LAUREL REDEVELOPMENT CORPORATION - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- Retired Personnel Administrator and Former Church Secretary
Ann is a retired personnel administrator and former church secretary. She has been a board member and financial secretary since 2001.
A lifelong resident of Laurel and graduate of Laurel Senior High School. Artez studied Music Education at Delaware State University after graduating high school. In 2006 Artez received his license as a Life and Health Insurance agent and sold insurance with United Insurance.
In 2010 he opened his transportation firm and is the Principal of Monarch Transportation Services and Monarch Limousine Service both based in Laurel. Artez is also a funeral home associate and monument sales person with Framptom Funeral Home in Federalsburg and St. Michaels, Maryland.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- President of LRC Board
Barry, a board member since 2011, is a retired Chiropractic physician. He is director of Morrison Chiropractic and Wellness Center.
He also is a member of International Chiropractic Association and the American Chiropractic Association.
Bob Wheatley was born and raised in Caroline County, Maryland and relocated to Sussex County, Delaware at the age of 21. In 1993 Bob acquired The Whayland Company, a commercial contracting firm in Salisbury, Maryland. He relocated the firm to Delmar and Laurel, Delaware in 2000 and continued to operate it successfully until he sold the business in 2013.
In 1994, Bob was appointed to the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission and was first elected Chairman in 2005, and still serves there. He was asked in 1998 to join the board of directors of Bank of Delmarva.
Bob's community activities include board service on the Delaware Association of Professional Engineers, Laurel Redevelopment Corporation, and The Ark Education Resource Center. He is a member of the Seaford and Laurel Lions Clubs and attends church at Centenary United Methodist Church where he plays trombone in the Centenary brass ensemble.
Brian has been a Realtor and Laurel businessman since 1992. He has served as LRC board members and property manager since 1999.
He is also a member of Laurel Chamber of Commerce, Sussex County Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Founding Executive Board Member of the LRC
Laurel native and retired local businessman Ned Fowler is an original founding executive board member of the LRC. He remembers well the challenges the organization has faced over the last 20-some years and is proud of its long list of accomplishments.
A proponent of heritage tourism and economic redevelopment, he has served as president of both the Laurel and Bethel Historical Societies as well as the Delaware Association of Historical Societies, chairman of the Old Christ Church League, and board member of Preservation Delaware, the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society, and the Biggs Museum of American Art.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Community Development Specialist With the Delaware Sea Grant College Program at the University of Delaware
Ed Lewandowski is a Community Development Specialist with the Delaware Sea Grant College Program at the University of Delaware. He also coordinates the University's Sustainable Coastal Communities Initiative and is a Co-Principal with its Coastal Resilience Design Studio.
Ed is responsible for providing oversight and management for a variety of initiatives, including community-level land use planning, working waterfronts preservation and enhancement, economic development, public policy and government relations as well as marine recreation and tourism projects. Prior to joining the University, Ed spent 13 years with the non-profit Delaware Inland Bays National Estuary Program (Center for the Inland Bays), serving his final seven years with the organization as its Executive Director. He holds a Master's degree in Organizational Leadership from Wilmington University.
Born and raised in Laurel, Matt enlisted in the Marines after high school graduation. He also earned a BS from University of Delaware and a MBA from Wilmington University. He then went on to work for 12 years in the animal healthcare industry in operations.
Matt returned to the town he loved accept the COO position at The Insurance Market running the business. He earned his securities license and began offering financial services for The Insurance Market. In September 2016 he opened his own practice with Lincoln Financial Advisors in Laurel.
Melinda, a board member since 2005, is an Edward Jones Financial Advisor. She also is a member of Laurel Chamber of Commerce and serves as president of President of Good Samaritan Aid Organization.
She is a member of Seaford Chamber of Commerce; board member of Nanticoke Health Services Foundation; and board member of Kent Sussex Counseling Services.
Job Titles:
- Vice - President of the Board
- Founding Member of the LRC
A Laurel native and founding member of the LRC, Mr. Phillips was president of his 3-generation family firm, Phillips Mens' Shop, from 1972-2008.
He served 25 years as Community Health Board Chairman in the Nanticoke Memorial Hospital system. He has just finished a 10-year stint as a Laurel Town Councilperson.
He served as the LRC's chairman during its first 15 years. He was appointed in 2016 as the State of Delaware's representative to the Chesapeake Bay Local Government Advisory Council
Job Titles:
- Community Development Specialist With the Institute for Public Administration
Bill is a community development specialist with the Institute for Public Administration at the University of Delaware and an independent consultant. He recently served as the USDA Rural Development State Director, for Delaware and Maryland.
Other experience includes 24 years University of Delaware Cooperative Extension agent and fourteen years private sector management. He is on the board of the Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center.