Diamantides Steps Aside
Jerry Diamantides, the Chair of the Governing Board, has stepped aside from his position. After two years spearheading efforts to bring high-speed fiber Internet to our member towns, Diamantides said, “It has been an honor to work with such a dedicated team and to serve the people of Central Vermont. Bringing world-class Internet service to the people of rural Vermont today is as important as bringing electricity was 100 years ago. CVFiber is meeting that challenge.”
During Diamantides’ tenure as Chair of the Board, his leadership played a pivotal role in transforming the organization from a concept to a dynamic and operational entity. Under his guidance, CVFiber achieved remarkable milestones in bridging the digital divide in Central Vermont. Diamantides’ strategic vision and effective decision-making propelled CVFiber’s evolution, from planning, to construction with its inaugural groundbreaking in December 2022, and to the successful launch of the network in October 2023. Diamantides has been instrumental in bringing CVFiber from an all-volunteer entity to a fully staffed organization.
Perricone Elected Chair
After Diamantides stepped down at the Governing Board’s January 10, 2024 meeting, the Board elected Siobhan Perricone as its new Chair.
Perricone has been serving on the CVFiber board as a delegate since the town of Orange joined the CUD in 2018, when it first started. Then later she was appointed Vice Chair of the Governing Board. She has extensive experience having spent time online in various communities since before the world wide web even existed. In 1983 she started chatting with college students in the Minnesota State University network and has been involved in online community building ever since.
Perricone is also passionate about public service and moving from her career in the state as a database developer to chair of board is a natural evolution in her career. Jennille Smith, CVFiber’s Executive Director, and Perricone share a unified passion in bringing equitable Internet access across Central Vermont. She is looking forward to helping it become more of a reality in the future.
“I am deeply grateful for Jerry Diamantides, whose visionary leadership steered CVFiber’s evolution from a planning entity to a vital provider of world-class high-speed Internet. We have started to bridge the digital divide in rural Vermont. As we transition into being fully operational, I warmly welcome Siobhan Perricone as our new Chair during this critical phase of expansion. We are committed to empowering Vermonters by bringing this critical utility to the most rural of places.”
Smith and Perricone will join forces to collaborate on the strategic vision and direction of CVFiber to make equitable Internet access across Central Vermont a reality.