Cumberland: The second annual Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation (CEMC) subsidiary, Cumberland Connect, is pleased to announce the Small Business Showcase Awards. The awards were developed as an entertaining means of promoting and aiding small businesses in their service region. The time frame for nominations is September 28, 2024, through October 25, 2024.
Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation’s Company Suggestion
CEMC members are free to suggest as many companies as they desire during this time. Nominations must be submitted online using this form. Everybody who submits a company nomination will have their name added to a lottery for a random prize. Every CEMC member who suggests a minimum of one company will be eligible to enter a random drawing for one of five prize packages that include Cumberland Connect Swag, an Amazon Echo Dot, and a Tennessee Cutting Board. Their website, social media accounts, and a special Facebook Live broadcast will all feature shout-outs for qualified nominated businesses.
Voting Session Duration
Members will vote for their preferred companies in each category after the nominated businesses have been divided into groups. The voting session will run from October 29 to November 15. Voting is available on their website during the voting period, and people can select as many companies as they like from each category. Each person may only submit one form per day for voting. A Cumberland Connect Swag Package and a one-time $70 bill credit will be awarded to the winner companies in each category.
Facebook Live TBD
A special Facebook Live TBD will be held to reveal the five winning businesses and five member winners. An email will be sent to each winner. The Small Business Showcase Awards culminate on November 25th, Small Business Saturday, a great opportunity to support small companies and spend locally during the Christmas season. Following the passage of the 2017 Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act by the State of Tennessee, CEMC established Cumberland Connect in 2019.
Broadband Accessibility Grant Program
Through the Broadband Accessibility Grant Program, the act makes broadband resources available to underserved and unserved areas of the state. Broadband providers can extend their broadband deployment to these underserved areas thanks to grants. CEMC was formed by the State of Tennessee on April 20, 1938, to build, maintain, and operate a rural electric distribution network.
They began in Montgomery County and currently cover all or part of five counties: Cheatham, Montgomery, Robertson, Stewart, and Sumner. In 1938, there were just 610 members and 100 miles of line, however by 2023, there will be 110,408 members and over 8,323 miles of line. More than 3.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity were sold to members in the first year of operation, with the figure expected to rise to more than 2.8 billion kilowatt hours by 2022.