A new chair and vice chair assumed leadership of the Chesapeake College Board of Trustees. Dr. Blenda Armistead will serve as Chair and L. Nash McMahan will serve as Vice Chair of the 10-member governing body.

Dr. Armistead’s career has focused on local government and higher education. She served as County Manager and Finance Officer for Talbot County for 17 years. Prior to her appointment as County Manager, she was the Assistant Dean for Administrative Affairs in the College of Business and Management at the University of Maryland, College Park. She also served the Virginia higher education system in several capacities at both the State Council of Higher Education and the Virginia Community College System. Dr. Armistead has been actively involved in the Talbot County community for many years and was named the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce Business Woman of the Year in 1994.

After graduating from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1972 with a major in Economics, Mrs. Armistead earned an M.B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Morehead Fellow. She was awarded a W. K. Kellogg Fellowship to attend Florida State University, Tallahassee, and received a Ph.D. in Management and Higher Education from the institution in 1977.

Mr. McMahan is a third generation McMahan owner in the family business Tri Gas & Oil Co., Inc., a 50 year old petroleum/propane marketer headquartered in Federalsburg, Md. He is Past President of the Mid Atlantic Propane Gas Association, newly elected to the Mid Atlantic Petroleum Dealers Association Board of Directors, serves M&T Bank-Mid Atlantic on their Directors Advisory Council and is a Committee Chair for the Chesapeake College Foundation Board. He served on the Board of Directors for Caroline Chamber of Commerce, the Mid Shore Council on Family Violence and represented Caroline County on the Maryland Chamber of Commerce Board. Due to the nature of the business, he frequents Annapolis during the legislative session, is involved with industry associations and serves on various committees.

Mr. McMahan graduated from Towson State University in 1994 with a major in Economics.