Senator Chris Rector
Christopher (Chris) Rector is serving his first term in the Maine Senate, having served three terms in the House of Representatives. He serves as the ranking Republican Senator on the Joint Standing Committee of Business Research and Economic Development, and also serves on the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources. He serves on the Community Preservation Advisory Committee, the Maine Economic Growth Council, and the board of the Maine Compact for Higher Education. He is co-chair of Maine Solutions, a consensus building training and facilitation group for legislators and public officials. He helped to develop the Midcoast Leadership Academy which is currently offering its third class in leadership development. He was appointed to and has served on the Joint Select Committee on Research, Development and the Innovation Economy in the summer of 2006 the Joint Select Committee on Prosperity in the summer of 2007, and the Joint Select Committee on Maine's Energy Future in the winter of 2009.
Chris has been very involved in the efforts of Many
Flags, One Campus (www.manyflags.org). This project began in 2004 with meetins to more fully understand the workforce need of the mid-coast economy. As an outgrowth of those meetings, a need to incorporate a community college presence, along with the Mid-coast School of Technology (the Region 8 Vocational and Technical School for the area) and the University of Maine System was developed. In the course of discussions, Georges Valley High School and the Rockland District High School emerged as voluntary partners to the program. In addition, the Maine Marine Trades Association identified the potential and need for a marine systems training center as a partner to the project. The marine trades portion of the program is already up, running, and offering programs to insure that the long-term workforce needs of that industry are being met. While this project remains a work-in-progress, Chris has provided leadership in working to giving voice to all the partners and community members who seek to develop education opportunities for our region as a model for the rest of the state. Rector has been instrumental in securing endorsements or support from the Maine Compact for Higher Education, the Mitchell Institute, The Maine State Chamber of Commerce and others.
Senator Rector is an entrepreneur involved in retail business, wholesale art publishing and real estate management. He and his wife Betsy operated two retail art galleries for 20 years, one in Camden and one in Portland. He grew up in Needham, Massachusetts where he graduated from Needham High School. He moved to Maine while in college. He completed the program at Boston University College of General Studies and received a BA in Economics from the University Southern of Maine. Rector also attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 2006 on a Brooks Fellowship. He is a member of the Zeta Class of Leadership Maine, a program of the Maine Development Foundation. He is the former board chair of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art and former co-chair of the Camden Downtown Business Group. He serves on the GrowSmart board of directors. Sen. Rector is a member of Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility, the Penobscot Bay Region Chamber of Commerce and the Thomaston Fire Department. Rector is a member of the board of directors of the Knox Waldo Regional Economic Development Council (www.kwred.org) and co-chairs the task team on Education and Workforce Development. He also participates as a member of the Thomaston Comprehensive Plan Committee and the Thomaston Green Redevelopment Steering Committee.
Senator Rector and his wife, Elisabeth (Betsy), have two children. They have lived in Thomaston for 23 years and in the area for 37 years. His hobbies outside of art and public service include sailing, gardening, hiking and cooking.