The partnership of a nonprofit health organization and local electric cooperative is making sure everyone who needs it has access to the internet in Jones County.
A ribbon cutting for the project was held Aug. 19 at the Morris Bank Recreation Complex and brought state senators, state representatives and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to Jones County to celebrate.
CareSource is a nonprofit managed healthcare organization that offers a variety of healthcare plans and programs.The organization serves consumers of Medicaid, Marketplace and Medicare.
Tri-County Electric Membership Corporation was officially chartered Dec. 28, 1939, as the result of a group of rural farmers and homeowners from Baldwin, Jones and Putnam counties who decided to bring electricity to rural middle Georgia.
Tri-CoGo was established in 2021 with the same idea, but this time it was bringing broadband to those rural areas.
Jason Bearden, market president for CareSource Georgia, welcomed everyone to the Aug. 19 event and spoke of the $40,000 investment by CareSource to the Tri County EMC Foundation.
“This donation is for the purpose of expanding internet access. The funding targets rural areas,” he said.
Bearden said the access will help with online education and help bridge the gap to ensure better outcomes and better healthcare for people in Jones County.
The president said CareSource also collaborated with Jones County Family Connection with a $10,000 contribution to purchase 35 Chromebooks given to Jones County High School students who needed them the most.
Greg Mullis, the chief operating officer for Tri-CoGo, said three years ago a group of people asked their cooperative to help with internet connectivity. He said two years later, Tri-CoGo has run 1,500 miles of fiber, serving more than 8,000 customers.
“Everyone gets gigabyte speed at the same price because we are all in this together. I’m really proud of that,” he said.
Mullis said the coverage is still growing, adding 3% of new customer growth each month.
“The question we get most is ‘When can I get it?’” he said.
The speaker said it is exciting to partner with CareSource to put something together for those who lack the financial means or cannot receive service because they are geographically too far from cooperative lines.
Mullis said there will be four diverse locations available for access centered around the recreation center. He said people can pull up in the parking lot, scan the QR code and get a gigabyte of service.
He thanked Lindsey Bridges with Tri-County and Joy Carr with Jones County Family Connection for placing the devices in people’s hands.
“I’m so proud of the work Joy is doing,” he added.
Mullis thanked Jones County Administrator Jason Rizner for his collaboration to make the project work. He also thanked his team at Tri-CoGo, who works hard to make the technology work.
“We can put these access points almost anywhere we have service, and you can connect 500 phones or laptops to just one of them,” he said. “Thank you for the partnership.”
Jones County High School CTI Coordinator Margie Thompson also thanked Carr for her partnership in getting the Chromebooks.
“These laptops are a vital and will bridge the gap against student and technology barriers as they seek continuing education,” she said.
Thompson talked about several of the 35 seniors who received the Chromebooks. She said the students were in challenging situations and did not know where they were going to get a computer for school.
“Most of them grew up in a household where life was not easy,” Thompson said.
Jones said he was glad to be back in the county he represented as a state senator for 10 years. He thanked CareSource for their partnership and recognized State Sen. Rick Williams and State Rep. Ken Vance, who were in attendance.
Jones also talked about Carr, who he said was usually at the center, making things happen in Jones County.
“I want to thank all the partners who made this happen. This is just another example of why Jones County is such a great community,” he said.
