Workers sit behind clear panels at Umatilla Electric Cooperative’s Business Resource Center in Hermiston on April 10, 2020. The center was set up to help businesses apply for Paycheck Protection Program loans. UEC closed the center at the end of June 2025. (Hermiston Herald, File)

HERMISTON — Umatilla Electric Cooperative announced in a press release it closed its Business Resource  Center at the end of June.

UEC opened the center in April 2020 in Hermiston to provide businesses free assistance with grant applications for programs made available through the CARES Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program. In the first year after, it helped businesses with new assistance programs under the American Rescue Plan as well, the Hermiston Herald reported in 2021.

The center in its first year assisted 103 businesses in person, held 718 advising calls and 198 one-on-one advising meetings. To ensure the region’s businesses were aware of the center’s services, staff contacted every member of the Hermiston, Umatilla, Boardman and Pilot Rock chambers of commerce and reached 1,712 UEC members through email blasts.

The center grew into a support hub for the region’s small business community, providing no-cost, confidential services and assisting local small businesses planning, financial analysis, website development and more.

The center expanded its services as the pandemic’s business disruption progressed, offering free business advising, brand identity workshops, budgeting support and access to UEC’s revolving loan fund.

Lisa McMeen, UEC vice president of administration, in the announcement said closing the Business Resource Center is not the end of the cooperative’s economic support but a pivot toward new opportunities.

“We’re taking what we learned and applying it to more flexible, community-wide strategies that align with today’s needs and tomorrow’s challenges,” she said.

This includes enhancing economic development partnerships, exploring workforce training initiatives and investing in local infrastructure that can drive long-term growth.

For more information on UEC’s ongoing community support programs, visit www.umatillaelectric.com.