Herald staff
SnoNet, a nonprofit company devoted to providing Internet service to schools and nonprofit agencies, will suspend operations Jan. 31.
Organizers cited a lack of funds and a growing realization that many of its services are now widely available commercially.
"In recent months, our board saw that its mission was no longer unique," said Herald publisher emeritus Larry Hanson, one of SnoNet’s directors.
SnoNet was formed in 1994 — the early days of the World Wide Web — with a three-year grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and with backing from local businesses. Its goal was to create a "connected community," using the Internet to link residents to public and private-sector services.
It hosted Web sites for a number of schools, workforce training groups and nonprofit groups. It also helped schools develop their own distance learning programs. And it created SnoVote, an online partnership that brought election information to voters.
Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel called SnoNet a valuable community resource that he hated to lose.
"My hope is that we can find new funding and relaunch SnoNet when we have a favorable climate and focus for its services," he said.
SnoNet president Tom Campbell said he was extremely proud of what the organization had accomplished.
"We outlasted many of the dotcom businesses, because we had a community focus," he said. "We had hoped to scale a number of products into a broader marketplace, but we simply ran out of gas in a major climate of belt-tightening."
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
