The Del-Mar-Va Council, Boy Scouts of America, will hold its annual Sussex County Distinguished Citizen Award Dinner on Tuesday, October 23rd at The Clubhouse at Baywood, Route 24, Long Neck, DE. This year the Boy Scouts will honor Alex Pires.

Alex is a lawyer, banker, and owner of multiple business and venues. Mr. Pires started his career at the Department of Justice in the Lands Division. He represented the United States in seven western states, including Alaska.  He then moved to the Anti-Trust Division.  He was a principal litigator in the task force that prosecuted the break up of AT&T in 1980, the Government's most successful anti-trust victory since the break up of Standard Oil. In the 1990's he was lead counsel in 5 nationwide class actions, ultimately recovering over 4 billion dollars for farmers.

In 2006 Mr. Pires founded Community Bank Delaware.  It has branches in Lewes and Rehoboth with assets a little short of 200 million dollars.  Mr. Pires is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.

In 1989 Mr. Pires formed Highway One LLP.  It has grown into an entertainment/food/services business. Mr. Pires is also President of Community Matters Foundation which raises money thru promotional events, such as the concerts at Hudson Fields, and donates the proceeds to charities in Sussex County. 

Mr. Pires is married to Diane Cooley and has two adult children. 


Recipients are selected for their outstanding service as evidenced by their leadership to many worthwhile organizations, as well as the respect and esteem in which they are held by their colleagues. The Distinguished Citizen Award Dinner is the annual opportunity for the community’s leadership to gather and celebrate the successes of the Boy Scouting program in our area. The dinner is built around recognizing a person or persons who use the character traits taught in Scouting to make our community a better place.

The event expects to have 150 attendees to recognize Alex for his service. The dinner will raise over $30,000 to help support scouting programs and services. Over 10,000 youth are served by the Del-Mar-Va Council, Boy Scouts of America annually. Special efforts are made to reach urban, rural, minority, special needs and underprivileged youths, who will benefit most from Scouting’s values-based programs.