Meet DEC's 2023 Board Candidates

DISTRICT  2 - Bruce Walton
Bruce Walton retired as a Brigadier General with the Delaware National Guard after 36 years of service. He is a past member of the Caesar Rodney School Board, was the Deputy Principal Assistant to the Delaware Secretary of Agriculture from 1998 to 2005 and has a broad background in agricultural and community service. Memberships include the Delaware and Kent County Farm Bureaus, Delaware Fruit Growers Association and Gideon’s International. Mr. Walton has completed the Credentialed Cooperative Director program and the Director Gold program.

DISTRICT 5 - Bruce Henry
Bruce Henry, a resident of Greenwood, and our former Board Vice-Chairman has served on the Board since August 1978. He is a graduate of Greenwood High School and attended Delaware Technical and Community College. He is a building contractor and is a past president of the Woodbridge Little League. Mr. Henry represented Delaware Electric Cooperative on the Board of Old Dominion Electric Cooperative from 1995 to 2021. Mr. Henry has attained the Credentialed Cooperative Director and Board Leadership Certification.

DISTRICT 8 - William Haughey
William Haughey, Jr. retired after 15 years as the Executive Director & Community Manager with Tunnell Companies, L.P. in Long Neck, DE.  He previously had a 28-year banking career with an extensive background in banking and finance in the Kent and Sussex County areas.  Mr. Haughey  previously served on the Sussex County Advisory Board of WSFS Bank, as Vice President & Southern Regional Executive with the Bank of Delaware and PNC Bank and as a Vice President with Delaware Trust Company.  He is a native Delawarean and graduate of Milford High School.  Mr. Haughey has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Delaware and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Wilmington University.  He has served on several civic and charitable organization boards.  Mr. Haughey has attained the Credentialed Cooperative Director Certification, the Board Leadership Certificate and three Director Gold Certificates.  Most recently, he completed a course on Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations.  
 

AT-LARGE - Hunter Emory, Incumbent
Hunter Emory joined DEC’s Board in March of 2021. Since joining the Board, Mr. Emory has been appointed to both the DEC audit committee and the legislative committee. In addition, Mr. Emory has completed the Credentialed Cooperative Director Certification. Mr. Emory represents Delaware on the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Board. Within the NRECA organization, Mr. Emory was nominated to the Insurance and Financial Service Board and was recently named Vice Chair. Outside of the Co-op community, Mr. Emory owns and operates The Emory Agency State Farm Insurance and Financial Services practice located in Milford and Georgetown, DE. He served on the Milford School Board for five years and is an active volunteer in his community, supporting organizations such as the Georgetown Boys and Girls Club, local school district sports, and numerous nonprofits. He resides in Lincoln, DE with his wife, Jamie, and their two boys, Jake and Reece.

AT-LARGE - Mat Hastings, Challenger
Mat Hastings retired after 40 years in the electricity and gas industries, including heading up the National Rural Electric Co-op Association’s (NRECA) National Consulting Group. At NRECA he led teams working with electric co-ops from Alaska to the Florida Keys in management audits, strategic planning, new business opportunities, member relations, market research and mergers and acquisitions. Mat also worked for the New York Power Authority (owner of the Niagara Falls hydro-generation), Chesapeake Utilities (Delaware/Florida Natural Gas), Ebasco (built power plants), the World Bank (renewables in developing countries) and the Edison Electric Institute (cybersecurity, finance, renewables, electric vehicles and distributed generation with international utilities). Mat has had a home in Rehoboth Beach since 2002 and is a member of the Rehoboth Beach Sunrise Rotary, serves on the Board of Coastal Concerts, and volunteers with local food banks. He graduated from SUNY Potsdam and Penn State. Mat notes “Our co-op is facing rapid growth which shows no sign of slowing down. I would like to bring my 40 years of utility industry experience to help DEC continue to deal with the challenges and opportunities of that growth. It would be an honor to be on the Board of our co-op.” 
 

AT-LARGE - Lorelei Mottese, Challenger
Lorelei Mottese resides with her husband John in Milton DE. She retired after serving as an executive with the Wakefern/ShopRite supermarket cooperative. As a representative of Wakefern and its ShopRite members, she sat on multiple food industry boards and committees. Prior to her tenure at Wakefern, she was an elected municipal official serving 10,000 residents that were dependent on a local sewer authority for services. She is a member of St. Jude’s The Apostle Church, Friends of Cape Henlopen, and the Delaware Easy Striders hiking club. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from William Paterson University and a Master’s degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University. “As we witness continued development in this region, it will require forward thinking to keep pace with technology for infrastructure investments and seeking talent to manage the new technology. I would be honored to serve our members on the board,” she said.