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CSM’s Board of Trustees Chair Michael Middleton, left, recognized former Trustee Austin J. Slater Jr. with the Trustees’ Distinguished Service Award for the significant impact he made in the community.

Slater, president and CEO of Southern Maryland Electric Co-op (SMECO), is a 1974 alumnus of CSM, formerly Charles County Community College, and “he sat where graduates are sitting tonight,” Middleton said to CSM’s winter graduating class. “He recalls getting a job right out of high school and realizing that he needed an education to become successful. After working long hours during the day, Joe would come to the college at night, in his muddy boots and work clothes, to get his education. He credits the college for much of his success,” said Middleton. Slater served as a trustee from 2008 to 2013 and as the chair, 2012-2013.