Winchester, a former teacher and school administrator in Swain County.

The summit also hosted Chris Estes, co-executive director of the Aspen Institute Community Services Group, who shared the group’s Thrive Rural Framework. Senator Sydney Batch and Representative Robert Reeves participated in a discussion about their legislative priorities.

The summit closed with a panel on local finances moderated by Jeff Tiberii of WUNC and featuring Jeff Poley with the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer, Denise Canada of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners and Erica Anderson of the Land of Sky Regional Council.

Since 1987, the NC Rural Center has worked to improve the quality of life for the state’s rural people and places. Their mission is to develop, promote, and implement sound economic strategies to improve the quality of life of rural North Carolinians. The Center serves the state’s 78 rural counties, with a special focus on individuals with low to moderate incomes and communities with limited resources.