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Intro:
The following program is brought to you by the Tennessee
Broadband Association.

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Lead Tennessee Radio, conversations with the leaders moving our
state forward.

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We look at the issues shaping Tennessee's future: rural
development, public policy, broadband,

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healthcare and other topics impacting our communities.

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Carrie Huckeby:
Hello, I'm Carrie Huckeby, the executive director of the
Tennessee Broadband Association.

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And on this episode of Lead Tennessee Radio, my guest is a good
friend, an excellent brand strategist and marketer,

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Lea Ann Gore.

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Her title over at Twin Lakes is marketing and sales manager.

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And Twin Lakes is one of the largest cooperatives in the
country, and their corporate office is located over in

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Gainesboro, Tennessee.

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Welcome, Lea Ann. Thanks for joining.

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Lea Ann Gore:
Good morning, Carrie.

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Thank you for having me.

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Carrie Huckeby:
So for those that aren't real familiar with Twin Lakes, tell us a
little bit about where you serve and about your

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network.

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Lea Ann Gore:
Sure. So we are a cooperative.

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We were established in 1951 to serve rural Middle Tennessee.

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We have approximately 35,000 broadband connections, over 100%
fiber network.

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We have about 12,000 of those being gig to multi-gig.

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So we have gig connections up to 10 gig today.

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We are an NBRI Circle of Excellence recipient for our customer
service efforts.

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Last year, we were in the top 6% of national providers for
customer service rating.

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So here at Twin Lakes, customer service is obviously our number
one priority, and typically we run about

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98% with customer satisfaction when we measure that.

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Additionally, we have two partnerships in the state of
Tennessee.

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We've partnered with Volunteer Energy Cooperative, and then of
course, through Trilight in East Tennessee, we've partnered with

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the Appalachian Electric Cooperative.

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And both of those efforts work out well.

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We're cooperative assisting another cooperative in some aspects,
especially with VEC.

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We've been working in conjunction with them for now almost 70
years.

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So we all have the same goal is to basically serve the unserved
with broadband connections in the communities

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that we all serve together.

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Carrie Huckeby:
Outstanding. A lot going on, A lot happening.

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And with your 100% fiber network.

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But you have to be proud of that 98% customer satisfaction.

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Lea Ann Gore:
Absolutely. It's Jonathan's number one priority here at Twin
Lakes.

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So we take that very seriously as, I think it's a culture that
we all possess here, customer

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satisfaction.

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Carrie Huckeby:
Great. Well, I follow many of our TNBA member companies on social
media, and I always see all the good

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works. And your company grant program caught my eye.

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Of course, one of the seven cooperative principles is concern
for community and Twin Lake obviously demonstrates that in a lot

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of ways. I want to ask you about your community grant program
that you started.

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I think you said somewhere around 2020.

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And what inspired you and your company to focus on supporting
and awarding grants

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to groups within your serving area?

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Lea Ann Gore:
We had always been a participant in the FRS grants, and that's
through the Foundation of Rural Services.

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And in 2020, of course, when we did those normal FRS grant
applications,

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we sent out those packets.

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We got we got back a larger number than usual of applications.

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And so we realized that there was a need in the communities due
to Covid.

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We saw so many of our local community organizations struggling to
make ends meet, keep their doors open.

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And at the same  time, of course, our year had been far from
ordinary as well.

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We obviously were not able to get out into the communities and
utilize the marketing dollars that we had budgeted.

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And so we got together, and we made a proposal to repurpose
those dollars in conjunction with the ongoing FRC grant

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opportunities we were providing that year.

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And our board of directors, they were so gracious.

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They really supported the idea and still do, and the rest is a
little bit history.

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We're going on our fourth year, and I think the concern for
community that

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is the proof of that is in the increased investment in the
communities we serve.

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So 2020, we did over $70,000 in grants.

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In 2021, the program got a little bit more exposure and we saw
even more need.

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In 2021, we did over $75,000 and in 2022 that increased to over
$100,000.

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But it's not really just about the grant funding alone, but also
the concern for community is in our everyday

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sponsorships. But part of that ongoing commitment, we have now
provided grant funding to almost 40 organizations,

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and we have just emailed packets out for our fourth year.

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So we are excited and continue to receive more applications
every year.

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And there's some really good needs in the community.

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Carrie Huckeby:
That's outstanding. That's over $250,000 in the last few years.

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Lea Ann Gore:
It is.

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Carrie Huckeby:
Who are some of the groups that received the funding that very
first year, those first recipients?

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Lea Ann Gore:
So I don't recall the very first recipient to receive because we
did, I believe 17 maybe the

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first year, Carrie.

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But we've awarded to our schools, libraries, fire departments,
community centers.

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American Legion, so the veterans organization.

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There's been so many that have been recipients of the grant
funding.

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It's amazing how many needs you realize that are really out
there when you ask for those.

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And there sure are a lot of them.

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Carrie Huckeby:
Well, you touched on this earlier about awareness of the
recipients in the community and just

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bringing, you know, educating the community: what's out there,
who's in need.

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So do you think your grants have been helpful in raising that
awareness for the nonprofit?

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And, you know, is it resonating in the community and seeing how
important this nonprofit is?

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You know, Twin Lakes is is awarding money.

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How do you see that helping the community as a whole?

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Lea Ann Gore:
Yeah. So absolutely.

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Twin Lakes is a trusted source in the communities we serve.

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We have been for over 70 years.

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I think part of that trust is in the longevity and just being
good stewards of the community.

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I think it not only raises awareness in a way that organizations
benefit from, but in a way that our residents and the communities

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we serve, they also realize those benefits.

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They realize the resources that are available and within those
communities.

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And then also, I think kind of you touched on this for the
awareness of those nonprofits.

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And in some instances, that is exactly what they're requesting
funding for.

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So some of it is to utilize a graphic designer for website
content

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and design.

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Or it may be blogs.

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It could be simple things like that.

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So it's also to them about helping them increase that awareness,
just as you pointed out.

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But it's a little bit more than that.

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It's awareness for them, but also it's an awareness for the
residents of the communities we serve.

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Indirectly, they're exposed to the resources that are available
in their communities, either to use for themselves or to

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recommend others.

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Carrie Huckeby:
Well, I think it's probably the same thing we find here in my
hometown, is that we have a giving circle called "The Power of

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100" here that started about five years ago.

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And it's been, you know, it's educational to us that we've lived
here our whole life, some of us, and

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we don't realize all the nonprofits that are out there, and the
work that they're doing.

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Lea Ann Gore:
Absolutely. And, you know, we do a lot of volunteer work
internally.

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Twin Lakes allows the employees – one day they do a paid, it's
basically volunteer time

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in the community. So for us, this helps us also identify some of
those organizations that we can assist on another

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level just from an individual perspective.

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So that's been great as well.

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So it's not just the grant funding, but we also get to step out
and work in some of these organizations.

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Carrie Huckeby:
Yeah, that's helpful.

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I know. What are some of the success stories or examples of
maybe that you've heard in the community that you awarded a

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grant, and then it made some kind of impact or difference?

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Do you have 1 or 2 of those?

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Lea Ann Gore:
Yeah. So, of course, I feel like volunteer fire departments,
they're one of those organizations that

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they are out there.

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They don't get a lot of funding, but we've awarded several local
fire departments.

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One specific example that I think of in fire departments, I was
just most recently speaking to someone that was on the

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board at our local Granville Fire Department.

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And of course, one of the ways that they benefit.

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So I didn't realize this, but every community has an ISO rating,
and that is the rating that determines how much people

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pay for their fire insurance within the communities that they
live.

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Granville, they had a rating of 9, so it's on a scale of 1 to
10, ten being the worst.

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So that means that property insurance is a little bit higher.

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So they've applied for funding that will help them lower the ISO
rating in those communities.

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They've been very successful in doing so.

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So with the grant funding and other fundraising, they've been
able to lower their ISO rating for that

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community from a 9 to a 6, which results in about a 10 to 15%
reduction

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in fire insurance rates for the community of Granville.

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All those living in it, those individuals that have businesses
in it.

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So that's great for economic development.

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And of course, I don't know if you know a whole lot about
Granville, but it resides in Jackson County.

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It's one of the more distressed counties that we serve.

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So it's always great to see that have an outward effect on the
community.

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So it's one thing to give to an organization, but it's another
thing to see the impact that it has on every individual in those

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communities we serve, making their lives better.

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Carrie Huckeby:
I didn't know that about the ISO rating.

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That's interesting.

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And I mean that grant certainly has a far reaching effect on
that community, not just the fire department.

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Lea Ann Gore:
Yes, absolutely.

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And then another great example, I think, is the city of
Byrdstown.

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They have done some amazing things.

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They were a recipient in 2021.

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So Twin Lakes awarded grant funding for a projector, screen,
speakers, a portable freezer, a

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popcorn machine, and several other items that they needed to
make a free Friday movie night in one of their local parks.

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And just recently I was speaking with the recipients, and at
their last event just last month, they hosted over

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500 attendees in that small rural community.

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So you think about how much that brings in local tax dollars,
and they're kind of on the edge of

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Kentucky. So it's even bringing in some attendees from other
communities surrounding them.

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So it's really benefiting all the communities we serve.

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But, you know, even if it's not directly benefiting, say we
don't serve any of Kentucky today, but it's bringing local

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tax dollars and improving the economy in Byrdstown.

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Carrie Huckeby:
It has to make you proud, right?

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I mean, to see that kind of impact happening in those grants
that

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are going out there.

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I mean, it must make you, Twin Lakes, the board, the employees,
step a little higher and hold your head up, you know,

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a little bit higher, too, doesn't it?

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Lea Ann Gore:
Oh, it does. And, you know, we've got a lot of employees here,
and, you know, they're on volunteer fire departments.

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Or I know the city of Byrdstown, one of our employees, is part of
that function and that

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program. And she volunteers every Friday that they have the
event.

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And so, it's nice.

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I think they take some ownership in some of that and in their
local communities when they see the organization they work

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for giving back.

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So it's a personal commitment and a company commitment as a
cooperative.

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You know, and again, it all goes back to that concern for
community.

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Carrie Huckeby:
Yeah. So it certainly seems to be working.

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And are there any long term goals or strategic plans such as
maybe expanding the reach of it with

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other local organizations, or is it just working perfect like it
is?

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Lea Ann Gore:
So, I mean, the long term goal is pretty simple.

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You know, it's to improve the lives of those we serve.

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And again, that goes back to that principle.

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Our CEO, Jonathan West, of course, at every employee meeting, he
reminds us whatever you do, do with all of your might and be the

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best you can be. And I think we'll continue to pour those
sentiments into the program as we do everything else here at Twin

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Lakes. And I think as opportunities come along, we'll absolutely
take those opportunities into consideration.

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But today we're extremely happy with the way the program is
working.

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We believe it to be successful as it grows, it'll obviously – it
will have some challenges along the way, but

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we'll manage those as we go because we have seen how successful
and beneficial that is in the communities we serve.

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Carrie Huckeby:
So if I'm another cooperative, independent, just a listener out
there, and I'm interested in developing a grant

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program to support nonprofits in the communities, give some 
tips or some things that

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you recommend doing or not doing when starting that program.

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Lea Ann Gore:
There are some challenges, but the benefits far outweigh those.

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My advice is to start somewhere.

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You won't regret it.

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I know that the amount that we've given seems daunting to some
because it is a large amount.

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And you may say, "I don't have that in my budget." But the idea
is to start somewhere.

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Whether that is a partnership with FRS.

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If you're not doing the Foundation of Rural Services grants, I
recommend that you start there.

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That's a great way to get the application process down.

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You're not reinventing the wheel.

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They were so kind to assist us even with – they qualify some of
our grants for us, just to make sure

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we're not being partial to those that submit a grant.

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So that's just another level of kind of checks and balances for
us.

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So I recommend that you start somewhere, even if it's there.

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You know, pick a scholarship.

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Pick something in the community.

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Tie yourself to volunteer work, but in some way give back.

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But I do recommend that you start somewhere, even if it's small
.

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I think that you will see individuals in your communities reap
benefits from those, and you will be encouraged to

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grow that program.

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Carrie Huckeby:
Yeah, even $500 or $250.

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It's a start somewhere.

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And it, you know, it can mean a lot to a nonprofit that's
looking for funding.

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And I did wonder how you did qualify and how you chose because,
as I mentioned earlier, in The Power of 100

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here, we have so many nonprofits, and it's so hard to choose
which one will receive the funding.

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So FRS helps you with that, right, you said?

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Lea Ann Gore:
Yes, they assist us.

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What we do is when applicants actually send us their application
packets, we put those into the FRS

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database. But also at the same time, they're automatically, if
they qualify, they're automatically applying for the Twin

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Lakes Difference Grant.

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And so those also, once they're qualified by FRS, they actually
come back to us.

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Now for us, the requirements for the grant are just a little bit
different.

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So where FRS, they do have a preference of technology in their
applications and in their

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grants, but some of that can also be, it can be community and
some different

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things. But for Twin Lakes, there has to be an aspect of
technology, which, as I alluded to some of

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the others earlier.

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So, you know, some of it is even just access to broadband,
right?

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Not access to broadband, but maybe, [for an] example, the
volunteer fire department.

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You know, they actually in the area that they serve, there is not
great cell service.

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So if something happens, and there's some type of catastrophic
event, Carrie, they have no cellular service.

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They need access.

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They have generators.

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They can keep everything powered up.

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And as long as our COs are stable, they can continue to run
their broadband in the areas that they

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serve. So there's different ways.

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And some of it, I mean, and even that is a great idea.

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You know, even if it's a broadband connection for those
individuals or nonprofits in the communities that you serve, you

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know, they are lifelines to the community, even that is a great
benefit.

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But it has to be an element of technology.

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So they needed some equipment to make that happen.

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They needed broadband access.

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They also wanted to be able to increase their access to the
bandwidth that they were already receiving.

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But as you know, volunteer fire departments, they don't get a
lot of funding.

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So we were able to assist them with that.

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But there has to be some technology perspective in those grants
that we award.

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And then of course, that ultimately goes to our board of
directors for final approval.

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We do have some requirements on time constraints, meaning if you
won

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last year, obviously you're not going to qualify as a recipient
of the grant this year.

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Because what happens is, is you end up awarding a lot of the same
organizations.

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So we want to spread the love a little bit.

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So we did set up a time line where recipients, they cannot
receive grant funding

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two times within a three year period.

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Of course, after that third year expires, then they become
eligible to submit again for grant funding.

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Carrie Huckeby:
That makes sense.

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And I can see that, you know, trying to spread it out among the
nonprofits

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because there are so many in all of our communities, for sure.

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Well, Lea Ann, if someone is out there listening and wants to
reach out to you to get a little more information about your

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community grant program, how should they do that?

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Lea Ann Gore:
They can reach out to me at 931-405-3215.

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That's my direct number.

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Or feel free to email me at lgore@twinlakes.net.

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If I'm unavailable, Sydney Birdwell has been the keeper of all
things FRS grants, and she's wonderful to work with as well.

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She can be reached at sbirdwell@twinlakes.net.

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Carrie Huckeby:
Fantastic. Well, Twin Lakes is certainly doing a lot of good
things, and I appreciate your time this morning.

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I know you're a busy lady.

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Lea Ann Gore:
Well, thank you for having me.

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Carrie Huckeby:
My guest has been Lea Ann Gore, marketing and sales manager at
Twin Lakes.

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You've been listening to Lead Tennessee Radio, produced by the
Tennessee Broadband Association.

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Cooperative and independent companies connecting our state's
rural communities and beyond with world class broadband.