ABOUT SMECO
 Samuel M. Bailey |
“Among the region’s biggest changes continues to be the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. It opened in the 1940s and continues to drive growth in St. Mary’s County today. SMECO is working to ensure reliable service for this facility and its surrounding support services.”
Samuel “Bo” Bailey represents St. Mary’s County on SMECO’s Board of Directors. He is a co-owner of D.J.’s One-Stop Shop and, for 30 years, was a wholesale seafood dealer in the region.
Bailey is also past director of the First National Bank of St. Mary’s. He is a charter member and past president of the Seventh District Optimist Club. In addition, Bailey is a former member of St. Mary’s County Planning Commission. He is currently very active in Holy Angels School.
A graduate of St. Mary’s Academy, Bailey served in the U.S. Army for two years during the Korean War.
Bailey, a credentialed co-op director, has served on the SMECO Board since 1977. Among his other duties, he served as vice chairman of the Board from 1999 to 2004.
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“The biggest challenge facing us is keeping SMECO’s rates low. Purchasing power today is brutal, because of the price of coal and the price of crude oil. It’s certainly not like it was a few years ago. This is easily our greatest challenge.”
Rayner Blair represents St. Mary’s County on SMECO’s Board of Directors, and serves on the Board committee tasked with purchasing power. Owner of Blair’s Jewelry and Gifts and Suntime Tanning LLC, Blair also serves as president of the Blair Real Estate Development Company.
Blair is a member of St. Clements Island Museum and St. John’s Church. An avid boater, he is past president of the Southern Maryland Boating Association.
Blair is a graduate of the University of Maryland. He has served on the SMECO Board of Directors since 1999 and currently serves on the Board Risk Oversight Committee. He has received his director’s certification from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
 Francis E. Hewitt |
“The tobacco barns and big families that used to be a community tradition are going by the wayside. Instead, St. Mary’s County has become a high-tech community and has remained a good place to live with its rural characteristics.” Hewitt credits the attraction of the region as the reason behind its growth. “Maintaining the balance of that growth with St. Mary’s rural character is a real challenge.”
Francis Hewitt represents St. Mary’s County on SMECO’s Board of Directors. He grew up a few miles from the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. He currently is Vice President of Joseph B. Payne and Associates and former president and owner of Hewitt Lumber Company.
Hewitt served four years as secretary-treasurer of St. Mary’s County Democratic Committee and nine years on St. Mary’s County Planning Commission. He served two terms on St. Mary’s Nursing Home Board and 10 years on the Maryland National Bank Advisory Board.
Hewitt is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Elks, Lion’s Club, Moose Lodge, and Holy Face Church. He is a graduate of Charlotte Hall Military Academy and served with the Maryland National Guard.
Hewitt has been a SMECO Board member since 1978 and has received his director’s certification from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
 Joseph V. Stone, Jr. |
“Traditionally, the local cooperative does more than provide electric service to the community; in many areas, it’s a major economic driver. As our mission statement explains, our co-op is committed to the community and to enhancing the quality of life in Southern Maryland. Because we are owned by our members, we take this aspect of our business very seriously.”
Joe Stone, representing St. Mary’s County on SMECO’s Board of Directors, is owner of the Joe Stone Insurance Agency.
Stone is a past recipient of the Community Service Award from Nationwide Insurance and a lifelong resident of St. Mary’s County.
Active in the community, he is a past board member of both Asbury-Solomons and Friends of Jefferson Patterson Park. Stone is also a member of St. John Francis Regis Catholic Church and of the 7 th District Optimist Club.
Stone has served on the SMECO Board since 1996. He is currently vice chairman of the Board and serves as chairman of the Board’s Risk Oversight Committee and is a member of the Personnel and Benefits Committee. Stone is also past chairman of the Bay Country Cooperative Committee. He received his director’s certification from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in 1999.
