Local Leaders Credited at Event
It was a day of celebration Thursday, February 5, as state and local officials gathered to mark the achievement of providing high-speed internet access to nearly 100% of LaSalle Parish as part of the federal and state government’s broadband initiative that began in 2020.
As the Covid-19 pandemic exposed severe internet shortages throughout the nation, specifically in rural America, the federal government set aside billions of dollars to fund internet initiatives in states.
The Louisiana Legislature established the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Broadband Development & Connectivity (ConnectLA) and former Gov. John Bel Edwards tapped Veneeth Iyengar to lead the organization to get rural areas of the state high-speed internet access.
LaSalle Parish was ahead of the game, as noted by state officials last Thursday, with the LaSalle Economic Development District (LEDD) leading the effort to be one of the first parishes to receive millions of dollars to begin the installation process. Those early steps also led LaSalle to be one of the first parishes to become nearly 100 percent complete.
All of the local and state officials took a few moments last week to recognize those who had a part in seeing the fast internet installed in LaSalle as the ConnectLA team toured several parishes in its celebration tour.
“LaSalle Parish was the first stop we made back in 2021so it is only right that it is our first stop celebrating its (the program’s) success,” Iyengar said.
As of last Thursday, only 320 homes or businesses, mostly in very rural parts of the parish, do not have high-speed internet access. Before the program, there were 6,850 homes and businesses without large broadband access. (Work is currently underway to get access to the remaining 320 locations.)
The reason LaSalle Parish was ahead of the game, as noted by the state officials, was due to the work of LEDD. As soon as it was learned that the federal government was providing money to fund high-speed internet projects in states, LEDD began a proactive and aggressive campaign to unite all parish agencies and governing bodies.
“In September 2020, we held our first parish wide discussion about broadband internet at Hardtner Medical Center in Urania,” LEDD Executive Director Cynthia Cockerham said. “We discussed the issue of rural broadband, the needs of the parish and how to best be proactive on the topic.”
From that meeting, LEDD formed a special LaSalle Parish Rural Broadband Committee consisting of members Blake Phillips (Chairman), Laurel Comeaux, Robyn Smith, Walter Dorroh and Cynthia Cockerham.
That committee immediately went to work and within three months had every governing body in the parish, including the LaSalle Parish Police Jury, LaSalle Parish School Board, the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians and all municipalities pass resolutions of support for the broadband project and designated LEDD as the lead agency or point of contact for the entire parish.
Those parish bodies were also instrumental in that they allowed their broadband federal grant monies to be used as part of the incentive package to obtain the million-dollar grants needed to secure the vast internet projects for LaSalle.
In March of 2021, LEDD hosted their annual “A Greater LaSalle Luncheon” where the focus was once again on rural broadband internet. Over 70 people attended the event, including the newly appointed Iyengar. It would be the first of his many stops in LaSalle which would become one of his signature success parishes of the entire program.
Many LaSalle Parish residents remember that in May of 2021, speed test fliers were distributed across the parish and promoted on social media. These internet speed tests, performed by thousands of parish residents and businesses, were instrumental in winning the much-needed grants as it showed the severe high-speed internet deficiency in rural LaSalle. A second similar test was conducted six months later as the final grant applications were prepared to be submitted.
On October 27, 2021, LEDD hosted a final preparation for GUMBO applications meeting at the Jena Band of Choctaw Center in Trout, which was the first meeting of a 22-town tour conducted by Iyengar and his office.
Shortly thereafter, LaSalle Parish was informed of the grants they received, and construction of new broadband and fiber optic internet highways began. The celebration last Thursday showcased that over 95% of LaSalle Parish now has high-speed internet access.
“I think it was exactly five years ago that we kicked things off right here in this room,” Representative Gabe Firment said during the event. “There were some skeptics in the room at that time, but hey, I think we’re all believers now.”
Firment also commended LaSalle Parish’s leadership, noting that “LaSalle Parish really is the gold standard for how to cooperate and how to be a cohesive team to accomplish a goal. And I think the first people we should thank is LEDD, Blake (Phillips), Cynthia (Cockerham), Walter (Dorroh) and Tom (Kendrick). Their leadership was really critical to getting this done. I’d say Tom’s expertise and Blake’s persistence were instrumental.”
The District 22 State Representative also pointed out that the LaSalle Parish School Board, led by their lead grant writer Robyn Smith, was the only school board in the entire state to be awarded funding.
“That Nebo project kicked off this project and from there the police jury took a leap of faith, under leadership of June Fowler, to make that investment to incentivize Swyft to make us one of the first parishes that they started in,” he said.
Firment recalled for the crowd last week a conversation he had with LaSalle Assessor Tom Kendrick when the program was first introduced.
“He said that if we don’t do anything else in the next five years but get broadband throughout LaSalle Parish, then we would have accomplished something great,” Firment said. “Boy, how fulfilling it is to see that celebrated today.”
District 32 State Senator Glen Womack noted that the completion of LaSalle’s project was about investing in the future of LaSalle and its residents.
“This is not only for LaSalle, but for the state of Louisiana,” Womack said. “It is going to pay big dividends going forward for our schools, for our youth and for everybody involved.”
District 20 State Representative Neil Riser noted that LaSalle Parish’s high-speed internet connectivity is a monumental achievement that will allow the parish to excel in unforeseen ways.
“This is really a gateway, an enabling agent that I think we’ll look back on and it will be like, say, when the color TV was introduced,” Riser said. “It (high-speed internet) is really that great of innovation, especially in this day with all of the AI stuff coming. It’s no long Star Trek stuff – it’s really here. The next five years everything will be growing exponentially, much faster from this point on.”
Iyengar was very complimentary of the La-Salle officials for their hard work in having the project a success and noted the LaSalle Parish is a testimony of what can occur when people work together for a common cause.
“Broadband digital infrastructure is one of those rare things where in people’s lifetime, you could go from advocating for something years ago to seeing it a reality today,” he said. “When we see people actually getting connected (highspeed internet) and we get to see the difference its making, it’s a big deal. It’s a good day.”
“It was important to us to ensure that the most rural household in LaSalle gets the same level of access and connectivity that someone who lives in Baton Rouge, New Orleans or Louisiana has,” he continued. “We only have 320 left in LaSalle, but the money’s not going to be an issue. We are partnered with Swyft so the job will get done.”
For more information about ConnectLA, visit connectla.gov.
For more information about LEDD, visit agreaterlasalle.com.
They also have social media accounts under those same names.
