About Us

Founded in 1939, Jones-Onslow Electric Membership Corporation (JOEMC) is a member-owned electric cooperative serving over 84,000 residential, commercial, and industrial members across six counties in eastern North Carolina. Our mission is to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electric service with uncompromised excellence in customer service, while improving the quality of life for our members through community and civic involvement. As a cooperative, we are guided by seven principles that ensure we remain accountable to our members and committed to the communities we serve.

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.

The Seven Cooperative Principles

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.

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)

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 Electric Cooperatives

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.

North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives (NCAEC)

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.

Tarheel Electric Membership Association

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.

JOEMC Story

Powering Our Community: The JOEMC Story

A Meeting That Changed Everything

Picture this: It’s 2:00 A.M. on a quiet night in 1939. Five determined men huddle beside their cars on Hargett Street in Richlands, plotting something extraordinary. Albert Venters, E.C. Marshburn, Henry Cavenaugh, Rex Hill, and William Hill weren’t just dreaming—they were planning to bring light to eastern North Carolina.

From Darkness to Light

In an era without local newspapers, radio stations, or even a reliable telephone network, these five visionaries faced a seemingly impossible task: rallying their neighbors to support a bold new idea. Yet somehow, they gathered over 300 people for a meeting in Jacksonville that would transform our region forever.

On June 22, 1939, Jones-Onslow Electric Membership Corporation received its charter, with E.B. Smith serving as the first Board President and Horace Cotton as the cooperative’s first leader. What began with a $284,000 loan from the Rural Electrification Authority built 227 miles of power lines, lighting up homes for 1,288 families who had been living in darkness.

Growing Together

Through visionary leadership spanning generations, JOEMC grew from a bold idea into a cornerstone of our community:

Fred Harman guided the cooperative through the post-war boom
Alvin Morton oversaw tremendous growth as membership swelled to 6,195 members connected across 1,004 miles
Ron McElheny led the cooperative into a new era, expanding our reach with a district office in Sneads Ferry to serve our growing coastal community
Jeff Clark continued the tradition of innovation and member service, positioning JOEMC as one of the nation’s most progressive cooperatives
Gary Ray maintained the cooperative’s momentum and commitment to excellence
Ricky Maready now leads JOEMC, bringing 37 years of dedicated service to the cooperative to his role as CEO. His deep understanding of our operations, combined with his forward-thinking vision, positions JOEMC to meet the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow while staying true to our cooperative values

Your Cooperative Today

Under CEO Ricky Maready’s leadership, Jones-Onslow EMC proudly serves nearly 75,000 member-owners across more than 2,400 miles of line. We’re not just any electric company—we’re your electric cooperative, guided by the same principle that inspired those five men in 1939: neighbors helping neighbors.

We’re recognized as one of the fastest-growing and most innovative electric cooperatives in the nation. But we haven’t forgotten our roots. Every day, we work to honor the vision of those early pioneers and the leaders who followed—while embracing new technologies and opportunities to serve you better.

Because You’re More Than a Customer—You’re an Owner

When you flip a switch, you’re tapping into 85+ years of community commitment and continuous leadership. From Horace Cotton to Ricky Maready, eight CEOs have stewarded this cooperative with one constant mission: serving you, our member-owners.

This is your cooperative, built by your neighbors, powered by your community, and dedicated to your future.