Lake Beauty Bible Camp in central Minnesota is where Josh Carlson learned the value of giving back. Now the cooperative broadband installation supervisor is coming full circle, helping build a fiber-optic network for the popular retreat with donations and volunteers.
“Camp was a place where I learned that volunteering is where I get the most joy,” said Carlson, who joined Litchfield-based Meeker Cooperative Light and Power Association four years ago. “I really appreciate what camp did for me.”
Surrounded by deep forest, the buildings, dorms, cabins and offices that dot the 616-acre camp are far beyond the service territory of Meeker and its broadband arm, Vibrant.
But when a local telephone co-op won a state grant to serve the remote area, Carlson wanted to make sure LBBC had everything it needed to get connected quickly and as cheaply as possible.
He leaned on his co-op experience and planned a fiber backbone to connect the entire campus with a single hookup. Then he reached out to his list of friends and industry contacts, who responded with offers of donated material and muscle.
Blandin on Broadband
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