PUBLICATIONSTAFF
Richard G. Johnstone, Jr.
Executive Editor (Retired)
Richard G. Johnstone, Jr. served as President and CEO of the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives from August 2016 until April 2021. Prior to that, he served for 17 years as Executive Vice President of the VMDAEC.
Johnstone, 61, worked at the Association for 36 years. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Richmond, Johnstone majored at UR in both journalism and speech communications. He joined VMDAEC in April 1985 as manager of its communications and public relations department and editor of Rural Living magazine. Before coming to VMDAEC, he worked for seven years at the Virginia State Bar, principally as editor of the bar’s monthly magazine.
Johnstone has been active for years in the business community in Virginia and the cooperative community nationally. He currently serves as a board member and is past president of the Virginia Cooperative Council and is a former board member and president of the Virginia Society of Association Executives. He received VSAE’s highest honor, the CEO Award of Excellence, in December 2016.
He also serves on the executive committee and the board of the Better Business Bureau of Central Virginia. In addition, he is a member and past president of both the Rural Electric Statewide Managers Association and the Rural Electric Statewide Editors Association.
Johnstone and his wife, Blair, live in Midlothian and have two grown children, Katy Johnstone Hurtz and Ethan Johnstone.
Steven Johnson
Editor
Steven Johnson is editor of Cooperative Living magazine. Prior to joining the association, he worked for 13 years as managing editor and senior communications adviser at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. He has received more than 20 regional and national writing awards for reporting on issues related to electric co-ops ranging from Hurricane Katrina to autistic youth. Steven was previously a reporter and editor at several Virginia newspapers. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi and graduate degrees from the University of Virginia. He is a member of the journalism wing of the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in Iowa.
Laura Emery
Deputy Editor
Laura Emery is field editor and social media coordinator of Cooperative Living magazine, published by the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives for the members of 12 electric-distribution cooperatives in Virginia. Laura has been with the Association since 2000. She writes local pages content for member cooperatives as requested, as well as the monthly Say Cheese column. Laura also writes several cover stories a year with accompanying photography and assists with the Cooperative Living Facebook page. A Pennsylvania native, Laura grew up in rural Virginia and enjoys country living with her family. In addition to rural living, she enjoys writing, party planning, photography, interior decorating and spending time with her husband and children.
Gregg MacDonald
Senior Writer-Editor
Gregg MacDonald joined the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives in 2020 as a Senior Writer-Editor for Cooperative Living magazine.
Gregg MacDonald grew up in Ohio and Georgia. He has worked for the Savannah Morning News, as a founding member and Managing Editor of the Volunteer Times in East Tennessee; a writer for the Washington Post and as Executive Editor of the Fairfax County Times.
John Grott
Creative Services Coordinator
John Grott is production coordinator for Cooperative Living magazine. He joined the staff in 2019 and his primary responsibility is to design and layout the state-wide pages of Cooperative Living. Prior to coming to VMDAEC, John has practiced graphic design for over 25 years in a variety of creative environments such as state and county governments, academia, food distribution and the electric industry.
John is a Hoosier from Indiana. He has a BA in graphic design from Indiana University and an MFA in visual communication from VCU. John enjoys golf, running and biking, photography and spending time with his wife and two children.
Jim Robertson
Creative Services Specialist
With more than a decade serving electric cooperative members in Missouri and North Carolina in a communications role, Jim Robertson joined the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives in early 2020. He earned his Certified Cooperative Communicator credentials through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in 2016 and continues to serve VMDAEC and its member cooperatives with graphic design, writing, photography and other creative services. Jim was born and raised in the Buffalo, NY, area and graduated from Niagara University, where he played NCAA Division I baseball. He also enjoys landscape and portrait photography.
Nina Jacobs
Administrative Services Coordinator
Nina Jacobs joined the VMDAEC team in 2015 as an Administrative Services Manager after working with CarMax for ten years as an Executive Assistant. Her duties included accounting, administrative support for the scholarship foundation and overseeing day to day needs of the employees. With over 15 years of administrative experience she is now assisting the Cooperative Living team with various duties that include subscriptions, magazine distribution and lending a hand with advertisements.
Nina is a cum laude graduate of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC. She was born and raised in Bernardsville, New Jersey. She resides in Henrico VA with her puppy Charlotte. Nina enjoys bird watching, nature walks, reading and needlepoint.
Amanda Cunningham
Marketing Coordinator
Amanda Cunningham joined the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives in 2002, doing graphics-design work for Cooperative Living magazine and the Association’s member cooperatives. Her career path evolved as she began helping the advertising-sales staff with their growing marketing needs. Today, she heads up the advertising department and enjoys helping her clients, Virginia communities and new businesses grow through Cooperative Living. Amanda is a native of the Richmond area and a graduate of George Mason University.
Tommy Campbell
Digital Producer
Tommy Campbell has been with the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives since the Spring of 2017. He joined the association as the Design &
E-Media Coordinator, providing design work for Cooperative Living Magazine and the association, as well as online and digital development. Tommy’s background is in graphic design, both print and web, and marketing and publications. He has over 26 years of experience in the industry in various positions. Prior to coming to VMDAEC, he was the Creative Director for a non-profit, military association for many years. Tommy is a native of Virginia and a graduate of Radford University.
Contributors
Paula Steers Brown
Contributing Columnist
Anne Dellinger
Contributing Columnist
She graduated from Bridgewater College with a degree in biology and began a teaching career in Rockingham and Shenandoah counties. Later, after moving back to the family farm, she opened a private pre-school, which she operated for 28 years. Along with her late husband Doug, she helped manage a beef cattle operation and raised Percheron draft horses.
Anne has a son, a daughter and two granddaughters. Now retired, She enjoys time for family, nature walks, hiking, traveling, gardening and volunteering at a therapeutic horseback riding center.
Margo Oxendine
Contributing Columnist
She has also written a PBS documentary, “Back Road to History: Bath County,” a play, “Over Here, Over There,” and two books, one of historical photographs, “Images of America, Bath County Virginia,” and “A Party of One,” a compilation of 65 of her favorite newspaper and magazine columns.
Her hobbies might be called reading, singing and minding her own quiet business.
She has lived and played in Key West, Florida, and San Francisco, California. Now, she makes her home in the lovely green mountains of Hot Springs, Virginia. Margo likes to think she is “retired,” yet she still writes for The Recorder newspaper in Monterey, Virginia; the Virginian-Review newspaper in Covington, and a column for Cooperative Living magazine, “Rural Living.”
