By Dr. Ferrell Miller, Club Secretary/Programs Chairperson
At the September 20 Celebration of Optimism, the JC Breakfast Optimist Club learned about the fiber optics project in Junction City. Aaron Wertenberger, Twin Valley’s Strategic Operations Manager, and Josh (Pete) Peterson, Twin Valley’s Sales Manager, were the club’s guest speakers. The presentation was given at the Celebration of Optimism Meeting this week.
Aaron stated that Twin Valley began in Miltonvale, Kansas in 1947. In 2006 the company tripled in size with some changes with Sprint. The company is now in its fourth generation of ownership. In 2021 and following the COVID Pandemic, the priority of having internet became more essential and Twin Valley expanded to Junction City. “This is a $20 million dollar project. We have been overwhelmed by the support of the Chamber of Commerce, civic clubs and other organizations who have welcomed us to the community”, Aaron said.
Pete stated that “the fiber is made of glass and is the size of a hair.” He also said “the current work being done is on the infrastructure to get the fiber optics to individual houses.” Aaron added that “the advantages of the fiber optics to the customers are that it is reliable and not affected by the weather other than power loss, it is more cost effective, and the internet access is faster. Think of it like traffic lanes on a highway. It is the difference between driving on a two-lane highway without fiber optics and driving on an eight-lane highway with fiber optics.” The project will continue through next year.
In another announcement, the JC Breakfast Optimist Club will participate in Match Day on October 17 online or in person at the Municipal Auditorium in Junction City from 7:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. On that day the Greater Geary Community Foundation will match donations at 50 cents on the dollar any donations over $25.00 up to $1,000. The Optimist’s donates $200.00 each year to 18 different youth organizations in Geary County. Match Day donations to the club are important to continue support for those groups.
Some of the local businesses who sponsor the JC Breakfast Optimist Club include Coldwell Bankers/Patriot Realtors; Holm’s Auto Center in Abilene and Salina; NextHome, Unlimited and Re-Max Signature Properties.