The Eastern Plains Chamber of Commerce held their monthly meeting Aug. 2 at Grace Community Church.There were 18 members present with two guests. After brief introduction, the breakfast sponsor, Ben Kley with Falcon Broadband, discussed their business and its recent growth in Colorado Springs and Falcon.Ben provided information on the growing popularity of cloud based services and the need for broadband services. He also shared that Falcon Broadband is continuing to grow around the Falcon and Colorado Springs area, adding many new customers and securing more contracts for new facilities. Ben encouraged everyone to go to http://colorado.gov.pacific/dora-broadband-fund and click on Speed Test to allow them to record your current Internet speed at your address. This information will help local broadband companies get federal funds to provide services to unserved areas across Colorado.Following Benís presentation, Shield616 about Falcon Broadband, the remainder of the meeting was filled with information about Shield616.Jack Skifstad, from Shield616 started his presentation with a moving story about the start of Shield616, a local 501c(3) created to support local law enforcement. Shield616 has two main purposes: ìTo get local officers better gear and better protection against rifle threatsî and to ìbreak down the barrier that exists between local law enforcement and citizens.îJake is a former police officer with the Colorado Springs Police Department and started Shield616 after his involvement in several high-risk situations, including the New Life Church shooting and the Planned Parenthood shooting. Jake realized that the regular patrol officers were ill-equipped to handle the threats against them. So, he developed a user-friendly ìkitî that would allow officers to be better prepared to confront the dangers they face on a regular basis. Additionally, Jake noticed a decline in the normally positive relationship between local law enforcement and the citizens they serve. Shield616 not only collects monetary donations to support the local officers and deputies, but also connects the donors with the officers and deputies. This personal connection helps to create a support network for those officers in the communities they serve.For more information or to make a donation, check out the website at http://shield616.org.Upcoming speakers:Sept. 6 ñ Matt Barrett will discuss Peak Partners Leadership Academy and their partnership with School District 49. Also, Ronnie Wilson will be giving a presentation on the new Liberty Tree Academy, a D 49 charter school set to open in 2018.Oct. 4 ñ The Chamber is planning an after-hours social event in lieu of the scheduled morning meeting. If your business or organization is interested in hosting this event, please contact the chamber board for more information at board@easternplainschamber.com.Nov. 1 ñ Mike Donahue will be the featured speaker and discuss his program, Value Up, which is focused on the issue of teen suicide.If you or your organization would be interested in being the featured speaker for one of the upcoming Chamber of Commerce meetings, please contact the Chamber Board at board@easternplainschamber.com.The Eastern Plains Chamber of Commerce meets the first Wednesday of each month from 7:00am ñ 8:30am at Grace Community Church, 9475 Grace Church View, Falcon, CO 80831.
