BROOKFIELD, MO — The City of Brookfield has been recognized as a Smart Rural Community®, celebrating the community’s use of high-speed fiber connectivity to create opportunities for residents, businesses, schools, healthcare providers and agriculture.
The Smart Rural Community designation recognizes that building a connected rural community involves more than simply having access to high-speed internet. It also depends on the people, businesses and organizations that put that technology to work to strengthen the community.
Chariton Valley, which provides fiber connectivity in the area, is a nationally recognized Smart Rural Community Provider℠. According to Chariton Valley, its fiber network is designed to expand connectivity for students, families, farmers, businesses, medical facilities and communities while helping rural areas increase access to educational, healthcare and economic opportunities.
Connectivity Creating Opportunities in Brookfield
Throughout Brookfield, broadband connectivity has become an important part of everyday life and the local economy.
Local businesses use fiber and online platforms to market products, reach customers and support business growth. Brookfield R-III students use online resources for assignments, learning and communication with teachers, while residents have greater access to remote and hybrid work opportunities.
Connectivity also plays an important role in healthcare. Telehealth technology helps connect area residents with medical services while supporting the care available through Pershing Health System.
For the agricultural community, reliable broadband provides access to markets, weather information, record keeping, equipment systems and other tools that have become increasingly important to modern farming and agricultural businesses.
Brookfield entrepreneurs are also demonstrating how technology can help a rural business reach customers well beyond the local community. Local Luxuries, for example, has used online commerce to expand from online sales into a successful brick-and-mortar business.
These are the types of broadband-enabled applications the Smart Rural Community initiative is designed to encourage. The program highlights how connectivity can contribute to economic development, education, healthcare, government services and other areas that improve quality of life in rural communities.
A Recognition for the Community
As a designated Smart Rural Community, Brookfield will receive a framed Smart Rural Community® certificate and public signage recognizing the designation. The community will also be featured in Chariton Valley marketing materials and on its website and will be able to use the Smart Rural Community designation in local marketing efforts.
For Brookfield, the recognition is about more than technology. It highlights what can happen when reliable infrastructure is combined with businesses, schools, healthcare organizations, agricultural producers, community leaders and residents who find meaningful ways to use it.
The designation also provides another tool for promoting Brookfield as a community that offers the connectivity needed to live, learn, work, receive healthcare and operate a business in today’s increasingly digital world.
More information about Chariton Valley’s Smart Rural Community program is available through Chariton Valley’s Smart Rural Community page.
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Brookfield Recognized as a Smart Rural Community
