by Emily Reames, AVECC Media

In the heart of rural Arkansas, where the foot of the Ozark Mountains meets the bank of Lee Creek, lives a 78 year old man whose curiosity knows no bounds. Born and raised in Foulk, Michael "Mike" Sprayberry has always looked for the next greatest thing.

Mike is an innovator, inventor, Vietnam veteran, grandfather and technology enthusiast. He has been a Van Buren resident and Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative member for over 45 years.

Mike started his 49-year career in the natural gas industry as a pipeline welder. He worked 30 years as a corporate employee and then worked 19 more as a private contractor. His role evolved to working with computers when his corporation acquired its first computer in 1980. "We had an old mainframe computer in Shreveport, Louisiana, and we had monitors and keyboards at Fort Smith that connected down there." This is when his career blossomed. He designed compressor stations, evaluated pipeline data, and was a trailblazer in digital mapping for his employer.

Mike explained that he has always been at the forefront of trying new things. "I've always had the biggest TV they made," he laughed. "Pretty close to when it first comes out, too," his wife Tammy chimed in.

As the world progressed into the digital age, so did Mike's hobbies. He became increasingly disappointed in the limited availability of reliable internet in his rural community. While more densely populated areas embraced high-speed internet and cutting-edge technology, he and his surrounding communities were left behind. Mike recognized that reliable internet was no longer a luxury but a necessity.

Driven by his desire to see his community flourish, Mike strove for innovative solutions to bring better connectivity to his rural home. For years, he tried every new internet company that became available. His quest was clear: to find the next greatest thing that would bridge the digital divide not only for the outskirts of his community but for all of the rural River Valley.

In 2017, Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative reimagined the 80-year-old promise to bring the residents of the rural River Valley out of the dark once again by providing the new necessity — highspeed broadband internet.

Wave Rural Connect answered the call. Mike learned of the upcoming Wave Rural Connect and expressed his enthusiastic desire to become a "friendly" (beta tester) for Wave Rural Connect and was accepted. He was the first AVECC member to be connected to the Wave Rural Connect fiber grid that is now accessible to over 50,000 households across the River Valley.

He said, "It's the best. It's the best there is, and it is definitely cheaper." 

Mike has been connected by Wave Rural Connect for nearly six years. He now enjoys creating useful gadgets with his 3D printer, streaming television, playing games online, improving his property surveillance, and so much more.

In the quiet, rolling hills of Van Buren, Mike found the next greatest thing in Wave Rural Connect.

"The next greatest thing" is a tagline for Electric Cooperatives nationwide. The statement derives from a quote from a farmer who gave a witness in a rural Tennessee church in early 1940: "Brothers and sisters, I want to tell you this. The greatest thing on earth is to have the love of God in your heart, and the next greatest thing is to have electricity in your house."