Breakfast Offers Glimpse at New Internet Service
HUNTINGTON, IN May 3, 1996 --- The Huntington College Foundation will hold its last monthly breakfast of the academic year on Wednesday, May 8, in the Habecker Dining Commons. The featured speaker for the breakfast will be John Paff, public relations director at Huntington College and president of the newly-formed Huntington County Community Network.
The Community Network is the result of more than a year of effort by Paff and a diverse group of Huntington leaders. Representatives from area schools, libraries, government agencies, Huntington Memorial Hospital, and the business community formed a strategic alliance in 1995 to bring the resources of the Internet to Huntington County. Together, they successfully pursued a start-up grant from Access Indiana. The grant program is an ongoing public-private partnership initiated by Governor Bayh to create a statewide data network and make the educational resources of the Internet available to all citizens.
The non-profit Community Network will offer three key services. First, it will sponsor a site on the World Wide Web devoted to information about Huntington County. At the breakfast, Paff will demonstrate the information the group has created thus far. Already, computer users around the world can access information from the County Department of Health, various United Way agencies, the Visitor's Bureau, the Dan Quayle Center and Museum, and many other local entities.
"People will be able to see for themselves what a wonderful place Huntington is to live, work and raise a family," said Paff. "We see our Web site as a great means of tying the community together and promoting Huntington County to the rest of the world." At the breakfast, Paff will explain what steps the group is taking to expand on-line information about Huntington County.
A second key service offered by the community network will be dial-up access to this local information and to the global resources of the Internet. The Community Network will be the first to offer a local telephone number for accessing the Internet from Huntington. At the breakfast, Paff will describe the various subscription plans available to home computer users.
Third, the Community Network will seek to improve the technological infrastructure of Huntington County. The Community Network will offer high-speed "tail circuits" from its central hub in the Huntington City/Township Public Library. These circuits will connect high-volume users to the Internet and to the state-wide information network created by Access Indiana. Huntington College is the first to acquire a dedicated Internet connection from the Community Network.
"Our aim is to support the technological initiatives of our schools, libraries, local businesses and government agencies," said Paff. "We can accomplish much more by working together than by standing alone."
The Huntington College Foundation has sponsored a monthly breakfast for area business leaders since the 1950's. Breakfast lines will open at 7:45 a.m. The program will end by 9 a.m. The cost of the breakfast is $3 at the door. First time guests may enjoy breakfast and the program free of charge.
