Image
Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
John St. Julien, Lafayette Community Leader, Passes
By
on
We learned yesterday that John St. Julien, one of the leading voices behind the strong grassroots support of the LUS Fiber project, passed away on Sunday, January 10. His presence will be missed by us and by the many people he helped through his work to bring better Internet access to Lafayette, Louisiana.
John visited us for the Community Broadband Bits podcast for episodes #19 and #94 to share his advice and experience as a grassroots organizer. John developed the Lafayette Pro Fiber blog in the early days of the the LUS Fiber network fight. The blog helped spread the truth about the network and correct the lies spread by the incumbents. His ability to communicate with the people of Lafayette set the record straight so they could make informed decisions about a municipal fiber network.
When Chris wrote his report about Lafayette's municipal fiber network, he turned to John to learn about the community effort behind the project. Chris had this to say about John and his triumphs:
"I think I met John my second year working on community networks. I had spoken with him several times over the phone and had decided to do a case study of Lafayette. I drove to Lafayette from Dallas and spent an afternoon with him, learning about the struggle against Cox and BellSouth for local self-reliance. Visiting Lafayette while hearing John's stories helped immeasurably to build my passion for this work."
"John taught me many lessons about organizing and compassion over the years. I'm grateful for that wisdom and all the people he shared it with. We will miss him greatly but his work will live on in many others."
John was inspired by his work as an educator. He saw that the possibilities the fiber network offered students in Lafayette were boundless. His work on education and public interest issues did not stop with the LUS Fiber project. John also worked as a co-founder and board member of Power of Public Education Lafayette and he was active for the League of Women Voters. John had worked in education at Louisiana State University (LSU), the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Delaware.
Friends and acquaintances describe John as brilliant, thoughtful, and generous. A colleague from LSU described John:
“He just had a way of bringing complex issues down to earth. He just had such a clear language about him...He was so gentle and had such a presence about him. The world was a better place with him in it. Lafayette is not going to be quite as rich without him. There’s going to be a major voice missing.”
But never forgotten. Thank you for all your work, passion, and determination, John. You have touched more lives than you could ever know.
Photo of John St. Julien courtesy of Scott Bradner.
Related Stories
Initial BEAD Proposals and Five Year Action Plans Come Into Focus
The key for states to unlock their portion of the $42.5 billion in federal BEAD funds is the submission and approval of their Five Year Action Plans and Final Proposal. Today, we will look at two states (Maine and Louisiana) and follow up with the others as we are getting a clearer picture of how each state intends to put this historic infusion of federal funds to use.
New Video: Coalition of Community Broadband Advocates Prevail in Louisiana
Sometimes local coalitions can beat Goliath. To mark the moment of how community broadband won in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, Delta Interfaith, Connect Humanity, and Conexon released a new short video that captures the moving story of how people-power prevailed, beat back the regional monopoly provider, and are now seeing fiber service come to a historically underserved area. While the full build-out of the new network won’t be complete until 2024, the first subscribers are expected to start getting affordable fiber service later this year.
East Carroll Parish Residents in Louisiana Fend Off Sparklight Challenge
Residents of East Carroll Parish are “cautiously celebrating” the decision by Louisiana’s Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity to uphold a $4 million GUMBO grant to bring fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) Internet service to over 2,500 households in one of the most poorly connected parts of the state.
Holland, Michigan Votes to Build Citywide Open Access Fiber Network
In early August, the city of Holland, Michigan (pop. 33,000) voted to fund the construction of a citywide, open access fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network. It’s the culmination of almost a decade of consideration, education, planning, and success, and builds on decades of work by the Holland Board of Public Works (HBPW) and city officials to build and maintain resilient essential infrastructure for its citizens. It also signals the work the community has done to listen to local residents, community anchor institutions, and the business owners in pushing for an investment that will benefit every premises equally and ensure fast, affordable Internet access is universally available for decades down the road.
Louisiana First State to Get BEAD Planning Funds as State GUMBO Grants Get Messy
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced earlier this week that Louisiana will be the first state in the nation to receive federal grant planning funds to help states prepare for the deployment of high-speed Internet infrastructure and digita
First Louisiana GUMBO Grant is Challenged; Project on Back Burner
Louisiana’s broadband deployment grant program, GUMBO (Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities), was announced with great fanfare by Gov.