Delaware native Frank Gordy was the University of Delaware extension poultry specialist and active in many poultry organizations when he was asked to lead the newly formed Delmarva Chicken Festival, Inc., later to become Delmarva Chicken Association He remained with the University of Delaware as extension poultryman and director of the university's substation during his years as the chicken association's executive secretary. Under his leadership, Delmarva's chicken industry became a national leader in bird production, and he molded the association into a highly respected organization.
He was active in local, regional, and national poultry organizations and local community groups.
Mr. Gordy provided inspiration and leadership during the formative years of the national chicken industry when the largest segment was on Delmarva. He was honored by many agricultural agencies over the years. The Historical Society of Delaware stated, "Gordy became the pivot of committees and organizations that brought the poultry industry together."
Mr. Gordy was selected to the American Poultry Historical Society, Inc. Hall of Fame in 2004.
Delaware native and University of Delaware employee Ed Ralph became DPI executive officer in January 1974. A native of Laurel, Delaware, he earned a B.S. degree with distinction in horticulture from the University of Delaware and received his master's degree in horticulture in 1957. He soon became director of the University of Delaware Substation Division and assumed the part-time duties of DPI Executive Secretary in January 1974. Mr. Ralph retired from the university in 1984 after nearly 30 years of service and then became the full-time DPI executive director from then until his retirement at the end of 1986.
He was active in community affairs and received awards from community, educational, and poultry industry groups.
A Philadelphia native, Jerry Truitt was a 1950 graduate of The Pennsylvania State University with a major in agricultural economics. He moved to Maryland after his father built an Ocean City motel. He was a fertilizer salesman, lumber inspector, and long-time agricultural banker and lender, working for Farm Credit and the Maryland National Bank. Mr. Truitt was a vice president of Equitable Bank of Salisbury when he became 1984 DPI president, after many years as a DPI volunteer, Fund Drive chairman, Booster Banquet chairman for nearly a decade, and officer. He began his volunteer DPI work in 1960 as a Fund Drive solicitor and he joined the DPI Board of Directors in 1963. Mr. Truitt joined the DPI staff as Executive Assistant on January 1, 1986 and was promoted to Executive Director a year later. He remained Executive Director until January 1993 when he assumed the new position of Director of Government Relations. He retired from DPI at the end of 1998.
A native of Dover, Delaware, Mr. Satterfield was a radio news reporter or news director for stations in Dover, Delaware; Salisbury, Maryland, and Philadelphia from 1975 until joining DPI in December 1986 as Executive Assistant. He also was co-owner of the Tastee Freez of Dover in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He served as DPI Executive Assistant until January 1993 when he was promoted to Executive Director, a position he maintained until his retirement. He was the longest serving DPI executive officer at the time of his retirement. He was honored by DPI in 2005 as the J. Frank Gordy, Sr. Delmarva Distinguished Citizen. He is a history major and Wake Forest University graduate who lived just outside of Salisbury with his wife, Susan.
Ms. Porter, hired in June 2017 as the new DPI Assistant Executive Director, became Executive Director on January 1, 2019. Prior to June 2017, she was the Deputy Principal Assistant at the Delaware Department of Agriculture, working on policy for Delaware, and also she was the co-director of LEADelaware, an agricultural and natural resources leadership development program. Her career in agriculture started as a marketing specialist at MidAtlantic Farm Credit where she was responsible for event planning, strategic planning, advertising, internal communications, market research, social media, and more. She is a graduate of Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia, with a B.A. in communications, an alumna of LEAD Maryland Class VII, and a member of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Women in Ag committee. Ms. Porter was raised on a part-time cash grain farm and spent many summers baling hay and straw with her family.