SMECO’s Slater tapped for college board position

Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008

The nominations, which are subject to Senate confirmation, reappoint sitting members or fill vacancies on a range of state panels from more prominent ones (the state board of education and the Maryland Stadium Authority) to the obscure (the Board of Boiler Rules and the Seafood Marketing Advisory Commission).

Appointments of local interest include Austin J. ‘‘Joe” Slater, president and CEO of Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, to a five-year term on the College of Southern Maryland Board of Trustees. Slater, who lives in California and is a graduate of the two-year college, is vice chairman of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. He fills a vacancy on the 11-member board.

After graduating from Severna Park High School, Slater worked for two years before enrolling at what was then Charles County Community College. He graduated in 1974, moving on to receive his master’s in business administration from George Washington University in 1983.

‘‘It represented a turning point for me. It got me back into the educational program,” recalled Slater. ‘‘It helped me get a leg up. If I had not had the opportunity to enter the community college, I probably would not have re-entered the educational program.”

Slater delivered the keynote address at CSM’s winter 2004 commencement.

Retired teacher Dorothea Holt Smith of Charles County will be reappointed to her CSM board seat, pending Senate confirmation.

O’Malley also submitted four names for appointment to the St. Mary’s College Board of Trustees. Those of U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md., 5th) and board Treasurer Patrick P. Hervy of Baltimore are reappointments to six-year terms. Two Anne Arundel County members — Arthur Birney Jr. and C. Richard D’Amato — are new appointees.

Birney is a real estate mogul and golf course developer. D’Amato is a former Democratic state delegate and U.S. Navy veteran who worked in numerous capacities on Capitol Hill for more than two decades.

Other Southern Maryland appointments — some were made during the 2007 General Assembly interim — include:

*William Arthur Frazier of Charles County to a four-year term on the Emergency Number Systems Board.

*John E. Jordan Jr. of Charles County to a three-year term on the State Commission on Real Estate Appraisers and Home Inspectors.

*Robert M. Johnson of Charles County to a five-year term on the Maryland Veterans Home Commission, where he is chairman.

*Michael J. Whitson of St. Mary’s County to a three-year term on the Maryland Transportation Authority.

*Stephen T. Reeves and Barbara R. Thompson, both of St. Mary’s County, to three-year terms on the Board of Review of the Agriculture Department.

*Thomas R. Zinn of Calvert County to a four-year term on the Seafood Marketing Advisory Commission

Other nominees include O’Malley’s previously announced choices for the Maryland State Board of Education and new designees for the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, the Maryland Port Commission and the Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund, the State Racing Commission and the Maryland Commission for Women, among others.

One other appointee of note is William O. Ripken — aka Billy Ripken, Cal’s brother — to the Maryland Tourism Development Board.

‘‘I am proud to nominate these outstanding candidates to fill key posts in Maryland’s state government,” O’Malley (D) said in a statement. ‘‘We have worked hard to compile a list of individuals from across our State with diverse geographic and ethnic backgrounds to continue to help protect Maryland’s priorities.”

Per state tradition, a senior member of the governor’s staff delivers the green satchel to Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert, Prince George’s).

Appointments Secretary Jeanne D. Hitchcock did the honors this year, telling Miller that all recommendations were ‘‘eminently qualified, willing to serve the citizens of the state.” The two engaged in a playful exchange when Hitchcock tried to retrieve the bag upon her departure.

‘‘She wants her bag back,” Miller barked. ‘‘When you deal with Democrats, that’s what happens.”

abrody@somdnews.com