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Golden Leaf Grant

County projects funded
Golden Leaf gives $2.25 million for training, internet

By SCOTT BAUGHMAN  Daily Courier Staff Writer

RUTHERFORDTON — More than $2.25 million in direct assistance was awarded to local projects in Rutherford County on Friday, as the Golden Leaf Foundation made the long awaited announcement of which efforts they were going to fund.  “This is a great day for Rutherford County,” said County Commission Chairman Chivous Bradley.
“Some exciting things are going to be accomplished not just today but for a long time to come as a result of these awards.”  Golden Leaf grants as part of a special program to help out underserved counties like Rutherford were announced for a job training program at Isothermal Community College and a plan to extend broad­band Internet access to every home in the county through Foothills Connect.  ICC will receive $800,000 for job training focusing on construction and craftsman jobs, while Foothills Connect received $1,450,000 to help with the broadband pro­ject.
Although County Commissioners had ranked their top three choices of projects and 18 proposals were submitted to Golden Leaf, only these two were awarded grants.
“The Golden Leaf Foundation is excited to fund projects that will equip Rutherford County with the tools needed to be competitive in today’s job market,” said Valeria Lee, President of the Golden Leaf Foundation.  “The community was passionate about funding these projects because of the positive impact they will have on the economy and the opportunity to increase technology availability and job readiness skills.”
Isothermal’s plan for trade skill training will focus on making that education available in a more flexible manner, and on a different timetable than the traditional two year college degree. “So many folks are out of a job or they’re  making less money than they did a few years ago,” said Thad Harrill, Director of Customized Training and Development, as he accepted the award for ICC. “We want to help people on the road to eco­nomic recovery and one way to that is to give people the skills that employers will pay well for. We decided we needed to do this in a more flexible plan, including a short term classes that get people ready to work in the most efficient way possible.”
Golden Leaf officials were also beaming with pride to announce one of their largest grants ever to help Foothills Connect bring broadband Internet access to the county.
“You’ve got to have connectivity to help level the playing field,” said Golden Leaf repre­sentative Mark Sorrells.  “Having this ultra-high speed connection is essential to being one of those in-demand communities. And I want to recognize your local county commission for having the foresight and the understanding to know that this project would affect the entire county. They were the ones that said we should get the people involved from the very beginning.”
After recognizing a long list of local leaders who worked on the broadband project proposal, Sorrells finally called Foothills Connect Chairman Fred Bailey to the podium.
“A friend of mine was com­plaining to me the other day about how slow dial-up Internet connections were,” Bailey said. “He told me he was trying to buy something online and the transaction took so long to complete that his credit card had expired. Those days will be but a memory thanks to this grant. This project will strengthen our fire departments and police departments. And it will make ultra-high speed Internet access a reality in Rutherford County. There will be a baseline of connectivity available to everyone that is the same speed as Digital Subscriber Lines are now, and a higher level of access that will be faster than the T1 connec­tions we see now.”
Senator Walter Dalton had these closing remarks, “ This is a great day for North Carolina as it shows Golden Leaf at its very best. This ultra-high speed access is the right way to go.    Knowledge is power and this will help our students be on a level playing field with the rest in the state and the world. It truly will bring our county into the 21st century.”

The community was passionate about funding these projects because of the positive impact they will have on the economy and the opportunity to increase technology availability and job readiness skills.  Valeria Lee  President/Golden Leaf Foundation

Sen. Walter Dalton (left) and Foothills Connect Board Chairman Fred Bailey (right) accepted a grant of $1.45 million for Foothills Connect’s broadband access project from Mark Sorrells of the Golden Leaf Foundation.