“Service.”

After many years of work, one failed referendum and 100’s of hours put in by volunteers and SERCAP staff, the Ellendale community faced a referendum on Saturday, November 4, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Ellendale Civic and Community Improvement Association (ECCIA) worked diligently to distribute flyers – “VOTE YES on November 4” – putting out over 40 yard signs, making individual phone calls, and trying to call attention to the critical nature of this referendum. Members of the group also offered rides to the polls for anyone without transportation, and rides to the county seat of Georgetown for absentee voting, if they were unable to get to one of the two polling places on November 4, 2017.

With the holiday season in full effect, our SERCAP team has been looking forward to quality time with friends and family, homemade recipes, and giving back to the community.

Here at SERCAP we are champions for rural America. With natural beauty, lush mountains, and abundant farmland, it’s no surprise that many of us choose to call these places home. In addition to the natural beauty, rural America forms the backbone of our nation’s economy. From raw materials to agricultural production, this land quite literally feeds and clothes us.

On October 11, 2017, Inside Philanthropy published an article entitled, "Water Systems Are in Crisis. How Can Funders Help?" The Executive Director of the National Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), Nathan Ohle, penned the following response to the article.

SERCAP joined forces with Tri-County Community Action Agency, in Virginia, and hosted community workshops. These workshops were designed to educate and support individuals with failing septic systems or no treatment systems at all, to improve the water quality in this impaired waterway. In total, this workshop served 75 unique residences. This is a great example of how our team supports communities and individuals with our water, wastewater and community development services. 

Did you know 71% of the earth’s surface is covered in water but only 4% of that water is fresh? Or how about that 60% of the adult human body is made up of water? It’s pretty clear that water truly is life. We need it to sustain our communities and people need it to survive. Yet, there are still homes across the United States that have incomplete indoor plumbing. It is hard for some to believe that this is a reality for others, as the natural resource of water is something we come to expect and often take for granted.

We love that our role in supporting rural communities allows us the opportunity to work with people of all different walks of life, and cultures. The 4th Quarter SERCAP Native American Water Masters Association (NAWMA) meeting was held at the Annual Summer Festival and Pow Wow on the Cherokee Reservation in North Carolina. This was the first SERCAP NAWMA meeting outside of South Carolina and allowed SERCAP the opportunity to introduce the NAWMA to other tribes. Our team had the opportunity to discuss SERCAP, and our services, with a group of Native American personnel that are involved in the business of delivering a potable water supply to the Cherokee Reservation and many of the surrounding communities.

Like the roots of SERCAP, our President and CEO also has roots in the Roanoke Valley. Hope Cupit is a William Fleming High School graduate and has a large network of family in the area. Hope’s mother was one of nine children--can you imagine all those aunts, uncles, and cousins? That large family in Hope’s life clarifies why leading SERCAP for Hope means fostering a family-like atmosphere amongst the SERCAP team.

At SERCAP, we take pride in providing expert service in the field of water and wastewater. Part of this service includes educating individuals and communities on ways to manage their water and wastewater systems. Often water is viewed as an endlessly abundant resource when, in reality, quality drinking water is becoming more and more difficult to obtain. We enjoy getting the chance to help these communities by giving them the information and resources they need in order to have one of the basic necessities of life: water.