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Connected Tennessee — the public/private partnership created to expand use of broadband Internet technology throughout the state — is about to kick off its Blount County effort.

Steve Buttry, East Tennessee project manager for Connected Tennessee, will conduct a startup meeting at 2 p.m. June 10 at the Blount County Chamber of Commerce, 201 S. Washington St., Maryville.

The immediate goal is to establish eCommunity Leadership Teams in every county. Technology planning specialists will work with these teams to develop comprehensive technology growth plans that involve a wide range of sectors of the community including local government, business and industry, education, health care, agriculture, libraries, tourism and community-based organizations.

“We chose those sectors because no matter what stage of life, at some point everybody will be involved in one of the sectors,” said Buttry,

He anticipates the primary goal in Blount will be an effort to increase the use of broadband technology both for personal and for business use.

“We want to show that it can impact life in a positive way. We know there’s never going to be 100 percent adoption, but we want to achieve 100 percent access (to broadband technology).”

Buttry indicated that governments in Blount County already have good Web sites, so the focus will likely be on getting more citizens of the county to adopt broadband.
“Blount County, I have a feeling, will be pretty far advanced,” he said.

It will be up to the eCommmunity Leadership Teams to decide what direction to take after the starting point for each sector is determined, Buttry said.

He has already met with Chamber of Commerce leadership and is sending out letters to representatives of the various sectors. However, the meeting is not restricted to invited guests; everyone is welcome.

Buttry represented part of Knox County in the Tennessee House of Representatives for six years, where he shared an office with Rep. Joe McCord of Blount County. After leaving the General Assembly he went to work in his family’s alarm installation and home networking business. He later sold his share of the business and went to work for Pfizer, the pharmaceutical manufacturer, before being asked to join Connected Tennessee.