As we head into the new year, we’ve taken time to reflect on the themes and lessons that defined 2025. One insight stands out: progress moves faster when connection is built into the work from day one.
At REACH, we’ve spent years helping clients translate ambitious goals into on-the-ground action. Through community activations, hands-on EV experiences, strategic planning support, and customer education, we’ve seen what accelerates progress and what slows it down. Time and again, success hinges on how well systems, stakeholders, and customers are connected.
Today, you are being asked to do more than deploy and support infrastructure. You’re expected to reach your community, which has very different needs, questions, and levels of readiness. The challenge isn’t a lack of interest. It’s aligning people, data, and decisions in ways that are practical, scalable, and grounded in local reality.
Our work supporting community transportation electrification planning across rural, suburban, and politically diverse regions has reinforced a core lesson: early engagement saves time later. When local leaders, dealerships, fleet managers, and community partners are brought in early, plans are clearer, investments are more targeted, and adoption is more durable.
Connection shows up in how stories are told. When communities see themselves reflected in the work, through local voices, lived experiences, and real-world examples, engagement deepens. EV test drives turn curiosity into confidence. Community planning processes surface barriers before they become costly delays. Education strategies resonate because they meet people where they are. Investments have a greater impact when they align with both grid needs and community priorities.
This isn’t theoretical. Pairing planning with engagement and grounding both in authentic community storytelling positions you to anticipate demand, manage infrastructure rollout, and build trust that extends beyond a single program cycle.
Heading into 2026, the opportunity is clear: lead not just through assets and incentives, but through partnership. Convene early. Listen closely. Tell the story of your community through the work itself.
REACH is here to be that partner, helping you connect strategy to execution, engagement to outcomes, and local stories to lasting impact.
