Rural Maryland Council Elects 2025 Leadership
Annapolis, MD – The Rural Maryland Council (RMC) and its membership convened at the Yellowfin Restaurant in Annapolis on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, for its Annual Meeting and Rural Impact Awards Ceremony. Executive Board elections for the 2025 calendar year were held and the following Officers were elected:
- Chair: Ms. Susan O’Neill
- First Vice Chair: Greg Padgham
- Second Vice Chair: Dr. Heidi Anderson
- Immediate Past Chair: John Hartline
Ms. Susan O’Neill currently serves as the Executive Director for the Upper Shore Regional Council (USRC), a cooperative planning and development agency for Cecil, Kent, and Queen Anne’s counties. USRC plans and implements programs to improve the quality of life in the Upper Shore Region of Maryland. Ms. O’Neill will be serving her third year as Board Chair.
Mr. Greg Padgham serves as the Executive Director of the Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland, the purpose which is to facilitate regional planning and development in Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties. Mr. Padgham will be serving his third year as First Vice Chair.
Dr. Heidi M. Anderson was named the 16th president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on September 1, 2018. President Anderson, herself a first-generation college student, leads a campus focused on excellence in teaching, research, and community outreach. This is Dr. Anderson’s second year serving as an Officer.
Mr. John Hartline serves as the Executive Director for the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, a cooperative planning and development agency that fosters social and economic development in Southern Maryland, composed of Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s Counties. Mr. Hartline currently serves as immediate past chair and will serve as the Chair of the Joint Planning and Development Committee.
New Board Members include the following:
- Kurt Fuchs, Representing Easton Utilities.
- Kelsey Keadle, Representing District 1 – Garrett, Allegany and Washington Counties.
- William Reid, Representing District 2 – Carroll, Frederick and Harford Counties.
- Jamie Williams, Representing District 4 – Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties.
- Jaelon Moaney, Representing District 5 – Caroline, Talbot and Dorchester Counties.
- Danny Thompson, Representing District 6 – Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset Counties.
- Brandon Rosario, Representing the National Southern Maryland Heritage Area.
The Rural Maryland Council operates under the direction of a 40-member executive board in a nonpartisan and nondiscriminatory manner. It serves as the state’s federally designated rural development council and functions as a voice for rural Maryland, advocating for and helping rural communities and businesses across the state to flourish and to gain equity to its suburban and urban counterparts. The vision for RMC is the ultimate realization that residents in rural communities are achieving success in education and employment, have access to affordable, quality health care and other vital public services, and live in an environment where natural and cultural resources are being sustained for future generations.