TEMA is the material supply organization of the 26 electric cooperatives of North Carolina. TEMA was founded to serve as a combined cooperative effort in purchasing materials, equipment, and supplies at competitive prices. Open for business in January 1976, TEMA’s modern warehouse contains 112,000 square feet of storage space and contains inventory which includes protective equipment, transformers, meters and other materials used by the electric cooperatives.
About Us
Our Mission
About JOEMC
Jones-Onslow’s mission is to provide safe, reliable and affordable electric service with uncompromised excellence in customer service while committing to improve the quality of life for our members through community and civic involvement.
- Proudly serving residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural accounts
- Improving the quality of life for our members
- Community and civic involvement.
Jane Doe
JOEMC CEO
Our Mission
About JOEMC
Jones-Onslow’s mission is to provide safe, reliable and affordable electric service with uncompromised excellence in customer service while committing to improve the quality of life for our members through community and civic involvement.
- Proudly serving residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural accounts
- Improving the quality of life for our members
- Community and civic involvement.
Our Mission
Jones-Onslow’s mission is to provide safe, reliable and affordable electric service with uncompromised excellence in customer service while committing to improve the quality of life for our members through community and civic involvement.
The Cooperative Difference
Electric cooperatives, like Jones-Onslow EMC, are private, independent electric utilities, owned by the members they serve. As democratically governed businesses, electric cooperatives are organized under seven guiding principles, anchoring them firmly in the communities they serve and ensuring they are closely regulated by their consumers.
Voluntary and Open Membership
Cooperatives are voluntary organizations open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination.
Democratic Member Control
Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. The elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives, members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote), and cooperatives at other levels are organized in a democratic manner.
Members’ Economic Participation
Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative, possibly setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative, and supporting other activities approved by the membership.
Autonomy and Independence
Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.
Education, Training, and Information
Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public, particularly young people and opinion leaders, about the nature and benefits of cooperation.
Cooperation Among Cooperatives
Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional, and international structures.
Concern for Community
While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members.
Most electric co-ops are distribution cooperatives that deliver electricity to the consumer. Some are generation and transmission cooperatives (G&Ts) that both generate and transmit electricity to meet the power needs of distribution cooperatives.
In addition to electric service, many electric co-ops are involved in community development and revitalization projects, e.g., small business development and job creation, improvement of water and sewer systems and assistance in the delivery of health care and educational services.
Co-ops Vote
Like all North Carolina electric cooperatives, Jones-Onslow EMC is based on the principle of democratic member control, meaning that all members served by the co-op have a vote and a voice in setting the co-op’s policies and strategic direction.
This commitment to democratic decision-making extends to the co-op’s efforts to reach out to members of Congress and the North Carolina General Assembly to make them aware of cooperative priorities and issues that affect co-op members and advocate for legislative changes that will positively impact our co-op and the diverse communities we serve.
Co-ops Vote is a non-partisan program designed to boost voter turnout in areas served by electric cooperatives across the country to ensure their member-owners voices are heard, and issues that concern them are prioritized every day, especially on Election Day. The program continues cooperatives’ commitment to raising awareness in rural communities.
In the 2012 national elections, voter turnout in rural communities dropped by 18 percent — twice that of the nation. Co-ops Vote was created to boost voter participation and represent rural Americans’ concerns at a national level. As your local electric
co-op, JOEMC has joined the fight with electric cooperatives across the country to make its members’ voices heard.
The non-partisan campaign does not endorse nor recommend candidates, rather, it educates member-owners on candidates’ stances on important co-op issues.
Affiliations
Jones-Onslow EMC has affiliations with several statewide , regional, and national organizations.
Jones-Onslow EMC is a member of Touchstone Energy, an alliance of local, consumer-owned electric cooperatives across the country committed to providing superior service to all customers, large and small. Touchstone Energy provides a brand with core values that consumers have long associated with cooperatives: integrity, accountability, innovation and a longstanding commitment to their communities. Touchstone Energy provides high standards of service to all customers (residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural) and…
- Is an alliance of more than 750 cooperatives in 46 states that collectively deliver power and energy solutions to more than 32 million members every day
- Provides high standards of service to all customers — residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural
- Is a branding initiative that communicates electric cooperatives’ unique characteristics in a changing marketplace where these values and differences matter more each day
- Emphasizes the significance of each electric cooperative’s local presence and unique ties to its community, but offers the resources of a nationwide network to bring added value and benefit to customers
NRECA is the national service organization dedicated to representing the national interests of the electric cooperatives and the consumers they serve. Founded in 1942, NRECA was organized specifically to overcome World War II shortages of electric construction materials, to obtain insurance coverage for newly constructed rural electric cooperatives and to mitigate wholesale power problems. NRECA’s more than 900 member cooperatives serve 42 million people in 47 states.
North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives provide reliable, safe and affordable energy and related services to more than 950,000 households and businesses in 93 of the state’s 100 counties. Each of the 26 cooperatives is member-owned, not-for-profit and overseen by a board of directors elected by the membership.
NCAEC serves as the statewide associate for North Carolina’s 26 electric cooperatives, working to promote training, safety, and education among their consumers and the general public. NCAEC programs include government relations, Carolina Country magazine, training programs, and workshops for cooperative directors and staff, youth scholarships and educational programs, and safety and job training.
Our History
At the unusual hour of 2:00 A.M. in 1939, five men anxiously leaned against their parked cars on Hargett Street in Richlands to plan one of the most important meetings in the history of Jones and Onslow counties.
In 1939, the Jones-Onslow Rural Electrification Authority, now known as Jones-Onslow Electric Membership Corporation, was organized by Albert Venters, E.C. Marshburn, Henry Cavenaugh, Rex Hill, and William Hill. Despite the absence of local newspapers, radio stations, or an extensive telephone network, these five men managed to gather over 300 people for a pivotal meeting in Jacksonville. This gathering led to the formation of the cooperative, receiving its charter on June 22, 1939. E.B. Smith was appointed as the first President of the Board of Directors.
The first loan from the Rural Electrification Authority amounted to $284,000, enabling the construction of 227 miles of line in Jones, Onslow, Duplin, and Lenoir counties, providing electricity to approximately 1,288 consumers. Over the years, the cooperative grew significantly. By 1954, Jones-Onslow served 6,195 consumers over 1,004 miles of line.
The cooperative moved its general office and warehouse facilities to Western Boulevard in Jacksonville in 1974. By then, it had expanded to 20,424 members served through 1,573 miles of line. In 1989, a new district office was established in Sneads Ferry to accommodate the growing membership in that area.
Leadership changes over the years include Mr. Albert N. Venters, Mr. Archie Horne, and Mr. Clifton D. Taylor, who were pivotal in guiding the cooperative through various phases of growth and innovation. On January 1, 2016, Jeffery (Jeff) T. Clark, who had been the Chief Financial Officer since 2002, assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer, succeeding J. Ronald McElheney.
In October 2023, Gary Ray joined Jones-Onslow EMC as the new CEO, bringing fresh perspectives and leadership to the cooperative.
Today, Jones-Onslow EMC serves close to 75,000 customers with over 2,400 miles of line, maintaining the foundational principle of neighbors helping neighbors. As one of the fastest-growing and most innovative cooperatives in the United States, Jones-Onslow EMC continues to serve its consumers with dedication and forward-thinking initiatives.