Beckett Wheatley takes reins as Sussex County CHEER CEO

CHEER changed leadership hands Nov. 3 with the promotion of Beckett Wheatley into the CEO position. Former chief operating officer, Wheatley has been preparing for the top position for more than 25 years.

A private nonprofit agency, CHEER serves over half of Sussex County’s 50-plus population through an array of programs and services including nutrition, transportation, home health assistance, and social and recreational activities.

Wheatley first came to CHEER in 1994 as an accounting supervisor, and within a few months, she was promoted to chief financial officer. 

Heading up a finance department that oversees a $6 million annual budget kept Wheatley busy for years ensuring all the financial policies, budgets, work plans and contracts were accurate and complete to keep the agency running. When she was promoted to COO in 2016, she began to supervise all the major programs, manage special agency projects, and serve as liaison with staff members and agencies associated with CHEER. With the responsibilities of the new position came knowledge and experience in employee management and policy writing that will serve her well as chief executive officer. 

“I like to help make the staff’s jobs easier by learning more about every position,” said Wheatley. She said she understands and has been directly involved with every CHEER staff position except for driving a bus and cooking meals in the central kitchen.

The new CEO thinks her biggest struggle will be filling open staff positions. “There is a shortage for staffing everywhere; that is why CHEER relies so much on our volunteers,” she said. CHEER received a major grant last year from AmeriCorps to reach a goal of 1,000 volunteers within two years. Time is ticking away, and the nonprofit agency is only halfway there.

“If you have a couple extra hours a month to help serve a senior citizen in Sussex County, please get in touch with CHEER,” said Wheatley. Volunteer opportunities include delivering meals to homebound seniors, transporting seniors to non-emergency medical appointments, assisting in activity centers and in the kitchen, and answering telephone calls.

“I am excited about the future of CHEER. I want to provide more services and activities to more seniors. There are so many seniors not getting services already, and there are a lot more seniors moving into the area,” said Wheatley. “I want everyone to be aware of what CHEER provides so seniors can live their lives to their fullest. I also want our staff to be empowered and excited to be able to provide those much-needed services.”  

When not at CHEER, Wheatley enjoys volunteering for community service activities and projects. She is president of the Laurel Lions Club, a volunteer for the ARK Educational Resources fundraisers, and a member of Laurel’s Centenary UM Church, Sunday school, choir and finance committee. She loves to cook, entertain, decorate and travel with her husband Bob. She has three grown children and six grandchildren. She is also a certified Delaware alcoholic beverage server and bartender, which has come in handy a few times for special events at CHEER.

“We have an awesome team. We do what we must do to make things work at CHEER,” said Beckett.

Taking over Beckett’s previous position as COO of CHEER is Tom Reardon, who was formerly executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Franklin County, Pa. Reardon has family ties with Sussex County, as his mother is a native of Clarksville. Reardon said he believes CHEER’s vision centers around serving more, and he plans to help Wheatley fulfill that vision to serve Sussex County’s seniors.