Huber named BRT's first director

The new director of the Blue Ridge Telecenter (BRT) plans to meet soon with a broad cross-section of county residents, giving and receiving information on how the telecenter can benefit the local economy. Phred Huber was selected by the BRT board as the center's director in late November. Huber said the telecenter will open next month at its temporary location, the former Sheets Jewelry on Main Street in Sparta, with a grand opening planned for Jan. 10.

In late September the N.C. Rural Internet Access Authority (RIAA) awarded Alleghany County a $650,000 grant for the Blue Ridge Telecenter. BRT officials have projected total first-year cost at $2,141,000, including funds from other grants, such as the $125,000 awarded in mid-September for the Community Technology Learning Center.

The Town of Sparta and Alleghany County have agreed to share the $250,000 cost of purchasing the former Bassett-Walker building, which is to become the BRT's permanent home late next year. The county became the official owner of the building Dec. 19.

Part of the telecenter will be set aside to house a customer-service call center employing as many as 75 people. For the last several weeks, BRT officials have been seeking to recruit a client for such a call center, attempting to woo one potential client in particular, a national company, as an "anchor tenant" for the telecenter.

BRT board member Patrick Woodie, one of the leaders of the effort to bring a telecenter to Alleghany, said BRT has made its pitch to that company. Other communities are competing with Alleghany for that company, however, and have also made their cases.

Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News! Back