The City of Lenoir and Google Team-Up on Wi-Fi Project

CONTACTS

Kaye Reynolds, City of Lenoir

828-757-2177 (work)

828-850-5696 (cell)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dec. 15, 2009

The City of Lenoir and Google Team-Up on Wi-Fi Project

Bridging the Digital Divide with Free Wi-Fi Access in Downtown Lenoir

(LENOIR/CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C.) – A group of school children with laptops were joined by representatives from the City of Lenoir, Caldwell County Schools and Google to announce the first-ever launch of the free Lenoir Municipal Wi-Fi Network. This latest development is part of a continuing effort to provide the community with the most cutting-edge technological resources, making Lenoir a leader in its approach to successfully bridging the digital divide.

“Downtown Lenoir will continue to be Western North Carolina’s latest hot spot with today’s announcement,” said Lenoir Mayor David Barlow. “By providing visitors and locals with this free service, they can easily visit our shops, enjoy a cup of coffee, access the Wi-Fi and stay connected, which is increasingly important in our busy lives. What also makes this special is that the Wi-Fi can be accessed from outside sitting on a park bench. Unleashed Internet connection is different than typical Wi-Fi systems. This shows that our town is making a commitment to being a step ahead. With the work from our City employees and having a corporate citizen like Google in our community, the tools and know-how to make this announcement possible was truly a team effort.”

Funding for the Lenoir Municipal Wi-Fi Network, was made possible through a Google gift to the City of Lenoir of $110,348 for the project’s capital costs, which includes the radios, equipment needed to run the network and extra bandwidth for the users. Google also made a separate payment of $15,000 to allow Google to host the Wi-Fi’s landing page (http://wifi.google.com/lenoir/) for three years, and include links to information about organizations in the city as well as Google services. The City is responsible for both the operation and the running of the Lenoir Municipal Wi-Fi Network.

The Wi-Fi announcement is a continuation of Caldwell County Schools’ (CCS) commitment to incorporating computers and technological expertise in the classroom. In February, 150 refurbished, Wi-Fi ready laptops were donated for CCS’ “Lending Laptop” program through a Google Community Grant to seven CCS schools – Davenport A+ Elementary, Lower Creek Elementary, Valmead Elementary, Whitnel Elementary, West Lenoir Elementary, William Lenoir Middle and Hibriten High School.

“Our students must be ready to compete in this 21st century knowledge-based

economy,” said Dr. Steve Stone, Caldwell County Schools Superintendent. “The free Wi-Fi, combined with the “Lending Laptop” program, provides our students with a real-life demonstration for our students to highlight the active role that technology plays in our day-to-day lives. Our efforts have now come full circle.”

The Wi-Fi nodes cover a one-half-mile radius (one-mile diameter) roughly centered at the intersection of West and Main Streets. There are currently 13 access points deployed around Lenoir. When you connect to the Wi-Fi, your browser will take you to a landing page and there, you’ll see instructions and terms of service to access the Wi-Fi.

“Google is strongly committed to providing our data center communities with access to the most up-to-date information and resources,” said Tom Jacobik, Google’s Operation Manager in Lenoir. “Putting in the Wi-Fi program is a team effort, involving our many community partners and the Googlers at the data center. The families, school children and visitors to our community will benefit greatly from this new service, which we are thrilled to have funded. Employees with the City of Lenoir will do a great job operating and servicing the Wi-Fi network.”

The Lenoir Municipal Wi-Fi Network was made with the support of several city and county staffers and departments, including the City of Lenoir’s Public Works Department, which provided the facilities and labor to perform the installation and placement of all access points. Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care, Caldwell County EMS, the Lenoir Police Department and the Lenoir Fire Department allowed their buildings to be used as access points.

For more information about Lenoir Municipal Wi-Fi Network, please visit http://wifi.google.com/lenoir/. For more information about Google, please visit www.google.com/lenoir.

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Inaugural Community Block Party Benefit Raises Awareness, Funds

Nearly $1,000 raised and more than 2,300 canned foods donated to support the Lenoir Soup Kitchen and the Caldwell County Yokefellows, Inc.

The first-ever Community Block Party Benefit, held Sept. 19 in downtown Lenoir, connected local families and friends together for fun, food and charity. The result was a stronger community and nearly $1,000 raised to feed and clothe those in the region who need it most.

Google and the City of Lenoir co-hosted this inaugural event to help stock the shelves at the food bank and raise awareness of the needs of those in the community. Proceeds benefited the Lenoir Soup Kitchen and the Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc., area non-profit organizations, which are experiencing record increases for their services. More than 2,300 canned/boxed food items were collected.

Though the event, which included live music from area bands, a bouncy house, face painting, balloon art, a raffle and other surprises, was free and open to the public, attendees were strongly encouraged to donate canned or boxed-food items. Each item was redeemed for a ticket towards activities. Those who brought 10 canned/boxed food items, received a wristband. If they forgot to bring a food donation, select downtown businesses sold wristbands for $5 each.

Several hundred raffle tickets were purchased to win an iPod, a Netbook, Wii, solar device charger and gift baskets, to name a few. The raffle was sponsored by the Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc. and the Lenoir Soup Kitchen. Raffle prizes were provided by Google that matched proceeds from the raffle at $1,000 for each organization.

The Caldwell County Chamber of Commerce, the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission, the Lenoir Uptown Business Association (LUBA), representatives from the City of Lenoir's police, fire, emergency management and health departments were among other community organizations that provided assistance for the event. Abigail's, Corner Creamery, Chix with Stix, F. Futs and Company, Java Joe's, Rococo Rionel and Kicks-FM 103.3 radio are among companies that also contributed to the success of the event.

For photographs from the event, please visit http://idek.net/Vhh.

About the Lenoir Soup Kitchen

The Lenoir Soup Kitchen serves between 70 and 130 plates a day. From January to August of this year, 19,000 plates have been served, an increase of 2,000 plates from last August. For more information, please call 828-758-1411.

About the Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc.

The Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc. provides low-income citizens with emergency food, clothing, household goods and financial assistance primarily for fuel, utilities, rent and medical needs. This year, the Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc. has made more than 8,700 assists (681 financial assistance assists; 670 food donations; 217 clothing vouchers and 7,200 clothing and household items sold at the thrift store) – up 30 percent from last year. For more information, please call 828-754-7088.

Caldwell County Nonprofit for At-Risk Youth Receives Google Community Grant

Caldwell Friends, Inc. (CFI), a nonprofit organization that provides programs for at-risk youth, has received a $15,000 Google Community Grant from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation to purchase computers, equipment and supplies to support its technology literacy and mentoring programs.

“With the Google Community Grant, we will be able to provide young people in our community with an updated computer lab to assist with their homework and research projects," said Tana Murray, executive director of CFI. "Our youth come from homes where access to computers and the Internet is not always available. It is our goal that these tools will assist youth in developing their computer skills and their knowledge of the Internet for future success.”

With the supervision of the youth's adult mentors, the computer lab will be available for their use during afterschool and weekend hours. CFI hopes that the computer lab will also increase the grade point averages and the computer literacy skills of their participants. CFI is an after-school one-on-one mentoring program in Caldwell County and the only mentoring resource for the area's court system. Adult mentors and the staff provides assistance to youth by enhancing their social skills, improving their cognitive skills through dialog and listening and serving as role models and advocates.

"CFI is just another example of how successful programs, involving area community partners, can be an effective tool to help our young people who need it most,” said Tom Jacobik, Google's Operations Manager for North Carolina.

The Google Community Grant comes from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation, which offers donor-advised funds and other grant-making vehicles, as well as professional philanthropic advice.

For more information about the Google Community Grants Program, go to www.google.com/lenoir and visit the "Community Outreach" page. Interested parties can submit an online application through this Web page on or before the first day of each quarter (January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1). All grant applications must be submitted online.

ABOUT CALDWELL FRIENDS, INC.

Caldwell Friends, Inc. (CFI) is a community-based 501C3 nonprofit organization providing adult mentors to at-risk youth ages 6 to 17. CFI was established by a grant from the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in July 1983, with a mandate to serve 17 to 22 youth per year. In July 2006, CFI began providing the mentoring component for the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, which expanded the program to 21 to 26 youth per year. Sixty percent of the youth are referred by juvenile court, law enforcement or school resources.

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Entrepreneurship Program for Caldwell County

Philanthropy Journal
April 9, 2009
Communities In Schools of Caldwell County received $30,000 from Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation. In partnership with Caldwell County Chamber of Commerce, Caldwell County Schools and Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute, grant will be used to develop community's first school-based entrepreneurship program, "Business 101: A Blueprint for Teen Success."
http://www.philanthropyjournal.org/nc/nccharitablegiving/entrepreneurship-program-caldwell-county

Caldwell Arts Council Receives Google Community Grant

N.C. Arts Council
March/April 2009
The Caldwell Arts Council received a $7,000 Google Community Grant from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation.
The Google Community Grant will be used to provide technology education to arts non-profits in the region. The Caldwell Arts Council will be trained in the use and application of the many Google products and in turn will become the trainer of the products to other arts non-profits across Western North Carolina.
The Caldwell Arts Council is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to establish and maintain an awareness and appreciation of cultural arts in Caldwell County by encouraging participation in a variety of arts events, promoting the arts, by cultural planning for the community, and by offering various educational opportunities and administrative services in support of artists, arts agencies and audiences. www.caldwellarts.com
http://www.ncarts.org/email/MarApr09/

Caldwell County Schools "Lending Laptop" Initiative

WHKY
Feb. 24, 2009
Google is teaming up with the Caldwell County School District to provide laptops for students on an overnight check out basis. This effort is part of our mission to make sure that data center communities receive technological assistance and resources that we can provide. Google donated 150 laptops for the “Lending Laptop” pilot program that is being developed by the Caldwell County School District. The school district will be in charge of the program's oversight and implementation. Google will provide technical assistance and advice, as needed.Read more at http://www.whky.com/news.asp?mode=detail&articleID=6187.

Shelter Home of Caldwell County Receives Google Community Grant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Ken Thomas
KennethDThomas@Gmail.com
336-455-3619

Lenoir, Caldwell Co. Nonprofit Receives Award for Technological Upgrades

(CALDWELL COUNTY/LENOIR, N.C.) – Feb. 16, 2009 – Free Internet access and computers are now available to those in Caldwell County who are in need of a helping hand. The Shelter Home of Caldwell County, a nonprofit organization that serves the needs of domestic violence and sexual assault victims, received a Google Community Grant of $12,000 from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation. The Google Community Grant was used to acquire 10 computer systems, two printers and network equipment.

The new hardware was purchased from Lenoir-based ComputerScope (www.computerscope.com) and Google data center employees Don Dresser, Enoch Moeller and Nicholas Snowden installed the systems.

Shelter Home’s Executive Director Melissa Teague explained that seven of the new systems replaced obsolete and incompatible computers that were being used by the shelter’s staff, and three are being used to provide basic computer training to residents of the shelter.

“These systems will help make our staff much more efficient in the future - but we’re especially excited to be able to provide, for the first time, the benefits of Internet access to our clients," said Teague. "This opens opportunities for job training, educational advancement and house hunting for our clients as they work to build a new life.”

Ken Thomas, a member of Shelter Home’s Board of Directors, explains “We are also exploring ways that Shelter Home can use some of Google’s other offerings, such as Google Applications and applying for Google AdWords. When we launch our new Web site, we think it could be a good product to increase our organization’s exposure in our education, recruiting and fundraising efforts."

Caldwell County resident Tom Jacobik, Google's Operation Manager for North Carolina, adds "Through the Google Community Grants Program, local nonprofits like Shelter Home of Caldwell County, can benefit from the technical know-how of our data center employees. We are committed to helping to address the needs of our local community that supports our data center."

The Google Community Grant comes from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation, which offers donor-advised funds and other grantmaking vehicles, as well as professional philanthropic advice.

For more information about the Google Community Grants Program, go to www.google.com/lenoir and visit the "Community Outreach" page. Interested parties can submit an online application through this Web page on or before the first day of each quarter (January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1). All grant applications must be submitted online.

Attached Photo: Press Release Photo - SHCC-07FEB09.jpg
Photo Caption: From left to right - Google volunteers Don Dresser, Nicholas Snowden and Enoch Moeller are pictured with Melissa Teague, executive director of the Shelter Home of Caldwell County.

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The Cool Gig at Google

The Charlotte Observer

The Cool Gig at Google

By Jen Aronoff
Feb. 8, 2009

LENOIR- It has twentysomething guys in jeans and T-shirts playing pool and video games within view of a beer tap, abundant racing-themed decor and some of the tightest security imaginable.

Is it a bar? Someone's top-secret man cave? Nope. It's a workplace: Google's data center here in the N.C. foothills, about 70 miles northwest of Charlotte.

And amid economic upheaval, it's evidence that distinctive workplace cultures and perks can persist, even as a range of companies sacrifice benefits and look to cut costs.

“We are very cognizant of the economy, and we have done a bit of scaling down,” data center manager Tom Jacobik said. “But it hasn't prevented us from giving employees the right tools to do their jobs.”

In Google's culture, that goes beyond a desk and a computer, as a recent visit to the Lenoir workspace made clear. It marked the first time the Mountain View, Calif.-based Internet search giant had opened one of its highly private data centers to a media tour.

That's partly because of an ongoing effort to be more open, and also because the Lenoir work area was not completed until December, said Matt Dunne, the company's U.S. manager for public affairs. The warehouse-sized hall of computers processing search requests and other data remained strictly off-limits, in a burly-guys-in-polo-shirts-guarding-the-doors kind of way.

The center, which was announced in January 2007 and held an opening ceremony in May, is expected to eventually employ about 200 people. The company declined to say how many work there now. It's one of at least four rural centers Google has and was lured with more than $250 million in state and local incentives.

The bright, open work area is located on the building's second floor, with large windows offering a view of the Blue Ridge mountains. It's accented in red, blue, green and yellow, and has a racing theme in homage to Carolinas heritage – think checkered flags, race car pieces on the wall and conference rooms named for NASCAR tracks. The setting is a far cry from the furniture and textile plants that long formed the economic backbone of the area, which has struggled with high unemployment most of this decade.

Employees can play Rock Band on an Xbox and 46-inch flat-screen television, shoot pool at a locally made custom table, play pingpong and foosball, shoot Nerf guns or sit in a black leather massaging chair. Free snacks, drinks and coffee are always available, and lunch from a different local restaurant arrives around 1 p.m. On Friday afternoons after work, Googlers can gather at a bar area and chat with colleagues over company-provided beer.

Employees say the laid-back atmosphere offers stress relief and socialization. For the company, it leads to workers that are devoted and focused during long hours, keeping hundreds or possibly thousands of computers humming with hardware, software, ventilation and electrical acumen.

Such a tradeoff gained favor in the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, but in years since some firms have winnowed their perks. Google has kept them, with officials noting the upfront costs of buying games and decor and the recurring food and drink expenses are small compared to the long-term payoff.

The benefits encourage the creativity that will keep the company moving forward, Jacobik said. “That's what has gotten us to where we are now,” he said. “We didn't want to lose that startup feel.”
Google has been comparatively spared by the recession. Its revenue increased 31 percent to $21.8 billion in 2008. Earnings were roughly flat at $4.2 billion.

But it isn't immune. The company's stock is down about 26 percent in the last year, compared with 30 percent for the Nasdaq as a whole. The company has also reined in hiring, laid off members of its recruiting staff and delayed the opening of a data center in Oklahoma. It's also trimmed some lightly used perks such as the 4 p.m. tea at its New York office and the high-end video production studio at its headquarters, Dunne said.

More dramatic cuts, however, would alter Google's identity and not help it survive in the long run, Dunne said.

Companies across the country are grappling with the same dilemma, trying to hold onto what defines them while also weathering the economy. Often, they have little choice but to cut: 92 percent of human resources executives surveyed last month by placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said their companies were initiating cost reductions.

Several other local companies known for distinctive workplace cultures said they, too, were trying to preserve their amenities.

Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, a Taylorsville furniture manufacturer, continues to offer a chef-run cafeteria, free gym and indoor walking track, and a concierge-like center that offers services such as car service drop-off, cards, gifts and DVD rentals for its more than 650 employees. The on-site day care just celebrated its 10th anniversary, spokeswoman Eloise Goldman said.

The benefits have helped attract and retain high-quality workers, she said, and remain worthwhile even as the home furnishings industry has been hit hard and people might be willing to accept lesser working conditions.

“If you started stripping away some of those things, it would take away who we really are,” Goldman said.

Tech-oriented companies have led the way with relaxed workplaces. Those such as LendingTree and Microsoft, both of which have local offices, say that remains a key part of their culture. Neither plans changes right now: LendingTree's bean bag chairs, pool and foosball remain, spokeswoman Allison Vail said, though employment at its Ballantyne office is down to 450, from a peak of about 1,200.

Back at Google, a Boston terrier belonging to data center technician Jennifer Crump rocketed by – yep, dogs are allowed here – while employees gathered for lunch. Among them was systems administrator Aaron Joyner, who had just wrapped up a videoconference with three other offices.

Joyner, 30, a Kernersville native, has worked for Google about four years, including at its headquarters in California. In addition to analyzing software problems, he's developed formidable foosball skills (“to the point that no one will play me,” he notes).

Googlers get plenty of free T-shirts, and his feeling about the atmosphere, he said, is best summarized by one he wore when recruiting employees for another data center. “When,” it says, “was the last time you wanted to jump out of bed and go to work?”
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/522587.html

*Photo credit: Technicians Logan Anderson (shooting) and John Hall (left) play a game of pool to unwind and refresh during work at the Google Data Center in Lenoir. Google employees' workspace is littered with toys and diversions. The goal is to foster creative discussions among the technicians. PHOTOS BY JEFF WILLHELM

A Glimpse Inside Google

Lenoir-News Topic
A Glimpse Inside Google
By Paul Teague
Jan. 29, 2009

A pool table with the company name emblazoned on the felt. Offices designated by the names of NASCAR race tracks. And, yes, security akin to the protection of the coveted treasures at Fort Knox.

Google offered local media representatives a first peek inside its Lenoir data center Wednesday, providing a glimpse of the work - and play - of the people who are the driving forces for the Internet search and applications giant.

Located off Morganton Boulevard along Harrisburg Drive and Overlook Drive, the data center is a part of Google's planned $600 million investment in Caldwell County. From the outside, the alabaster facade is punctuated on one side by the building's intricate cooling systems for Google's banks of computer servers and an outdoor basketball hoop on the other.

Beyond the walls, the Lego-inspired colors of the company accent the railings and the furniture of the second floor home of the Googlers. A racing theme dominates the sprawling, convertible area that blurs the line between where the labor ends and the mental relaxation begins.

Google Operations Manager Tom Jacobik said the NASCAR motifs - which include sheet metal from Sprint Cup and Nationwide cars, a cutout photo of the late Dale Earnhardt and a copy machine known as Junior Johnson - serve a purpose.

"We've tried to really be adaptive to some of the things that are intrinsic to this area," Jacobik said. "This provides an opportunity to get a local feel to our area."

Jacobik noted that Google has made an effort to purchase products, including the "Google-Lenoir" felt-lined pool table, from local businesses. The catered food in the break room, delivered this day from downtown Lenoir eatery Piccolo's, also is provided by local companies. Google, which received generous tax breaks from Caldwell County, Lenoir and North Carolina to locate here two years ago, also has made itself a part of the community in other ways with grants to local charities and civic organizations.

"We're trying to keep things in the local area," Jacobik said. "It's more beneficial for us to do that. The community has rolled out the red carpet for us, and we know that."Of course, life at Google does not revolve solely around bank shots, Nerf gun battles, XBox 360 video games and Lucy, a staff member's Boston terrier who roams the floor. The employees spend a majority of their time in the intensive, in-depth world of computer code and applications processing. And what might appear to be play, Jacobik noted, also could be the inspiration to the solution of complex conundrum.

"We believe the conversations that take place (on the floor) are just as beneficial as the ones in the conference rooms," Jacobik said. "If you don't give them some other outlet, they are going to fry on what they do."

When meeting times arrive, Google personnel assemble around tables with yellow- and red-backed chairs, sort of like a grade school lunchroom for techies. Known as the Garage, the area can be cordoned off by an automatic overhead door to conduct internal seminars or video conferences with other locations in Google's worldwide network, including the mother ship in Mt. View, Calif.

The challenge for Google, as with all companies fighting through the severe national recession, is to remain on the cutting edge of the Internet age. The company still dominates Internet search, grabbing a 70 percent share of the domestic market in December, more than triple struggling rival Yahoo. Meanwhile, Google's stock price, which fell more than 60 percent from its all-time high, has rebounded in recent days thanks to another solid earnings report."We know the dynamic of technology is changing," Google U.S. Community Affairs Manager Matt Dunne said. "We need to be prepared at lightning speed."

And in examining Google's meteoric rise from a Stanford University dorm room to the pop-culture phrase, "I Googled it," perhaps the racing ideal indeed does fit. In little more than a decade, the company has lapped better-known or now-defunct challengers, many of whom arrived at the track far earlier. While the pace at first blush may seem oddly pedestrian to the uninitiated outsider, the reality of Google's turbo-charged, 24/7 operation within an ever-evolving Internet shows no sign of reaching anything close to resembling a finish line.
http://newstopic.southernheadlines.com/index.cfm?section=86&story=10308