I have mostly recovered from my trip to Arizona last week, although it is a bit depressing to realize the only option I have for dinner now is DIY after having so many great restaurants just steps away. You truly don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.
But moving on to more uplifting and non-culinary news, our partner in all things energy, Zero Emissions Northwest (ZEN), has now submitted and won 65+ grants from USDA’s REAP for farmers and rural small businesses, totaling $3.7 million dollars in energy-saving projects. The savings those projects yield go directly back into our rural communities, and ZEN is proud to be making such a positive and sustainable impact in the state for rural regions and small businesses. We are pleased to help them continue this work through a second REAP technical assistance grant that will start this spring. We’ve had such a great experience working with the folks at ZEN that we are plotting another joint adventure to benefit rural communities. I hope to be able to report more on that in March.
We are thrilled to add Okanogan County to our list of associate development organizations (ADOs) we are working with to help secure funding for rural community development projects. Staci and our grant specialists are working with the ADOs to prioritize and match projects with the best funding opportunities, with work on applications starting by the end of February.
I’ll end this missive with another favorite quote to help you rally past hump day…
Take care,
Jody
