Marshall Cherry is the Chief Operating Officer at Roanoke Electric Cooperative, a utility company located in northeastern North Carolina that helped launch the SFLR program and still remains as an active partner and leader of the initiative. Marshall shares his story as well as the company’s story of how they got involved in the program, the landowners they’ve worked with, and how he was able to build trust in the community.

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:45] A message from Leadership Nature.

[2:25] A quick intro about Marshall’s background.

[3:50] How did Marshall first get started in his career field?

[8:00] Why did the Roanoke Electric Cooperative pick and focus on the SFLR initiative?

[13:00] How does Marshall work and help landowners?

[19:45] Marshall has worked hard to build trust with a network of landowners.

[24:35] There was a learning curve for Marshall in the beginning because he didn’t quite understand all the industry jargon.

[29:15] Marshall shares some of his favorite stories about the people he’s worked with.

[34:25] What advice does Marshall have for landowners?

[37:10] What do natural resources professionals need to know to better assist and help landowners?

[37:45] The world is much bigger than us, but we have a lot going on in our industry and good partners help you stand up taller.

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Website for the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities: Usendowment.org

More information on the SFLR Program: Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Program (SFLR)

More information on USDA NRCS: Nrcs.usda.gov

Roanokeelectric.com

Marshall on LinkedIn