An open at-large seat on the Delaware Electric Cooperative board of directors has drawn a lot of interest ahead of the August election.
Five candidates have declared for the At-Large 2 seat on the board. Incumbents Hunter Emory in District 3, Mark Abbott inDistrict 5, Laura Phillips inDistrict 6, Blaine Daisey inDistrict 9 andMike Brownin At-Large 1 are running unopposed.
Seeking the At-Large 2 seat areJeffrey Benson Jr.,Angela Biller, Jeff Chorman,Kyle Hoyd andSherri Smith.Bill Wells, who represented District 3 for decades, retired from the board earlier this year. Hunter Emory, who was the At-Large 2 director, lives in District 3 and moved into the seat formerly held by Wells, leaving the At-Large 2 seat open.To run for the At-Large 2 seat, candidates just needed to gather the signatures of 15 DEC members. The deadline to file was June 13.
At-Large 2 candidates
Benson is a multifaceted executive and business consultant with more than 15 years of experience. He is an adept strategist known for his exceptional ability to build and align organizations toward achieving peak profitability and delivering unparalleled client service. His broad expertise spans strategic planning, organizational leadership, sales and operations management, marketing, community outreach and more.Benson holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing, an MBA in organizational leadership and a doctor of business administration degree from Wilmington University. He currently serves as vice president on the Seaford School District Board of Education, and sits on the advisory board of Multiplying Good and the governor-appointed Delaware Board of Cosmetology & Barbering. He’s an honorary commander for Dover Air Force Base, and is a Leadership Delaware and Congressional Black Caucus Institute fellow.
Biller was born and raised in Sussex County, where her family has resided for more than six generations and, up until the 1990s, was part of the Sussex County farming community. She graduated from Cape Henlopen in 1991. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in counseling. She has been employed by Cape Henlopen School District for the past 28 years and currently holds the position of district special education coordinator of compliance. She has enjoyed serving on a panel at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for parent workshops, and organizing multiple toy drives for Child Life at both Nemours Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She has also volunteered with Dysautonomia International and worked with the General Assembly to have the month of October declared as Dysautonomia Awareness Month in Delaware.Angie and her husband Scott reside outside Milton. They have two children, Luke and Nicole Elizabeth.
Chorman, a native Delawarean, is the current owner and operator of Chorman’s Aerial Spraying in Greenwood. He graduated from Cape Henlopen and holds a bachelor’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Chorman has deep insights into the needs of Delaware’s farming community. With his extensive experience on various boards, including his role as chair of the Sussex County Board of Adjustment and serving on Delaware Electric Cooperative’s Member Committee, Chorman believes he is well equipped to serve the southern Delaware community. He said he is committed to ensuring reliable and affordable renewable energy sources for all members. Chorman feels his background in agriculture and business, combined with his dedication to service, makes him the ideal candidate to keep the co-op’s service timely and rates affordable. Chorman currently resides in Milford with his wife and two daughters.
Hoyd is a resident of the Harrington area who currently works for the Department of Agriculture, serving as the state forester who oversees 389,000 acres of forestland. Hoyd works across federal, state, county and local governments to provide the best land management opportunities for Delaware residents in three forms: technical, educational and financial assistance. He was previously deputy state forester and urban forestry coordinator, where he served in a management position increasing public assistance both financially and through technical services. Prior to the Forest Service, Hoyd operated a wholesale and retail distributorship that served a five-county region in northeastern Pennsylvania.Hoyd holds a bachelor’s degree in forestry from West Virginia University and an associate’s degree in forest technology from the Pennsylvania College of Technology. He is an advocate for reliability, cost-saving efforts, improving services for co-op members, and ensuring customer service is the No. 1 priority.
Smith is a lifelong resident of Bridgeville, where she lives with her husband Matthew. She graduated from Woodbridge High School and became a teacher. She earned master’s degrees in leadership and administration, career and technical education, and special education. She is now retired and assists her husband with their poultry operation, where they grow about 100,000 chickens annually for Mountaire, as well as corn, soybeans and sorghum. She is the mother of two sons. Smith said she looks forward to continuing to serve her community and the Delaware Electric Cooperative members, and understanding how DEC can keep providing affordable and reliable energy to members.As a partner in a poultry and farming operation, she recently installed solar panels to help provide crucial electric power to many locations around the farm. The process has helped her understand the benefits of renewable energy and the role it could play in providing clean, local power to DEC members.
Election information
Members of Delaware Electric Cooperative are entitled to vote for whoever represents their interests on the board of directors and for any proposed bylaw changes. Members can vote via secure electronic ballot atdirectvote.net/DECI/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fDECI%2f. Members can also vote via mail-in ballot, through DEC’s online memberSmartHub portalor in person. On Monday, July 8, members with an email address on file will receive an email with voting credentials and instructions on how to securely cast a ballot. Members without a valid email address will be mailed credentials and voting instructions. Those who wish to vote through a mail-in ballot can request one after July 8 by calling 302-349-3118 or emailingtmccann@delaware.coop. Online voting will open at 8 a.m., July 8, and will close at 8 p.m., Friday, Aug. 9. Anyone who does not receive an email or a letter in the mail regarding voting by Sunday, July 14, is asked to emailsupport@directvote.net. Mail-in ballots must be received by the election provider no later than Aug. 9. Members who prefer to vote in person can do so at DEC’s Annual Meeting Tuesday, Aug. 13, at the Delaware State Fairgrounds. In-person voting will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Centre Ice Rink. Members voting in person are asked to bring a photo ID. Members who experience issues with voting can call 952-974-2339 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Only members who join DEC before July 1, 2024, are eligible to vote in this year’s election.
For more information about the election, candidates and the annual meeting, go to delaware.coop/about/2024-annual-meeting-election.
