A Letter To Our Members
June 25, 2008 Dear Members,
We, the Cape Cod Technology Council, have over the years modified our focus, activities, and direction to accommodate changing circumstance and environment. From the beginning the Council helped bring broadband to the region and remind the world that the Cape is not a technology backwater. In the past few years we have made a tremendous impact on the community. We created and implemented the Unwired Village concept as a model to bring free Wi-Fi to village centers. We were a catalyst for the now maturing OpenCape concept to bring greater broadband opportunities to the Cape. We created the very successful Jr. Tech program for middle school children to learn about science technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and collaborated with educators and businesses around the region to bring STEM pipeline funds to our community.
We have played a leadership role in developing heightened awareness on the Cape that the economy of the region must diversify. We have brought attention to the need for focus on, investment in, and development of, the technology and innovation sector of the economy on Cape Cod. We have provided opportunities for networking with kindred spirits on the Cape to hear interesting and informative speakers. We have done a lot, but there is an imbalance in our stated mission, organization, and funding model.
We are a membership organization. Members draw value from their association with the Council and its successful activities, projects, and events; however, a membership organization must provide direct, as well as indirect, value to its members. At the same time, membership organizations are extremely costly to maintain.
Your Board has been grappling with this issue for some time. The Board has reached a consensus that a fundamental reassessment of the purpose, direction, organization, and resourcing of the Council is in order.
The Board has decided the Council should scale back its activities in order to conduct an assessment and evaluate its future direction. The Board also finds it necessary at this time to reduce its staff time in order to maintain an adequate financial picture during this time of contemplation. With great regret, this will mean the loss of Teresa Martin as CEO and reduced hours for the other paid staff Susan Bloom and Amy Whiteside who have contributed mightily to our many successful projects and events. We are forever grateful to them.
It should be noted that Jr. Tech will continue in full force with its great programming under the leadership of Phyllis Russell. Also we encourage our special interest groups to continue to meet during this period. In the interim, all your emails and calls will be returned as well as benefits such as the website and newsletters will still be active and updated to keep you informed.
During this period the Board seeks and encourages the aid of its members. If you, as a member of the Council would like to participate in setting the future direction of the Council please contact us at info@CCTechCouncil.org. We'll be looking for members and non-members to help guide this process by participating in a series of discussions with the board and members on the future direction and mission of the Tech Council.
The first meeting will be Friday July 25th at 9:00 a.m., the location will be determined by the number of attendees, please RSVP to info@cctechcouncil.org.
Thank you,
Peter Karlson
Chairman of the Board
email: info@cctechcouncil.org
In The News...Broadband Summit II
WOODS HOLE — Universal broadband access is essential for economic development, on both regional and national levels... For more of Cape Cod Times reporter Sarah Shemkus' coverage of the Broadband Summit see her June 27, 2008 article.NEW! Member Announcements
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