A highlight of the strength of the partnership between Hopland Band of Pomo Indians and BANC is that we were awarded a Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund (TSAF) grant to install solar on the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians gym, which is a hub for community happenings as well as an emergency center for the Tribe. Richard Billy has been an incredible connector, always advocating for GRID and connecting us to decision-makers in the community, and with trainees. We are grateful to know Richard and to share some of his story and his support of GRID’s work, below. Enjoy the inspiration!
My name is Richard Billy, and I am the Housing Director for the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians (Hopland). I used to live in Oklahoma. Now I live in California. I have three kids. I have been married for 23 years, and I've been with my wife for 30. I have been a C 10. electrical contractor since 2008. I've worked for my Tribe for approximately two years, it has been a journey. I am not familiar with the solar aspect, and I am totally interested. That's why I connected with GRID initially to help with solar for our gym for an emergency type of facility to make sure that we have power when the power goes out. And then I went into learning about the TSAF grant and connected with Cora Saxton (Director of North Coast). And I thought she was just a C 10. Contractor, but I came to find out that she's a general contractor as well! So that was a big benefit. Cora and Kelsey Radmilovic (BANC Sr. Outreach & Workforce Development Coordinator) have been phenomenal with support on an advanced level.
I think (GRID) would be an awesome opportunity for any Native American tribes because as Russell Means would say, American Indian tribe, since we're American Indians, we should always be thinking about going green. And that's part of Mother Nature's healing. And this is a big part of doing that. And GRID I know, they're like, big time across I believe the United States. I've heard nothing but great things. And now I'm part of the team with them. And they've really helped me.
A bit about the story of what brought Richard from Oklahoma to being in the Hopland community:
Me and my family moved from Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, to Haskell Indian Nations University. And that's where my dad used to work as a big HVAC tech. And we lived there for, say, 10 years.
Before that, I was in California until fourth grade, and I was young. And you know, I loved Santa Rosa, California. And then we moved out to Oklahoma Ponca, City, Oklahoma, my mom is from Ponca City, Oklahoma. And growing up out there, I was always involved in athletics. And I never really felt discrimination, you know, as less. But on this subject, I would like to say that my mother and father during the civil rights era and going to DC on all these buses and fighting for our rights and stuff like that was very important. And they did experience discrimination. My grandparents were in boarding schools. They really felt discrimination. But the quick answer is, I haven't really, and I've been blessed to be a part of the military, the Army 13, Bravo-filled artillery.
I've been blessed to thankfully go to college, and I'm going back to college full time to get my associate's and bachelor’s, and then master's. I'm just thankful to be a part of GRID Alternatives. Because when we did the TSAF, they were phenomenal. I mean, basically, I'd provide some travel information, and they took it and submitted it, and bam, we got it. So that is a benefit for any tribe that even thinks or considers going with GRID because they have the staff, they have the support, they have the networking, and they're going to help. And that's their goal, basically, to go green. And so that's universal.
I met my wife in Lawrence, Kansas, moved to California, we started helping my dad, and slowly but surely, I started working for my casino at first got my journeyman license. And then in 2008, I got my contractor's license.
And then in 2022, I started the Housing Director position. And then I fell in love with the housing aspect of providing housing. It has been a journey, and my first two years have been phenomenal. I'm part of a housing Academy Excellence program, and I'm almost finished with it. They taught me all the parts that I didn't know. And that was like, 80%. I know the construction side. And that's like 20%. All the grant, funding, management, land acquisitions, you know, all the other parts, which makes 100% of the housing. I've learned so much, and I'm almost done with it. I'm never going to be an expert at this, but I was comfortable when GRID Alternatives came along and said, hey, do you guys want to do some solar? And I said, Yeah, so we started off with the gym and we're looking forward to doing the next project with our EPA.
Part of bridging the opportunity is that we do already have three Tesla batteries on the reservation. And with the solar panels, we'll be able to feed those Tesla batteries for emergency, you know, energy. And so I'm just really thankful to be here.
A few final words of wisdom from Richard:
I heard about GRID Alternatives. And I was always very interested, because, you know, I believe in solar going green aspect of helping Mother Earth. And when I got hired, they were so willing to help, they came out to do a presentation for the Tribal Council. And I just want to let GRID know that their persistence and steadiness and connection with the Hopland Band was tremendous. Otherwise, I would not be here. We're making progress, and we're not rushing. We've got a cohort of trainees and it's so exciting to see the Hopland Tribal Members get a chance to receive this training, that they're going to get a certificate that can put them to potentially a job opportunity or their next training. It's phenomenal for what it does for, and it doesn't have to be a youth, you know, I'm sure we'll probably have to do some kind of physical test to make sure they can get on a roof, climb a ladder, follow some kind of SOP (standard operating procedure), and make sure everybody's safe.
Another thing that I wanted to present is how much GRID focuses on safety, I thought I was bad about focusing on safety. But it's so important. And it's so beneficial because a realistic approach equates to a realistic outcome. And we want to have all our fingers, we want to have our arms and legs, we want to have all of those things. And that's important. And GRID’s shown me and my other people, I've got the Education Director and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director, a Project Manager on the team, and this started slow.
It all falls into place, naturally, and we know that it was meant to be. And I think I was meant to meet Cora and Kelsey, and so we're reaping the benefits of the organization. GRID’s accomplishments are off the charts. I'm very appreciative and thankful. No truer version of what being humble is.
The respect and appreciation and admiration are mutual, Richard. Here’s to you!