Chad Armstrong is guided by his rural roots and a spirit of service
By Josh P. Crotzer
In the small Laurens County community of Shiloh, Chad Armstrong's parents, each postal carriers, had built a home next to his grandparents. When Armstrong grew up and started a family, he built his house right next to theirs.
“I was happy where I was,” says Armstrong. “It was home.”
Armstrong had worked at Laurens Electric Cooperative since 1997, first as a systems engineer and mapping supervisor and most recently as vice president of human resources. However, when Broad River Electric Cooperative began looking for a new CEO, its proximity and reputation were enough to lead Armstrong to take a leap toward the neighboring cooperative.
“It was a big deal for me,” he says. “But something inside me kept saying, ‘It’s a good co-op with a great board, and it’s right next door.’ Broad River Electric felt so familiar. When I met with the board, I knew these were my people.”
After a transitional period of working alongside retiring CEO Terry Mallard, Armstrong took over fully in April. Since then, his intuitions about the move have been confirmed. He’s moved his home to Cowpens, just a few minutes away from the cooperative’s headquarters, and has been intentional about getting to know the people he works with and the communities he works for.
“The people here are tremendous,” says Armstrong. “I think when you’re talking about rural South Carolina communities, they are facing the same issues in Cherokee County and Union County as Spartanburg County and Laurens County.” Chad Armstrong’s move from a neighboring cooperative was less a career change than a short trip down the road.
Armstrong says one of his priorities is to “be out there a little more,” connecting with civic leaders and chambers and becoming involved in local charities. It’s a spirit of service he learned from his parents. His mom helped organize a community effort to build the Hickory Tavern Youth Recreation Field. And his father, a Vietnam War veteran, never meets a stranger.
“My mom taught me service,” says Armstrong. “At my core, that’s who I am. If there is a need, I want to fill that gap. My dad taught me that good people come in different forms and looks, and they are everywhere.”
To Armstrong, those philosophies tie directly to how he wants to lead Broad River Electric into the next decade. The co-op faces challenges and opportunities with increasing costs for materials and wholesale power, while residential and industrial growth boom across the three counties it serves. He believes the co-op is strongly positioned for the future because of the individuals on his team and the partnerships that exist in South Carolina’s electric cooperative system.
“My role is to set a vision of where we’re going and make sure our employees are equipped with the resources they need to complete their mission of service to our members,” he says. “I’m going to continue to be a voice to mitigate rising power costs. Being a part of the co-op system is a key component. We are better together than we are apart, so I’m going to build on those relationships with…other co-ops.”
It’s the relationship with Broad River Electric’s members that is most important to Armstrong.
“We’re here for them, that’s our whole purpose,” he says. “We’re their electric cooperative. They’re our owners, and we will treat them that way.”