Shelley, Layla, Ross and Robert Maxwell.

Robert Maxwell joined BEMC in September of last year. Born and raised in Asheville, he’s worked exclusively for electric co-ops since graduating from NC State 29 years ago. He also holds an MBA from UNC-Charlotte.

“When I graduated from State I was interviewing with CP&L, the predecessor of Duke Energy, when I was recruited by Union Power, whose service territory is east of Charlotte. To this day I remain grateful because I fell in love with the cooperative business model, and the focus on the members. Later, I worked for Surry Yadkin EMC, which includes Winston-Salem, and then United Power in Colorado, which includes the suburbs of Denver.

For years I’d been aware of BEMC’s reputation for being well-respected and well-run, and knew a lot of people who worked here, including some of my predecessors. I love that we’re local and responsive, and I really enjoy interacting with members, working one-on-one to resolve any issues. And I’m proudest of our reliability. We’re always in the top 5-10% in the country by any metrics, and our team is determined to do everything we can to maintain and improve that record.

My wife and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary this year, and we’re glad to be back in North Carolina. Our daughter is in college studying chemistry, and our son will graduate high school this year and head to college. We’re looking forward to enjoying the beach, and getting involved in the community, and I hope to work on my golf game and do some fishing. I grew up bass fishing, and spent the last several years fly fishing in Colorado. The big fish I caught there are similar in size to the bait that’s used here; just one more reason we’re glad to be in this beautiful area.”