UM Shore Regional Health Welcomes New Board Members

Published in Chestertown Spy | November 20, 2018

Two local community leaders, Robert D. Rauch, P.E., of Easton, and Samuel T. Shoge, of Chestertown, have recently been appointed to the Board of Directors of the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health.

Talbot County native Robert D. Rauch has spent his career in professional engineering, construction management, and commercial real estate. Presently, he is the owner and president of A/E Consultant, Robert D. Rauch and Associates, RDR Commercial, LLC, RDR Environmental, LLC, and Rauch Investments, LLC.

Rauch’s professional accomplishments and contributions to his community include serving as the first coordinator for Maryland’s Flood Insurance Program and as a consultant to the World Bank for Critical Path Scheduling and Project Management Training to International Engineers. He has been honored as a recipient of the Sussex, Delaware Conservation District Governor’s Conservation Award, the Talbot County Small Business of the Year Award (2016), and the Talbot County Businessman of the Year Award (2017).

A graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, Rauch pursued continuing education in Finite Element Modeling Advance Training at Princeton University.

In addition to his membership on UM Shore Regional Health’s Board of Directors, Rauch serves on the University Systems of Maryland Board of Regents, the University of Maryland Medical Systems Board of Directors, the University of Maryland College of Civil and Environmental Engineering Board of Visitors and the University of Maryland School of Architecture Colvin Institute Board of Advisors. Previously, he served on the boards of the Harry Hughes Center of Agro-Ecology, the Talbot County Historical Society, Friends of Northeast Sports Park, St. Mark’s Methodist Church, and the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce.

Samuel T. Shoge, a native and current resident of Kent County, is the economic development coordinator for Talbot County’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism. Previously, he was an admissions counselor and Assistant Director in the Admissions Office at Washington College in Chestertown.

Shoge is a graduate of Elon University in Elon, N.C., where he pursued environmental studies, public administration, political science, and geographic information systems.

Shoge is involved in Kent County community affairs, serving as a firefighter with the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company and as an elected member of the Chestertown Town Council, Chestertown Main Street and Arts and Entertainment District Advisory Board, Chestertown Marketing Committee, Kent School Marketing Committee, and Horizons of Kent and Queen Anne’s. He also is a co-founder of the Kent County Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals and has helped lead its growth to include up to 250 members.

Speaking on behalf of the UM SRH Board, John Dillon, chairman, stated, “We are very pleased to have Bob Rauch and Sam Shoge join us in ensuring that University of Maryland Shore Regional Health will successfully navigate the changing landscape of health care. Their strong personal commitment to the communities we serve, as well as their outstanding professional expertise and accomplishments, make them valuable assets to our efforts going forward.”

In addition to Robert A. Chrencik, CEO, University of Maryland Medical System, and Kenneth Kozel, president and CEO, UM Shore Regional Health, current UM SRH Board members are John W. Ashworth, Charles Capute, Art Cecil, Joseph J. Ciotola, Kathleen Deoudes, John Dillon, Marlene Feldman, Wayne L. Gardner, Sr., Wayne Howard, Richard Loeffler, Charles B. MacLeod, Keith McMahan, David Milligan, Charles B. Noll, Geoffrey F. Oxnam, Robert D. Rauch, Stephen Satchell, Samuel T. Shoge, Thomas Stauch, MD, and Glenn L. Wilson.

“Our board members live and work in our communities“, says Kozel.“I believe their diverse knowledge and perspectives position us well to achieve our vision of being the region’s leader in patient-centered health care,” says Kozel.