RollaNet Annual Meeting

October 4, 1998, 2:00p.m.

First CyberFair, Lion’s Club Park, Rolla

 

Welcome RollaNet members and guests. We are pleased you are here today to celebrate our accomplishments, pay tribute to our late co-founder Arlene Pagano, and recognize our volunteers and staff. We hope you have fun with both new and old friends. We appreciate your support!

We hope you are enjoying the first ever, CyberFair! Our deepest gratitude to those who worked to make this possible. Thanks also to the vendors and exhibitors for their displays.

Meeting Agenda
  1. History and Growth of RollaNet – see attached

  2. Financial Report: January—September, 1998

    3. $55,556 Beginning Balance January 1, 1998

    $91,705 Donations

    $109,666 Total Expenses

    $33,675 Equipment

    $39,525 Contract Employees

    $22,557 Modem lines

    $13,909 Administrative Expenses

    $37,595 Ending Balance September 30, 1998

  3. Unveiling of RollaNet’s BIG, NEW PROJECT—pick up brochure from our membership booth
    1. Description of project: A public center, at 7th and Pine Streets in downtown Rolla, to house a dozen or more PCs, printers, scanners, specialized software and other accessories, all with high speed access to the Internet
    2. When will it open? We will announce the opening date within the next couple of weeks. There is a good chance we will open our doors in October.
    3. Naming the center: Our volunteers and staff decided to run a contest, from our homepage, to solicit your ideas for naming our new center. Keep watching www.rollanet.org for details! UPDATE: Check here for contest and survey.
  1. Recognition of Volunteers
    1. Certificate of Appreciation Recipients

    Richard Altheide

    Meg Brady

    Randy Carnahan

    David Fannin

    Steve Laub

    Jerre Mills

    Nathan Neulinger

    Steve Skelton

    Scott Sorrell

    Ben Strehlman

    Phil Thompson

    Connie Uetrecht

    Dan Uetrecht

  1. Arlene Pagano Award – see reverse

Presented by Rolla Mayor Joe Morgan, posthumously to Arlene Pagano. Received by husband Syl Pagano, and daughters Patti Carlson, Mary Schaefer, Laura Pagano, and Nikki Pagano.

 

RollaNet History Highlights

1994-Aug. Meg Brady and Arlene Pagano meet in a hallway and decide to pursue the dream of providing equitable access to the Internet for the greater Rolla area.

1994-Sept. Randy Carnahan, Ben Strehlman, Richard Altheide, Dan Uetrecht, David Fannin, Steve Laub, Mike and Janet McKean, Catherine Riordan, Philip Thompson, and many others, forming the core team, set in motion the activities needed to make this dream a reality. RollaNet is incorporated as a non-profit corporation in the State of Missouri.

1994-Nov. A fully operational test system is established, demonstrating to the greater community the ability of this team to succeed in their mission. Demonstrations to key organizations in the area and fundraising plans for the $50,000 needed to establish a production system are made.

1995-Jan. Fundraising begins in full force. 30 charter members, mostly working volunteers, use the test system for email communication. The beginnings of our valuable online information resources take shape. In April, PCRMC commits to $20,000 to purchase a high-end server and several modems, making it possible for RollaNet to open its "online doors" to a growing number of charter members.

1995-June RollaNet services are available to the general public.

 

1995-Oct. With 351 charter members, 16 modems, and the HP server, RollaNet closes charter membership and begins the current sustaining structure of residential and organizational and public memberships.

1996-June Online for one year, 850 members enjoy access to the Internet through email, web pages, usenet news, and other services through 48 modems.

1996-Aug. RollaNet loses co-founder Arlene Pagano. The momentum Arlene established for us does not falter, however, and we continue to build, expand, and improve.

1997-Jan. 1049 members strong, with 96 modems online, RollaNet is well established. Fiscally stable enough to sustain all non-staffing expenses, the addition of contracted employees is made to improve the consistency of support services.

1997-June Doubled the server capacity with a second HP.

1997-Dec. Obtained our own Internet T-1 link, serving nearly 2000 members on 144 modems.

1998-June 3 years online, we have grown our modem bank from 3 to 192 modems.

1998-Oct. Membership now reflects 2600 members. Of these 2600 member accounts, 24 are for volunteers/staff, 351 are charter members, 164 represent organizations, 1328 are residential/household accounts, and 743 are free public accounts.

The Arlene Pagano Award

Established October 4, 1998

RollaNet, in honor of their leading founder, Arlene Pagano, has established The Arlene Pagano Award. A plaque naming all recipients of this award will be hung in the RollaNet center on Pine Street in Rolla. On the plaque are these words:

"With rapid advances in the development of online computing across the nation, Arlene Pagano had the vision to make this new world of the Internet available to all who lived in Rolla and the surrounding area. Along with a dedicated group of volunteers, she served as the catalyst that ensured public access to the Internet for this area with the founding of RollaNet in 1994, establishing Rolla’s leadership role for community networks in the state.

In recognition of the inspiration she provided through her untiring service to the advancement of their goals, the Arlene Pagano Award is presented to that individual or organization who has made a significant contribution to RollaNet’s mission."

 

 

 

The RollaNet Mission

RollaNet is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax exempt, corporation whose mission is three-fold:

  1. To provide the greater Rolla area with a collective repository for local information and access thereto.
  2. To provide leading edge information technology resources for educational, social, and economic development in both the local and global spectrum.
  3. To provide equitable access terminals, free dial-up access to the Internet, and coordinated training opportunities.

 

RollaNet

P.O. Box 2021

Rolla, MO 65402

(573) 364-0852