The mid-1930s were hard times. Our country was in the midst of the worst depression it has ever experienced. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an effort to spur the sluggish economy, presented a plan to electrify rural America. Investor-owned utilities balked at his plan, complaining that it would not work. Nine men gathered at a small gas station in downtown Asheboro to talk about building an electric cooperative themselves.  What an ambitious project—to provide electricity to rural areas so that people and their neighbors living in the country could enjoy a quality of life like those in the cities.  As the talks continued, the men started to put their new venture together.  They realized the necessity of running it as a cooperative.

 Then came the real test.  Those nine founders would have to sign their names on the line and borrow $300,000 to build their new electric cooperative.  They all signed and Randolph EMC became a reality.  Today, Randolph EMC has grown to more than 30,000 consumer-members spread out over almost 4,000 miles of line in the five counties of Randolph, Moore, Montgomery, Alamance and Chatham. 

So have times really changed? Randolph EMC still adheres to many of those same founding principles from the 1930s.  We are still “owned by those we serve.” Randolph EMC still operates on the basic premise of those original directors:“ To provide electrical power at an affordable cost while maintaining sound business principles.”  

Yes, changes are important and Randolph EMC is always looking at new and better ways to serve our members.  However, the goals that those original nine directors envisioned still support the very foundation of your cooperative.  We owe a real debt of thanks to those founders who had the vision, desire and purpose to form Randolph EMC.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they could see their cooperative today still being run in the same manner as it was more than 60 years ago?