About Fort Miles Museum - Explore. Learn. Remember.

Fort Miles Museum Established as Delaware Nonprofit

Fort Miles Museum and Historical Area, Inc. was formed to guide the ongoing dream, vision and mission of Fort Miles Museum. We represent a group of Delawareans working to enhance and expand this landmark museum that explores the history of the defense of Delaware’s coast and the role of Fort Miles during the Cold War that followed.

Fort Miles Museum Established as Delaware Nonprofit

Fort Miles Museum and Historical Area, Inc. does business as Fort Miles Museum (FMM). With the formation of this new corporation in December 2021 and the receipt of its 501(c)3 designation in June 2022, a newly formed Board of Directors began steering the planned expansion and will ultimately oversee the Museum’s day-to-day operations. The corporation has named the following people to serve on the nine-member board of directors with equal representation from Fort Miles Historical Association, Delaware State Parks and local communities. Fort Miles Historical Association is a support and volunteer organization for the Fort Miles Museum.

Fort Miles Museum Board

Kay Wheatley

Chairperson

Kay Wheatley

Chairperson

Kay Wheatley was born and raised in Rehoboth Beach. She is familiar with fundraising because that was the family business since 1954. She earned a business degree with a marketing concentration from what now is Salisbury University in Salisbury, MD.

Kay worked for Tanger Outlets in Rehoboth and was responsible for property management, leasing and marketing. For 20 years, she was part owner of a construction company, which gave her valuable knowledge of the building industry. In 2011, Kay began a fundraising and development consulting business. She has been involved in many nonprofits and is chairperson of Fort Miles Museum; a member of the board of trustees for Rehoboth Beach Public Library; and a director on the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce board.

Kay is excited to be a member of the Fort Miles Museum board, helping the Museum expand because of her love of history and the time she has spent at Cape Henlopen State Park. Kay sees the benefits of preserving Fort Miles’s history for residents and visitors.

Grant Melville

President

Grant Melville

Vice President

Grant was born and raised in Chichester, PA. He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from University of Pittsburgh. After graduation, he worked in recreation, including cross-country tour guide and natural disaster recovery in parks. Grant moved to the Eastern Shore in 2012 to work in environmental education in Chincoteague, VA, followed by the Ward Museum in Salisbury, MD.

In 2015, Grant began his career with Delaware State Parks as assistant marina manager at Indian River Marina. He moved to park manager, then superintendent, of Cape Henlopen State Park before taking on his current post as operations section manager for Delaware State Parks.

Grant is a certified interpretive guide through the National Association of Interpretation and completed the Indiana University executive development program.

In 2016, while at Cape Henlopen, Grant was active with Fort Miles as the park liaison for Fort Miles Historical Association. He has been privileged to take part in the growth of Fort Miles Historical Area and is excited for the future of Fort Miles Museum.

Thomas Summers

Secretary

Thomas Summers

Secretary

A 12th-generation Delawarean, Tom was born and raised in Milford. After earning a bachelor’s degree in history from Washington College in Chestertown, MD, Tom joined the Navy and was an air traffic controller in the Chicago area. After returning to Delaware, Tom began a long career at the Delaware Public Archives, serving in roles such as historical markers coordinator, education specialist, and outreach services manager. Tom won a national education award for a project called Teaching Delaware History with Primary Sources. In 2020, Tom transferred to Delaware State Parks to manage the Cultural Resource Unit.

Active in his community, Tom is a Rotarian and has served with Orchard Church, Camden Wyoming Little League, and the Caesar Rodney Marching Band Parents Association. A longtime history and political science instructor at Delaware Tech, Tom fuels his enthusiasm for the past with memberships on the Delaware Heritage Commission and Barratt’s Chapel cemetery board. In the past few years, he has started a video series about African American life in 20th-century Milford. Through his membership on the Fort Miles Museum board, Tom looks forward to helping the site become a world-class military Museum and one of the most visited destinations on the East Coast.

Cliff Geisler

Cliff was born and raised in Montgomery County, MD. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in military history from the University of Maryland.

Cliff spent his career in law enforcement, security and investigative work with various federal agencies. He became a U.S. Supreme Court police officer in 1976 and retired as a special inquiries investigator with the Naval Inspector General in 2007. He continues working as a special agent under contract to the Peace Corps, conducting suitability and security background investigations.

After his retirement from federal service, Cliff moved to Lewes, DE, where he became involved with Fort Miles Historical Association. He has been a member of FMHA’s board of directors for more than a decade. A lifelong military history buff, he views his role with Fort Miles Museum as an opportunity to help educate his community about the role the fort played in World War II.

Jayce Madden

Jayce was born at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, MD. She holds a bachelor’s degree in recreation from Shepherd College and a park leadership certificate from North Carolina State.

Since June 2016, Joyce has worked for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. She has held management posts at Killens Pond and Cape Henlopen state parks. She is park superintendent at Cape Henlopen, where she works closely with Fort Miles Historical Association and the Friends of Cape Henlopen.

Jayce brings 20 years of recreation experience from posts with Loudoun County Parks and Recreation in northern Virginia and the private sector.

Scott Thomas

During multiple jobs and many adventures, Scott Thomas has traveled extensively and experienced many locales. He is a business school graduate of the University of Maryland and worked in the telecommunications industry for 10 years as a marketing communications professional.

In 2003, he and his wife reached their goal of returning to southern Delaware and Scott entered the tourism industry. Since 2007, he has been executive director of Southern Delaware Tourism, the destination marketing organization for Sussex County.

He serves on the boards of directors for the Sussex Economic Development Action Committee, Delaware Botanic Gardens and Fort Miles Museum. Scott loves living in southern Delaware and never runs out of reasons to entice visitors to the area.

Charlie Daneri

Charlie was born and raised in the Washington, DC metro area. He attended Syracuse University and earned his degree in Business Administration. He enrolled in Air Force ROTC achieved the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. In June 1971, he was assigned to Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls, Montana, as a Computer Operations Officer.

While preparing for a possible deployment to Saigon, a peace treaty with Vietnam in January 1973 allowed Charlie an “early out” and he was released from active duty on February 1, 1973, and returned to Maryland.

His computer expertise led to a career that included major corporations such as Burroughs Corporation and 1st Data. He also owned his own consulting firm. His career concluded as an IT professional with the IRS in November 2021. During a professional sabbatical, Charlie and his wife Emily, owned and operated a vineyard and winery in Frederick, MD.

Before retiring, Charlie and Emily moved to Lewes where he has become an active volunteer at Fort Miles, continuing his work in IT. He has managed several IT projects, but his most memorable has been the paver Wall of Honor program.

Ed Paterline

Jayce was born at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, MD. She holds a bachelor’s degree in recreation from Shepherd College and a park leadership certificate from North Carolina State.

Jayce brings 20 years of recreation experience from posts with Loudoun County Parks and Recreation in northern Virginia and the private sector.

Our Partners

Fort Miles Museum’s Board relies on the support of our working partners in this endeavor. Visit these organizations
to learn more about their roles supporting Fort Miles, including volunteer opportunities.