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swearing in the UDC officers

Upper Delaware Council Elects 2020 Officers

NARROWSBURG – Town of Cochecton Representative Larry H. Richardson took his oath of office to serve as 2020 chairperson at the Feb. 6 meeting of the Upper Delaware Council, Inc. (UDC).

The Honorable Steven Sauer, Town Justice for the Town of Cochecton, officiated at the swearing-in ceremony held at the UDC’s Narrowsburg office.


Along with Richardson, UDC Representatives Jeffrey R. Dexter of Damascus Township, PA, and Alan F. Henry of Berlin Township, PA, were elected vice-chairperson and secretary-treasurer, respectively, at the non-profit organization’s Jan. 2 annual meeting.

Chairperson

This is Larry Richardson’s fourth stint as UDC chairperson, having previously served in 1993, 2001, and from May 5-Dec. 31, 2011. He succeedsTown of Delaware Representative Harold G. Roeder, Jr. in the leadership position.

Richardson was the UDC’s vice-chair in 1992, and secretary-treasurer in 1990 and 2000.

The Town of Cochecton appointed Richardson to serve as its UDC representative in 1989, one year after the Council’s establishment.
Raised in Ferndale, NY, Richardson graduated from Liberty High School in 1965 and Sullivan County Community College in 1968.

In 1991 he began employment with the Yaun Company, a plumbing, heating and electrical distributorship with headquarters in Liberty for which he served as Vice-President of Sales and Service for many years, and is now semi-retired.

Richardson has a long history of public service beyond his UDC participation, which also includes chairing the Operations Committee this year and continuing as a member of the Project Review Committee and Personnel Subcommittee.

He served on the Town of Cochecton Planning Board from 1989-1996, before winning election to the Town Board. He logged 19 years as a Town Councilman through 2015.

Richardson is a founding member of the Cochecton Preservation Society and has served as the group’s treasurer since 1992.

Ongoing memberships include the Sullivan County and Town of Cochecton Democratic Committees, the Fosterdale Cemetery Association Board of Directors, and he recently joined the Catskill Regional Medical Center Foundation’s Board of Directors. He’s the former co-chair of the Sullivan County Charter Review Committee.

Since its 2002 incorporation, Richardson has represented the Town of Cochecton on the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, Inc. Committee and has acted as its treasurer for many years.

Married for 51 years, Peggy and Larry are the parents of Russell Richardson, who resides with his wife Jennifer and four children in Binghamton; and Erin Shirling, who lives in Yorktown Heights, NY with her husband Lewis.

His free time is spent hunting, fishing, planting gardens, and maintaining a growing fruit orchard.

Vice-Chairperson

Jeff Dexter will serve as the UDC vice-chair for the fourth time (2012, 2016, and 2019) after being elected as chairperson in 2013 and filling the secretary-treasurer office in 2015.

Dexter, who was instrumental in Damascus Township’s July 21, 2008 decision to join the Council, was appointed as 1st alternate in January 2010 before assuming the UDC representative position in 2012.

He is a member of the UDC’s Project Review and Operations Committees, and the Personnel Subcommittee.

The Cochecton, NY native graduated from Narrowsburg Central School in 1967, earned a 1971 Bachelor’s degree in Resources Management from the College of Forestry at Syracuse University, and had a 31-year career working in the Arizona State Parks System before returning to the Upper Delaware River Valley after his 2003 retirement.

Dexter retired from the Damascus Board of Supervisors in 2015 following a 10-year tenure, including six years as chairman. He was appointed to a six-year term as Township Auditor effective Jan. 4, 2016.

He is the Volunteers-in-Mission Team Leader for disaster recovery projects through the Damascus Methodist Church, the sponsor’s representative to the Northeast Council of the Boy Scouts of America for Troop 122 in Damascus, is active with the Damascus Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and belongs to numerous local historical societies.

Jeff and his wife, Linda, built their log home in Damascus. They have three children: Kari, Bethany, and Jonathan.

Secretary-Treasurer

Al Henry was appointed by the Berlin Township Board of Supervisors as its UDC delegate on Jan. 3, 2012.

He chaired the Council in 2015 after having served as its secretary-treasurer from Aug. 1-Dec. 31, 2013, then again in 2014, and the past four years of 2016-19. He sits on all three UDC committees (Water Use/Resource Management, Project Review, and Operations) and chairs its Personnel Subcommittee.

A native of Beach Lake, PA, Henry was employed by the National Park Service (NPS) for 32 years, all but two years of that tenure with the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, before retiring on June 1, 2009 as Chief Ranger.

The Honesdale High School graduate earned a Bachelor’s degree in Recreation and Parks from Penn State University in 1976 and studied Outdoor Education at the University of Northern Colorado before joining the NPS ranks in 1977.

In addition to extensive law enforcement credentials, Henry earned certification as an NAUI Divemaster, served as a volunteer firefighter, and coached baseball and soccer locally.

Henry helps maintain his family’s 300-acre Village View Farm property in Beach Lake, and is a member of the Beach Lake Hunting and Fishing Club.
Al and his wife, Karen Carlson, are the parents of Alana and Dylan. They are grandparents to Beau and Penn, the sons of Dr. Alana and Bart Rickard.

About the UDC

The Upper Delaware Council works in partnership with the National Park Service to oversee implementation of the River Management Plan for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. Visit www.upperdelawarecouncil.org for more information.

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