Cooperative Ready Partners Meeting Highlights Power of Collaboration

North Carolina's electric cooperatives are working alongside local and statewide partners to invest in economic development and create new opportunities in the communities they serve.

That collaboration was on display at a recent Cooperative Ready Partners meeting, which brought together community and economic development professionals from across the state.

"We bring together community and economic development staff members from member cooperatives about four times a year to share best practices, offer updates on the statewide, regional and national utility environment, and encourage information-sharing and networking among co-ops," said Anna Walker, economic development manager at North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives.

For Travis Bode, manager of economic development at Surry-Yadkin EMC, those conversations provide an opportunity to see what is working elsewhere and consider how those successes could translate closer to home.

"Events like Cooperative Ready Partners allow us to see what co-ops and communities across the state are doing to bring new opportunities to their members and the communities they serve," said Bode.

Jimmy Smith, director of community and economic development at Four County EMC, said that exchange can range from sharing a new contact or lead to learning how another cooperative approached a similar challenge.

"The Cooperative Ready Partners network is a valuable resource for its members," said Smith. "Sometimes that's a lead or a contact, and other times it's insight into how one co-op managed a situation that can help another co-op work on a similar project."

This year's meeting was held in Four County EMC's territory at Cape Fear Vineyard and Winery in the Elizabethtown Industrial Park. Discussions included co-op industrial site readiness, economic development tools and the USDA Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program.

For Smith, one takeaway was the importance of developing strong relationships with local economic development organizations.

"First and foremost, treat your local economic development personnel like a key account," said Smith. "We have always followed that rule because they typically get the first look at new clients considering their areas."

It's an approach Four County EMC has put into practice in Bladen County, working alongside local partners to support development in the Bladenboro and Elizabethtown industrial parks as well as projects addressing community needs such as childcare and healthcare.

For cooperatives, those investments can have an impact that extends well beyond an individual project.

"Economic development brings new investment, a larger tax base and new wealth to our communities," said Smith. "It creates jobs that help reduce unemployment and underemployment, and it improves the quality of life for many of our members."

Across the state, that work continues to generate results. In 2025, 15 new or expanding businesses were announced in electric cooperative territories, representing $1.2 billion in capital investment and 1,765 jobs.

"Bringing in new opportunities, as well as supporting existing industry in rural communities, is extremely important to the overall state economy," said Bode. "These types of projects create new tax base or help stabilize the tax base for local communities, which can lead to expanded services for residents."

Walker said partnerships among cooperatives, economic development organizations, local governments, community colleges and others are key to continuing that momentum.

"Economic development works best when everyone is pulling in the same direction," said Walker. "Utilities, local economic developers, government leaders, community colleges and other partners each bring something important to the table. That collaboration helps create places where companies and people can thrive."