A board member since 1998, he resides near Cordova and is the owner and President of Rathell Sales and Services LLC. Mr. Rathell serves on numerous committees for the Co-op including serving as one of the directors on the Aero Energy Board. Mr. Rathell also serves as a director on the Talbot County Farm Bureau.
Donna Richardson West
Worcester County
Donna Richardson West was appointed to represent Worcester County on September 25, 2018.
Ms. West graduated from Snow Hill High School in 1976 and attended Wor-Wic Community College.
An Eastern Shore native, Ms. West is embedded into the local Worcester County community. As daughter of Fay and Roger Richardson, she has worked on her family’s farm her entire life and has seen all aspects of the business, where she provides support in daily operations. She has been the Assistant Treasurer and Treasurer for Makemie Memorial Presbyterian Church since 2000, Campaign Treasurer for Senator Jim Mathias since 2006, and has been on the Board of Directors for Snow Hill Christian Nursery School from 2001-2004 and then again from 2013 to the present.
Engaged to Mr. Kenneth Lambertson Sr., she has three grown children and nine grandchildren. In her spare time, she likes spend time with her family, be on the water either boating or jet skiing, travel, and watch sporting events.
John J. Burke Jr. , Vice Chairman
Cecil County
John J. Burke, Jr., of Warwick in Cecil County, Maryland was appointed to the Choptank Electric Cooperative Board of Directors in March of 2010. Mr. Burke has received NRECA certificates for Credentialed Cooperative Director and Board Leadership. He was elected to the role of Board Secretary and Treasurer in April 2014. Mr. Burke also serves on the board of Mid-Atlantic Cooperative Services and served as Secretary and Treasurer until September 2016. In July 2016 he was elected to Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) Board of Directors and serves as Choptank Electric’s Director representative.
Mr. Burke was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. He and his wife, Terry, have two adult children, Christine and John III. They have lived in Warwick since 1993 and have been Co-op members since then. Mr. Burke earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, where he majored in Industrial Relations and Organization Behavior. He attended graduate school at Temple University's MBA program with a concentration in finance. He served in the United States Navy from 1977 to 1981 and attained the rank of Quartermaster 2'd class.
Mr. Burke is an Associate Broker for Gunther McClary Real Estate, with offices in Cecilton and Rock Hall, conducting real estate brokerage primarily in Cecil, Kent, and Queen Anne's counties. He has served on several non-profit boards in Kent and Cecil counties with business, school, and community service focus.
He and his family enjoy boating on the Chesapeake Bay, snow skiing, traveling, and reading.
Francis A. Callahan Jr.
Caroline County
Francis Addison “Sonny” Callahan, Jr. is the incumbent board member representing Caroline County. He and his wife, Nancy, have lived on CEC lines on Deep Shore Road near Denton since 1966.
Mr. Callahan is a 1954 graduate of Caroline High School and is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. He was employed at Campbell Soup Co. in Chestertown, MD as an accountant and standards analyst.
A retired Choptank Electric Co-op employee, he began working as a temporary staker’s helper in 1965. He advanced through the apprentice lineman program, beginning in 1966, and served as chief lineman from 1973 until 1990. He was then awarded the job as CEC’s first purchasing agent and continued in that job until he retired in 1995.
Mr. Callahan computerized the record keeping for the purchasing department and developed a database to store the history of each procurement. He was jointly responsible for an inventory reduction of over six million dollars by completely revising the purchasing practices of CEC. For these efforts Mr. Callahan was awarded the Solon Bennett Award for Excellence in Materials Management from the National Association of Purchasing Management of the Rural Electric Utilities, Inc. in 1996.
Since coming on the board in 1998, Mr. Callahan has completed the requirements to become a “Credentialed Cooperative Director” and has earned the “Board Leadership Award. Mr. Callahan has been involved in many community activities, including Boy Scouts as Scoutmaster and Explorer Advisor, (he is an Eagle Scout). He is a Past Master of Temple Lodge #128, a member of Boumi Temple Shrine and Chester River Shrine Club. Mr. Callahan was elected as Judge of the Orphan’s Court in Caroline County for four years in 2010 and he also served for 6 years on the Property Appeals Board for Caroline County. He was appointed to the Caroline County Ethics Commission in 2008 and is presently serving on that commission. He is a member of Post #29 of the American Legion. He umpired League Baseball for 28 years and served as president of the Denton Little League, vice president of the Denton PTA, vice president of the Caroline County Historical Society, and is currently president of the Caroline High School Alumni Association.
Mr. & Mrs. Callahan have three children and two grandchildren and are members of St. Luke's Methodist Church.
Robert B. Thompson
Ocean Pines District
A board member since 2017, he lives in Ocean Pines with his family and is the Chief Operating Officer of Blue Water Development Corporation, a real estate development company specializing in commercial and hospitality properties.
Douglas D. Scott, Secretary-Treasurer
Dorchester County
Douglas D. Scott is owner and President of Walnut Hill Farms, Inc., a family-owned farm consisting of 1,600 acres located near Hurlock in Dorchester County, MD. He is also employed as a sales representative for Scott's Seed LLC, a seed and agricultural consulting agency, owned by his son.
He was first appointed to a vacated seat on Choptank Electric Cooperatives Board in January 2014. He serves on the irrigation sub-committee and on the board of Aero-Energy, a partially owned subsidiary of Choptank Electric.
He serves on the board of Mid Atlantic Farm Credit, with additional duties as a member of the Audit Committee. He is a board member of the Washington Cemetery Committee and holds memberships in the Maryland Farm Bureau and Unity Washington United Methodist Church. He holds a Coast Guard 50 ton Master license.
Olin S. Davis III
Kent County
A board member since 1989, Davis is a partner in Rich Levels Grain, Inc. and Rich Levels Poultry, LLC in Galena. He has achieved the Credentialed Director Certification, Board Leadership Certification, and has attained the Gold Director Achievement. Davis has previously served as Choptank Electric's Board Secretary/Treasurer and was the Board Chairman for five years. Davis also served on the Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware Associations of Electric Cooperatives board for eight years, including two years as their Board Chairman.
Carl R. Widdowson
Somerset County
Carl R. Widdowson was the chairman of the board of directors from 1983 to 2013 and a board member since 1980. He and his wife, Barbara, reside near Princess Anne, where he operates a grain farm. Mr. Widdowson was a member of the Board of Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, Choptank’s power supplier. He served as the Maryland representative to the board of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association from 1993 to 2010.
A long-time member of American Legion Post 94, he is also a member of the First Baptist Church of Princess Anne and the Somerset County Planning and Zoning Commission.
Mr. Widdowson and his wife have two children, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Robert E. Arnold
Queen Anne's County
Robert Arnold is the representative for Queen Anne's County. He is the owner of Arnold Farms, LLC, a vegetable growing business, and has been a Choptank Electric Member since 1988. Mr. Arnold has served on the by-law review committee, the irrigation committee, and chaired the executive compensation committee. He has also completed the NRECA Credentialed Cooperative Director Program. In the community, Bob is active in his church, his son's school, and is a past president of Queen Anne's County Farm Bureau.
As president of Queen Anne's County Farm Bureau, Bob was in charge of the last Delmarva Chicken Festival hosted on the Eastern Shore. He has also been recognized by the Maryland Food Bank as "Farmer of the Year" for his contributions to the hungry in Maryland. The accomplishment that Bob is most proud of, is the award his family received last year as one of two families chosen to receive the "Queen Anne's Farm Family of the Year." As a Director Bob recognizes the vital role that Choptank plays in the communities it serves and strives to represent all its members fairly and equitably. Mr. Arnold, his wife Sarah, and sons Bobby, Peter, and Brian reside on Double Creek Road.
Matthew R. Holloway
Wicomico County
A board member since 2014, he resides in Salisbury where he operates Quantico Creek Sod Farms, Inc. and Baywater Greens, LLC. He also served on the Wicomico County Council from 2010-2018 and was a director for the Maryland Association of Counties from 2014 - 2018.
