Division welcomes four new staff members in June 2015
During the month of June 2015, the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs welcomed four new members to its staff including two historic-site interpreters, and a new member in each of the agency’s Preservation Maintenance and Horticulture teams. Following are profiles of these newest members of the division family.
As historic-site interpreters who conduct tours and special programs at the division’s museums, Charolenne Shehorn and Bridget Wallace add a human face to Delaware history by providing in-depth information about the state’s historic places, and by bringing the people and events of the past to life.
A native of Dover, Del., Shehorn enjoyed a 30-plus-year career at Kraft Foods where she served, among other responsibilities, as a lab technician in the company’s quality-control department. During her years at Kraft, Shehorn found time to serve the community by volunteering for the Lion’s Club and a local Boy Scout troop. In 2011, she began volunteer service at the division’s John Dickinson Plantation where she has since been involved in the process of conducting research on, and compiling a database of, African Americans who lived on the site. She will continue to work at the plantation as a member of the division staff.
A Wilmington native who now lives in Greenwood, Del., Wallace graduated from the University of Delaware in May 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in art history. During the winter of 2015, she gained practical experience by serving as an intern at the Iron Hill Museum in Newark where she was responsible for cleaning, identifying, photographing, cataloging and displaying objects from the museum’s archaeological collections. In pursuit of a career working for museums, she landed her first job in her chosen field as a historic-site interpreter at the division’s downtown Dover museums—the Johnson Victrola Museum and The Old State House.
Scott Hayes grew up on his family’s farm east of Dover, Del. where he learned early how to repair and maintain equipment and just about anything else that needed fixing. The farm, which follows organic practices, produces a variety of crops including herbs, corn and hops—which Hayes hopes to someday utilize in creating his own beer. A graduate of Dover High School where he focused on architectural engineering, Hayes has studied that subject at Delaware Technical and Community College and is currently enrolled at Wilmington University where he is majoring in business management. He has worked as a welder for the Eagle Group and has run wire for Brothers Electrical, both in Clayton, Del. He now serves as a Physical-Plant Trades Mechanic I for the Preservation Maintenance Team that maintains, repairs and preserves the division’s facilities, museums and historic properties.
As a member of the division’s Horticulture Team, Renee Huber provides landscape support-services at the agency’s sites, helping to maintain a beautiful and safe natural environment that complements the historic nature of the individual properties. Prior to joining the division, the Hockessin, Del. resident served for 20 years as an associate horticulturalist at Hagley Museum where, among other responsibilities, she restored and managed greenhouses, served as the head floral designer for special events and grew plants in the museum’s cutting garden and the E. I. du Pont garden. Huber holds an associate’s degree in arts from Wesley College and certificates from Longwood Gardens’ Professional Gardener Training Program.
