Nice to Meet You
Marcus Freeman’s workdays are filled with compliance, regulatory, and risk management tasks — as ElectriCities Manager of Compliance and Risk Management, he assists communities with compliance of NERC AND SERC reliability standards, manages load forecasts for all member communities, and stays on top of risk analysis and risk management across the board. “Risk management is all about being proactive,” Freeman explains of his varied and full plate.
Always Giving Back
Proactive could describe Marcus’s approach to his off time, too. He has a passion for volunteering. Whether he’s on a Habitat for Humanity job site, working a shift at the Durham Food Bank, or serving up meals at Shepherd’s Table in downtown Raleigh, offering a friendly helping hand to others is important to Marcus. Here at ElectriCities, he helps organize the annual back-to-school school supply drive for local children. And every year on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Marcus gives blood to the American Red Cross, a tradition he started in the late ’90s.
Marcus says he’s seen firsthand the struggles some families in need face. “Everybody does not have the same opportunities, but that shouldn’t define a person. Being in a position to help, whether it’s financially or physically, and lend a helping hand — I’ll always do that when I can.” He looks to an old proverb as inspiration: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Inspiration comes from his own family, too. Another one of Marcus’s volunteer endeavors is coaching youth baseball. He fell into it when his son, Zachary, who’s now 11, started playing ball at age 4. “After Zach wanted to take on baseball and devote time to it, it easily developed into a passion for me.” Marcus and his wife also have a daughter, almost-8-year-old Evelyn. They like to get the whole family involved in giving back, and haven’t let the pandemic stop that spirit. “Because of Covid, we’ve switched it up. Since we can’t go to many places to volunteer as a family, we’ve been donating to Goodwill and Salvation Army.” The Freeman family has made almost 6 trips since March, with the kids helping purge closets and choose what puzzles and games to donate. “But it wasn’t just about house cleaning. It’s about still trying to find a way to give back.”
We Want to Hear from You!
We want to shine a light on the folks who keep the lights on, the faces behind the public power that drives our communities. We’ll be sharing a few stories about our team here at ElectriCities, from what inspires us to some of our favorite hobbies.
But this isn’t just about us. We want to hear from you! Do you have an employee who goes above and beyond? What about a team member or leader with an impressive extracurricular accomplishment? Let us know by sending your stories and ideas here.