Jones County, North Carolina

105 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 funds coming through the Land and Water Conservation Fund for those, but that’ll provide a lot of green space and walking trails, especially around our historic Brock Mill Pond—kayak rentals, potentially some overnight stays at the tree houses built on the islands out there. So that’s something to look forward to.” It’s clear that Jones County maintains strong ties to the land, which extends into how significant the farming heritage is to the county’s story, and lends to the sense of pride the community feels in celebrating the rural values that hold it together. “You can definitely feel the pride of the place here,” Bender notes. “We enjoy what we have, but we also know what we’re capable of.” “Just growing up here makes you want to give back to the community,” Smith shares candidly. “We know what we want to see accomplished in terms of introducing some wellness centers, increasing our emergency services, and building new facilities in our industrial park. It’s not going to happen overnight, but with a team of leaders that grew up here, I think we can make this thing happen and push Jones County in a great direction.” PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Jones-Onslow EMC www.joemc.com Driven by service and inspired by innovation, Jones-Onslow EMC is building a brighter future for Jones County. Beyond providing electricity to your home or business, JOEMC is investing in your community and delivering new energy solutions to improve the quality of life for our members.