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Success Stories

A mother and three daughters pose around a dining room table. There are lace curtains and blue wall in the background and some dishes on the table in the foreground.

“This is Home” – A Family Finds Their Forever Home in Calais, Maine

One of the first rooms Heather Gagne and her daughters began redecorating in their new home is the dining room, shown in the top photo. They have been busy repainting and making other updates. Raising a family in coastal Machias, Maine may sound lovely, but for Heather Gagne recent years proved stressful. There were few housing options in the Downeast community, and Heather was glad to find a rental home to…
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Find Stories

Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 82 Stories
Bruce Hanna, owner of Hampton Inn and Suites Roseburg, visits solar panels recently installed on hotel roof.

Rural Hotel Reaps Benefits of Going Green

Guests at most hotels never give a second thought to the roof of the building. But at the Hampton Inn and Suites in the rural town of Roseburg, owner Bruce Hanna is encouraging his guests to learn about the significant environmental impacts being generated out of sight on the… [Read More]
Oregon
REAPRenewable EnergySolar Energy
Energy

First Phase of San Felasco Tech City Opens

Mitch Glaeser and Richard Blaser of The Laser Investment Group had a vision of a live-work-play community, with businesses, housing and recreation areas to be run primarily by solar power.  The community would be an environmentally- and tech-friendly development.  San… [Read More]
Florida and Virgin Islands
REAP
Dakotaland Manufacturing

Leader in Both Metal Fabrication and Precision Machining Makes Energy Improvements to Rural Business

Two organizations, Westland Manufacturing and JMS Precision, merged their organizations in August 2015 to operate under one company doing business as Dakotaland Manufacturing.  Both companies are in Eastern South Dakota. Westland, based in Sioux Falls, grew its metal… [Read More]
South Dakota
REAP
Dimock Dairy photo

New Coolers and LED Lighting Installed in Rural South Dakota Cheese Factory

Dimock Cheese is the oldest artisan cheese plant in South Dakota. They have been making quality cheese since 1931.  The factory, located 15 minutes south of Mitchell on Highway 37, is in the breadbasket of the heartland. The retail store is established in Dimock, with a… [Read More]
South Dakota
REAP

10kW Solar Array Powers Small Business

As a large producer of grapes and a connoisseur of wine, Bill Sanderson had a dream to own a Winery that offered a Tasting Facility and Event Hall. Construction costs and future operating expenses were a major obstacle for business owners, Bill and Marjie Sanderson. Discussing… [Read More]
Tennessee
REAP
Stuart Hometown Foods Stuart, Iowa

40-Year Dedication to Small-Town Grocery Stores

While growing or producing all of their own fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat is an option for some rural Iowa families, nearly every household today makes regular trips to grocery store. But fewer local grocery stores across the state mean more rural Iowans now live in food-… [Read More]
Iowa
REAP

Being an example in clean energy

Lunch time at E&S Mart in Altavista, Va., hums. A steady tide of customers and deliveries keeps the gas pumps ticking, the grill hot and the register open. Most of the faces are familiar ones. Many make small-talk over one of the high-top tables in the deli. Some will be… [Read More]
Virginia
REAPSolar Energy
Image of solar panels at Pomar Junction Winery in Templeton, California

Central Coast Winemaking Family Grows From 19th Century to 21st

On California’s Central Coast, the Merrill family can trace their winemaking heritage back to at least eight generations ago, to even a grape arbor that was planted in the 19th Century. After 30 years of growing grapes at other wineries, Dana and Marsha Merrill and their son… [Read More]
California
REAP

Consultants Key to Energy Grants

Nearly 300 South Dakota agricultural producers and small businesses have reduced their energy costs – and increased their bottom line - with help from local consultants.  Mike Twedt and Larry Jensen have helped these recipients by providing energy assessments and technical… [Read More]
South Dakota
REAP
Wentworth Family Grocery is a long, low building with yellow siding, large glass doors, and stone trim around the base of the building.

Energy Efficiency Improvements for Northport Grocery Store

High energy usage is a widely recognized concern when operating a grocery store; lighting, compressors, heating, cooling all have a negative impact on the bottom line. John and Rhonda Wentworth, the owner’s of Wentworth Family Grocery in Northport, were determined to increase… [Read More]
Maine
EnergyREAP

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