Assistant Secretary-Treasurer
Kenneth W. Cross represents Charles County on SMECO’s Board of Directors and is the Board's Assistant Secretary-Treasurer. The La Plata resident is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving aboard the Seventh Fleet flagship USS Providence during the Vietnam conflict.
Cross worked as a district manager for Peoples Security Life Insurance in Waldorf for eight years. In 1994 he co-founded Cross & Wood and Associates and co-owned it until 2016. Most recently he was an enumerator for the U.S. Census Bureau during the 2020 census.
Active in his community, Cross is the vice president of the Jude House board and a member of the legislative committee of the Charles County Chamber of Commerce. He served as the board president for the Center for Children and Alternatives for Youth and Family. Cross is a graduate of the Citizens Police Academy offered by the Charles County Sheriff’s Office.
Cross was elected to the Board in August 2021. He currently serves on the Policy, Audit, and Budget Committee, the Committee on Strategy and Innovation, and the Public Relations Committee. He earned his Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD) certification in 2022 and his Director Gold Certificate in 2024, both from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
The CCD certification is a set of five courses that focuses on basic governance knowledge and the essential skills required of cooperative directors. The certification prepares directors to fulfill their fiduciary duty as elected officials serving on behalf of their membership.
Cross completed his Board Leadership Certificate in May 2023. As he continues his board service, he needs to stay current on industry issues and evolving expectations for governance.