A Q&A with Hugh Grunden, who joined Easton Utilities in 1983 and became its president and CEO in 1994. In July 2024, he plans to retire from his position, which has involved providing strategic direction for the multiple division municipal utility that serves more than 10,800 customers in Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Grunden has served on the board of directors for both the American Public Power Association and Hometown Connections Inc. He serves in an advisory role for M&T Bank. In addition, Grunden was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force for Rural Internet, Broadband, and Cellular Service and formerly served on the Governor’s Task Force Advisory Group for Electric Industry Restructuring in Maryland. Grunden holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland.
What drew you to work in public power? Do utilities have the same draw for employees today, or how has it changed?
My dad was a bricklayer, and he worked tirelessly to get me through engineering school. Joining a public power utility felt like a meaningful way for me to meld my technical knowledge with a practical work ethic. I was the first in my family to go to college, and my dad always expressed that I “have to go.” I’m glad he emphasized it, but it’s not for everyone.
In the last 20 years, there was an emphasis on everyone obtaining a college degree. Thanks to people like Mike Rowe, there’s been a discussion about the cost/benefit of a college education and a refocusing on the skilled trades. Hopefully, this refocusing will assist in recruiting our next generation of lineworkers and other operational technicians we need.
Easton Utilities expanded its service offerings under your leadership. How did you recognize when it made sense for the utility to offer an emerging service to the community?
Municipal utilities were born out of a sense of self-sufficiency and providing services that either were inadequate or not provided at all.
We were formed in 1914 after the town purchased a privately held electric company that, by all accounts, was providing an abysmal service. During my tenure, we entered the cable TV business in 1984, when big businesses had little interest in serving rural communities. We have poles and wires and building systems, but we knew little about the cable business. But we learned in a hurry, and it’s been hugely successful. That has morphed into the internet business. And more recently, we have an information technology services business.
That all evolved from the same sense of us seeing a need and saying that we’re able to fulfill the need best for ourselves. Public power’s beginnings are because the communities got together and rallied. They recognized that nobody’s going to do it for us. … They had to grab their bootstraps and do it themselves. That’s an integral part of our culture that’s really carried us through the years.
Is there a key lesson or experience from your time in public power that you often share with other leaders at Easton Utilities or with your public power colleagues more broadly?
I have been part of public power for my whole career. I’m in my 42nd year, so I’m one of the dinosaurs about. At Easton Utilities, we have seven businesses, so I have not been bored in any one of those years. When you get to work in the field and work closely with the customers, it’s gratifying to be able to do that.
The shadow of a leader extends over the entire organization, whether it is positive or negative. As a leader, one needs to be ever mindful of the examples they set and embrace tenets such as always placing principle over expediency.
When you can serve your community, it’s a good way to go through a career, and it makes you feel good. In the ’50s and ’60s, there was a large statue of Rudolph that sat on a local shopping center roof. I grew up in this town, and my parents would take me to see Rudolph during the holidays. A warehouse fire damaged the reindeer. For our 100th anniversary, we brought back Rudolph. Folks remembered, had that connection to it, and were very emotional about its return.
What do you hope will be the legacy you instill at Easton?
A deep and abiding service to the customer. Customers may not always remember what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel. Our colleagues have the authority to do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer. There are broad limits, of course, and there may be times when we say, “We’re glad you solved it, but please don’t do it that way again.”
The other thing we try to do is establish a bank of goodwill. We do make mistakes, and we then must withdraw from that account. And I want to make sure it is flush every time we need it.
We’ve accomplished a lot with our team. A more recent example is that we received funding to run fiber-optic broadband service across the county. We may be the first county in the state to have ubiquitous broadband access. Moreover, we were able to gather a portfolio of funding so that those who are currently unserved won’t face any cost to be served. As an example, some folks have long driveways — that gets to be a very expensive proposition if you live off the roadway.
What do Easton’s next general manager and other future public power leaders need to be prepared for the job?
Technical competency, business acumen, and emotional intelligence. As an engineer, I came to emotional intelligence late in my career.
It is going to be key to our success to sustain public power’s level of reliability and customer service for which we’re known. Leaders will have to deftly navigate ever-increasing legislative and regulatory edicts that have practical implications for our services. There is sometimes a disconnect between political ideals and technical realities. When we get an audience with our policymakers, we offer background and let them know that part of our service is to offer our professional insights, and some legislators take us up on that. Most of the time, legislators are approached by someone who has their hand out asking for something. We try to flip that a bit and tell them, “We want to help you.”
What’s next for you?
I have kept a list of things for me to do. The list exceeds 1,500 items, so I think that’s going to keep me busy for some time.
