Farm Bureau People
The man for the
JOB By Rachel Havens
Jim Meek has never laid an inch of fiber-optic cable,
but the Okmulgee County rancher was recently chosen to lead the charge to bring affordable, high-speed broadband to every corner of the state when he was elected unanimously to serve as chair of the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board in October 2023. The Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board was established in 2022 after the passage of the Oklahoma Broadband Expansion Act. The nine-member board oversees the work of the Oklahoma Broadband Office, which is charged with bringing high-speed broadband internet to 95% of Oklahoma by 2028. Originally appointed to the governing board by Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall, Meek brings to the table a valuable rural perspective and a host of administrative and leadership experience. Meek’s early career began in the classroom as an agriculture education teacher in the late 1970s. It was during this time that Meek first got his first computer – an Apple IIc. “At that time, it was the answer to the world’s problems,” Meek said of the early computer. “I was fortunate enough to get one for my agriculture program. I had to be trained how to use it, and by the time I learned how to use it, it was obsolete, and we moved on.” As Meek advanced in his career and his education, technology did the same. 32 Oklahoma Country
Meek’s career led him to the Oklahoma Department of CareerTech in 1990 where he oversaw nearly 100 agriculture education programs in southeast Oklahoma for 25 years. Even in the early days, the CareerTech offices were well equipped with the latest technology. “When I walked into my office in Stillwater, I always had the latest and greatest in high-speed computers and internet,” he said. “When I turned on my computer, I could be working within 30 seconds to one minute.” The same could not be said for the dial-up connection he used at his home in rural Okmulgee County. As his work began following him home, Meek’s slow internet connection made it nearly impossible for him to work. “Really, I was just kind of out of business,” he said. Fortunately for Meek, broadband availability has since expanded in his area, and he now has internet connectivity equivalent to that which he had in Stillwater all those years ago. But his experience is not unlike many in rural Oklahoma, and that is one reason he is passionate about expanding broadband access in the state. “What drives me is I fully understand the economic impact broadband has on rural communities and their quality of life,” Meek said. He equates broadband access in 2023 to electricity in the early 20th century. Despite the time gap between them, the two technological phenomena have many similarities, both in necessity and the productivity increase that followed. “The light allowed farmers and ranchers to work long days during the winter,” Meek said of electricity’s expansion in rural areas. “It allowed them to bring in milking machines and refrigeration.”