What We Do
- Jaclyn Sifert
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
This month’s blog topic is “What does GSC do?” Hardly an easy task… but Jaclyn Sifert, one of our talented Portfolio Communications Managers, explains it well.
As I approach my third anniversary with GSC, it feels appropriate to reflect on the journey thus far. Our CEO and founder, Mariah Lynne, once shared with me her theory that by year three in a professional position, you should confidently be an expert in your work. At that time, she said, the real question becomes: do you enjoy what you do?
People these days seem to care more about what you do for work than what you enjoy. I’m one of the lucky ones who can say I find enjoyment in my work. My values align so closely with those of GSC that it makes coming to work easy. GSC believes in the preservation of small rural communities and farms. I relate, because I have lived it. Except for a few short stints living in metropolitan cities—Chicago, London, and Omaha—I have lived small, in places where you can hear yourself think and where family is close.
I was raised on a small family farm in North Central Iowa, not far from where I live today. My dad, who is now 81 years old, still farms alongside my nephew. I’ve always admired my dad’s work ethic. I inherited that same work ethic, but typically about three years into a job, I start to get an itch—the itch to change, to be more, to do more.
I don’t have that itch at GSC, and I think it’s because I am finally doing something I love. I am satisfied and proud of the work I do. Honestly, it doesn’t feel like work; it feels more like a purpose. That feeling is not unique to me, it’s how many of us think at GSC.
Local Focus – Local Motion
At GSC, we build connections—with our clients, with landowners, with other rural people—and that is what keeps me here. I think that is what keeps all of us here at GSC. We help preserve rural America, and it feels good to be a part of something bigger than oneself.
When we work with a renewable energy developer, we start by getting to know the project area—the people, the communities, their shared values, their wins and losses, and everything in between. We want to identify the changemakers and understand who may be uncomfortable with change. Many other companies claim to do “rural communications” or offer similar services, but they are not as successful because they lack our specialized expertise. GSC is made up of people who either grew up in rural areas, live in a rural area, or have some other deep connection to the rural way of life. When you are genuinely passionate about something—that cannot be made up or created—it is part of who you are and what you believe. This is what makes GSC uniquely the best at what we do.
We understand that each rural community is also unique. History is vital to rural places—who voted for the new school and who didn’t, when the local car dealership closed, and when the new owners took over the local café. Small rural communities are full of tough people. We’ve seen a lot, we’ve been through a lot together, and we aren’t sharing any of that experience or opening our doors to you unless we trust you.
Rural people care deeply about their roots, and to our advantage, we care about preserving those roots.
To build trust in our project areas we search for, select, and on-board a Project Local Representative (Local Rep); creating the first local job. The selected person is well-respected, knows the community, and is our “boots on the ground” week in and week out. Selecting the right person is truly an art, not a science. GSC does it well because rural is innate to us. Local Reps deserve the utmost respect as they are often razed and harassed by local opposition. But, as we find in most rural personalities, our Local Reps live with conviction and are steadfast in their beliefs. They understand the resources renewable energy projects provide for their communities and are determined to help others understand the development, get to know the developer, and highlight project benefits for the local area. Local Reps spend countless hours reaching out, answering questions, and balancing the needs of a developer with the needs of their small community.
We help organize and facilitate landowner dinners, and our creative team designs hats, rain gauges, and other promotional materials. We launch websites and Facebook pages to provide communities with easy access to project information. We open local offices. We provide expertise and advice to lead our developers on what donations and sponsorships would have the most significant and most valuable impact on our small communities. We encourage our developers to volunteer, to be seen locally, because we understand actions speak louder than words in rural communities. I simply cannot include all the things we do in one blog post. But I can tell you, in everything we do, we do it in the best interest of the rural people and communities we serve.
Peer-to-Peer
GSC builds meaningful trust. We all know that renewable energy provides many needed resources, primarily tax benefits, to small rural areas. But renewable energy projects can also help preserve family roots (to us, more important than economic impact). Our project participants entrust in us their stories, and we get to hear about their family farm roots. Roots that allow grandkids to farm their great-grandfather’s land, roots in stories about how and when the farm came into existence, rifts between brothers — the things that landowners, farmers, and their families won’t tell you about until they trust you — until they know you are advocating for them and their rural way of life. GSC folks understand that trust is sacred, and we work diligently to earn and keep trust.
Our employees also have deep roots in our own rural communities. We are rural peers. We know what it means when the local health clinic closes, and we must drive 30 minutes to the nearest town for a doctor's appointment. We understand the excitement that comes with a new business in town or the first time your daughter drives the combine—signs of growth and progress—signs of survival.
Renewable energy projects won’t happen without meaningful connections, built with trust. Connections to landowners, local stakeholders, community members—because they all matter. Without willing landowners, wind turbines, solar farms, and battery storage facilities won’t be built. Through renewable projects, landowners are provided a stable source of income—income that can be used to grow the family farm by providing a down payment on additional land, sending kids to college, buying that new side-by-side to check crops with and for the grandkids to ride around the farm in. If that side-by-side is purchased locally, if the ground is purchased locally, that supports local business as well. Spreading positive impact to others.
Local businesses boom during the construction phase of a project, thanks to construction workers who need a place to eat, sleep, and fuel up. Local contractors may also be used, depending on whether a specialized trade is available locally. Local taxing entities may receive new tax revenue from the project. Tax dollars can help fund local road improvements, schools, libraries, and other items. These contributions assist rural areas by providing stability in challenging economic times. The contributions help maintain community roots.
When people ask me, “What do you do?”, I say, “I work on building relationships with rural communities”. Because, in a nutshell, that is what GSC does. And when people ask for more—when you can tell they want to connect with you—that is when I light up. I become giddy and excited to share what I do, because I have realized I am proud of the work GSC does, proud of the team I work with, and finally satisfied in my profession. No itches here.