Building Trust, One Community at a Time

Written by: Darrah Perryman

Sacrifice and trust form the cornerstone of any successful relationship, especially for those dedicated to community-building. There is a painting that hangs on Reginald Speight’s office walls that illustrates this principle. It portrays a young boy draping his jacket over his brother’s shoulders, forgoing the warmth and comfort for himself. It sends a powerful message. This gesture, neither small nor unnoticed, embodies everything Speight stands for – a resounding commitment to service and empathy.

Speight hangs this painting in every office he occupies. From the halls of Congressmen G. K. Butterfield’s office to the corridors of nonprofits he has managed over the course of his 20 years in public service. Now, as the State Director for USDA Rural Development North Carolina, the painting is a welcome reminder after a hard day’s work of why he has dedicated his career towards serving others, and currently, to the people of North Carolina. 

Leading the Rural Development North Carolina Office in building relationships with stakeholders and matching communities to federal programs is important to Speight. Initiatives like the Rural Partners Network, which was expanded in North Carolina in 2022 and is led by USDA, is working to bridge the gaps between federal resources and communities. But that can look different to every rural community throughout the country, and even more so throughout the Tar Heel State.

“Basic amenities that so many people take for granted are nonexistent in rural areas,” Speight said. “In order for rural areas to prosper, we need things like internet and broadband. These are not a luxury. They are community development essentials.”  

In 2022, USDA Rural Development invested nearly $2 billion to expand access to high-speed internet across rural communities, granting connectivity to nearly 109,000 households and improving capacity and infrastructure within communities. From grants that help businesses pivot or expand in an ever-changing market, to cooperative development assistance that helps communities unite to solve pressing issues, RD’s programs are paving the way for more accessible and equitable economic systems.

Speight’s team in North Carolina, in honor of Homeownership Month, dedicated that summer to this initiative and focused on educating rural communities about Rural Development’s housing programs.

People like Marcues Mendoza, who heard about RD’s Single Family Housing Loan program through work, are deeply impacted by these efforts. Mendoza decided to apply in pursuit of a new home for his family and two children. The Single-Family Housing Guaranteed program has helped hundreds of thousands find a path to homeownership that otherwise would not have been possible by giving a guarantee to lenders, allowing them to approve more home loans. Mendoza trusted that RD’s Single Family Housing programs could make his dream of homeownership a reality.

“Owning my own home feels like a huge step towards financial security and independence,” Mendoza said. “It will also help build my roots in this community by living in the same town that I work in.  My kids will grow up in one place and know what it means to be home.  Owning the space and being able to make it ours feels really good.”

But there are other families and communities throughout rural North Carolina that Speight wants to reach with new and innovative approaches. Yet, that is a task teeming with hurdles. A reality in which 12.8% of the state population grapples with poverty, according to 2023 U. S. census data.

Like many economic development programs, investments often require matching funds. That, coupled with mistrust in the federal government, makes their job even more difficult. It’s a challenge that Speight willingly accepts each day, as he works to demonstrate that, much like the painting that hangs in his office, RD remains steadfast in its unwavering support of rural North Carolinians.

“The things that we do can only move as fast as the speed of trust. And we have to broker trust by what we have done in our very last effort, in our very last project, in our very last community -- one community at a time. And that is our advertisement. How we treat every person that comes into our office is our advertisement to help build that trust.”