DVFiber Elects New Officers, Approves High Level Design

At its recent annual meeting, the Deerfield Valley Communications Union District (aka DVFIber) elected three officers for its governing board and five members for its executive committee. The board also approved a high-level design concept for the district’s fiber optic network.

Steven John of Marlboro was elected chair of DVFiber, stepping up from service as vice chair since the CUD’s establishment in 2020. A long-time educator, John served as Superintendent of Schools for the Windham Central Supervisory Union, Middle School Principal in Leland and Grey School, and teacher and assistant principal in the Whitingham School. Related board service includes membership on the Marlboro College Daycare Board, president of the Vermont Association for Middle Level Education, and chair of the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Education. For the town of Marlboro, John has served as town auditor, Windham Regional Planning commissioner, and he is currently town moderator and chair of the Development Review Board.

Ann Manwaring of Wilmington, who served as board chair since the establishment of DVCUD, was elected vice chair of the governing board. The board also elected Donna Sebastian of Wardsboro as clerk. 

The board elected five executive committee members. Phil Edelstein of Whitingham was elected to a three-year term. Zon Eastes of Guilford was elected to a two-year term. David Cherry of Windham, Munson Hicks of Vernon, and Ellen Seidman of Londonderry were each elected to one-year terms.

The DVCUD board also approved a high-level design for the 24-town fiber network. Keith Thompson of Whitingham and Operations Committee chair described the proprietary plan designed by Great Works Internet (GWI), DVFiber’s business partner. The design incorporates three interconnected and redundant fiber loops that will provide the infrastructure’s fundamental backbone. The design includes secondary lateral fiber paths capable of reaching every location in the district that is connected to the power grid.