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JCC Information Technology Dean to Represent County as e-Champion

January 8, 2002

Darryl McGraw, dean of Information Technology at Johnston Community College, has been named as "e-champion" for Johnston County by the e-NC Initiative.

The e-NC Initiative, a grassroots effort to connect all North Carolinians to the Internet, has announced local technology champions in each of the state's 85 rural counties. The e-champions will work with e-NC and steering committees in their counties to develop plans for educating local populations about technology and increasing public access to high-speed Internet service.

The e-champions are part of the e-communities program, a $6.3 million community outreach effort designed to assist rural counties in making high-speed access and training a reality for their communities. The ultimate goal of the program is to create a fully connected state, and e-NC made of e-communities. The effort includes surveys to determine needs; awareness and training projects; support services; and grants to assist with planning and implementation aimed at removing the digital divide.

County officials designated the local technology champions, who recently attended a training session in Raleigh to discuss the details of their roles and identify planning resources. They are charged with marshalling community support, leading countywide needs assessments, and working to implement changes to meet community needs.

Each rural county will receive a $10,000 e-communities planning grant once its e-champion and county leaders name a steering committee. In the majority of cases, county officials will act as fiscal agents for the grant funds. In a few instances, the local community college will act as fiscal agent.

In early 2002, e-NC will provide each e-champion with the results of four research initiatives, undertaken in 2001, to assess counties' technology readiness. The results will provide a county-by-county picture of what technology infrastructure is available and how citizens, local governments and health care organizations are using the Internet. The information from the research initiatives will help e-champions to lead counties in identifying local needs and developing strategic plans for extending high speed access and training in their communities. The e-champions are expected to complete plans for their counties by April 2002. Rural counties will be eligible for additional grants for implementation of the plans in June 2002.