AARP WV Volunteer Appointed To West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice has appointed AARP West Virginia volunteer advocate Roger W. Calhoun of Mason County to serve on the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council for a two-year term concluding in July 2023.

Calhoun will be the Council’s rural residential representative for West Virginia’s Third Congressional District. He has served as an AARP Capitol Advocacy Team volunteer since 2020, following his retirement from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

During his tenure working with the federal government, Calhoun administered a grant program which included the development of broadband infrastructure deployment projects to bring high-speed internet service to coalfield communities in the Appalachian region.

In addition to this experience and expertise, he brings an important personal perspective to his new role as a council member; as a residential user with limited service via a satellite internet connection at his rural Letart, West Virginia home.

The West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council was formed in 2016 to provide for and oversee the development of plans, processes and procedures for extending broadband access into underserved and unserved areas of West Virginia.

The West Virginia Legislature designed the Council to represent diverse users of broadband, including residential and business users, from various locations throughout the State. The Council has 13 voting members, as well as two appointees from the West Virginia Senate and two appointees from the West Virginia House of Delegates, one from each party, to serve as ex officio, nonvoting advisory members.

For more information on the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council, visit https://broadband.wv.gov/

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AARP WV Media Contact: Tom Hunter, 304-340-4605, tphunter@aarp.org