SMECO
Richard Winkler has represented Charles County on the SMECO Board of Directors since 2006. During that time, he has served on the Policy, Audit and Budget Committee and chaired the Personnel and Benefits Committee.
Prior to becoming a SMECO Board member, he served as the Director of Fiscal and Administrative Services for the Charles County government, retiring after 27 years of service.
Winkler was appointed to the Board of Directors of the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center for nine years, serving as vice chair, secretary/treasurer, Executive Committee member, and chairman of the Finance Committee.
He is the current chair of the McDonough Charity School Scholarship Foundation; past president of the Charles County Board of Fire and Rescue Commissioners, and past president of the Charles County Rotary Club. He is a current member of the Knights of Columbus and American Legion Post 82.
Winkler enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1964 and was recalled to active duty in 1969 and 1970. He graduated from Archbishop Neale High School and holds degrees in finance and administration from the College of Southern Maryland and the University of Maryland University College.
Winkler served as Chairman of the Board from August 2013 until September 2018. Since joining the SMECO Board, he has earned both his Credentialed Cooperative Director and the Board Leadership Series-Gold certificates from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
This person is not in the org chart
This person is not in any offices
SMECO
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative was founded in 1937. Through the Rural Electrification Administration, the co-op received a loan of $165,000 to construct 175 miles of line to serve 600 customer-members. SMECO operated a generating plant at Popes Creek, Maryland, from 1938 to 1953. SMECO has had five general managers: 1938, Forrest Coakley; 1974, Walter H. Smith; 1989, I. Wayne Swann; 2003, Austin J. Slater, Jr.; and 2020, Sonja Cox. As of January 2020, SMECO served 165,000 customers and is one of the largest electric co-ops in the country. SMECO serves all of Charles and St. Mary's counties, the southern portion of Prince George's County, and all but the northeast portion of Calvert County.