Board of Governors

 Hon. Olympia Snowe was reelected to a third six-year term in 2006 with 74 percent of voters supporting her continued representation of Maine in the United States Senat­e. Sen. Snowe served in the Maine Hous­e of Representatives from 1973-1976 and in the Maine Sen­ate from 1976-1978. Sh­e wa­s a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979-1995, and served as First Lady of Maine from 1989-1995. Sen. Snowe has worked extensively on a number of issues, such as education, national security, health care, oceans and fisheries issues, and campaign finance reform.
Hon. Susan Collins was elected to represent Maine in the United States Senate in 1996 and was reelected to a second term in 2002. She was the fifteenth woman in history to be elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right. Sen. Collins served as Maine Commissioner of Professional and Financial Regulation from 1987-1992. She also served as New England Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Association from 1992-1993. Sen. Collins’s priorities include maintaining a strong national defense and strengthening homeland security.

Mr. Mark Ellis is the current Chairman of the Maine Republican Party. A longtime Republican activist, Mr. Ellis has served as county campaign chairman and eCampaign chairman for U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe and U.S. Senator Susan Collins, among others. In 2004, he served on the Bush-Cheney ’04 Maine Steering Committee as the eCampaign Chairman. Mr. Ellis was elected to represent Maine as a delegate to the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City and served on the 2004 National Platform Committee. He is the current and founding webmaster of MaineGOP.com.

Mrs. Mary Adams has been a conservative movement leader in Maine for over 30 years, and is the 1978 recipient of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Award for Political Courage. Mrs. Adams led the successful effort to repeal Maine’s statewide property tax in 1977, and from 1996-1997, led the successful fight against a federal effort to expand regulation of Maine forests. She also led the campaign for a Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) in 2006, which aimed to curtail state government spending in Maine. Mrs. Adams is currently the leader of a coalition of prominent center-right activists that meets each month in Augusta.
Hon. Richard Bennett is CEO of the Corporate Library, the leading independent source for U.S. corporate governance, and has a wide range of private sector experience, including the founding and management of several businesses. A former President of the Maine Senate, Sen. Bennett served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1990-1994 and in the Maine Senate from 1996-2004. He also served as an honorary co-chair of the MECR VICTORY FIELD PLAN Fundraising Campaign, which raised over $35,000 for the Maine College Republicans in just two months in 2006.
Hon. Randall Bumps is Northeast Regional Political Director for the Republican National Committee (RNC). Rep. Bumps served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1996-2002. He has served as State Director to U.S. Senator Susan Collins, and was Deputy Campaign Manager of her successful reelection campaign in 2002. Rep. Bumps also served as Executive Director of the Bush-Cheney ’04 campaign in Maine and was Chairman of the Maine Republican Party from January-October 2005.
Hon. Peter Cianchette is president of The Cianchette Group, which focuses on creating economic development opportunities by taking a direct role in helping companies and organizations achieve their goals and corporate objectives. Rep. Cianchette served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1996-2000. He served as the Maine General Chairman of the Bush-Cheney ’04 campaign and is currently the Republican National Committeeman from Maine.

Mr. Michael Conway is founder and director of Safe Action Fire Education (SAFE), a non-profit organization committed to promoting fire awareness and education among young people. Mr. Conway currently serves on the Board of Selectman for the Town of Acton. He has extensive experience in Republican grassroots activism, which began with College Republican leadership during the 1980s, and continues today with the York County Republican Committee. Mr. Conway currently serves as Chairman of the Acton Town Republican Committee.

Mr. Kevin Hancock is Chairman, President and CEO of the Hancock Lumber Company, a sixth generation family business with 600 employees and greater than $100 million in annual sales. Mr. Hancock also serves as Chairman, President and CEO of the Hancock Land Company, which owns and manages 40,000 acres of timberland in Southern and Western Maine. He served on the Board of Directors for the Maine State Chamber of Commerce from 2001-2006, and currently serves on the Bridgton Academy Board of Trustees.

Hon. Betty Lou Mitchell served in the Maine Senate from 1996-2004. A strong advocate for Maine youth, Sen. Mitchell worked to increase young Mainers' access to higher education as Lead Senator and Chair of the Joint Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs while serving in the Maine Senate. She currently serves on two education commissions in Maine through an appointment from the governor, and is also actively involved in the non-profit organization, Fight Crime, Invest in Kids. Sen. Mitchell served as an honorary co-chair of the MECR VICTORY FIELD PLAN Fundraising Campaign, which raised over $35,000 for the Maine College Republicans in just two months in 2006.
Hon. W. Tom Sawyer served in the Maine Senate from 2000-2004. Sen. Sawyer has an extensive background in business management, and was selected by the U.S. Small Business Association as the U.S. Small Businessman of the Year in 1980. He has also been awarded an honorary Ph.D. in Environmental Science by Unity College. Sen. Sawyer holds a United States Coast Guard Master’s License and is Drum Major in a Highland Bagpipe band in Maine.
Mrs. Kathy Watson served as Chairman of the Maine Republican Party from 1999-2005. Mrs. Watson represented Maine as a delegate to the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Republican National Conventions. She currently heads the Kathy Watson Company, a contracting firm.