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LEWISTON — Kevin Hancock, president of Hancock Lumber Company, will share his experiences — when diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia and how the condition changed his management style and his approach to life — at the next LA Senior College Food for Thought session Friday, April 14. The National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association’s web site describes the condition as “a neurological voice disorder that involves “spasms” of the vocal cords causing interruptions of speech and affecting the voice quality. SD can cause the voice to break up or to have a tight, strained, or strangled quality.
Interestingly, Hancock never planned on joining the family business. After graduating from Bowdoin College with a degree in American History, he taught and coached basketball at a postgraduate prep school. However, when his father learned he had lymphoma in 1991, Kevin went to work at one of the company’s stores. His father, David Hancock, died in 1997; in 1998, Kevin, then 32, became president.
Kevin is a past chairman of the National Lumber and Building Materials Dealers Association as well as the Bridgton Academy Board of Trustees. He reccived the Ed Muskie ‘Access to Justice’ Award, the Habitat for Humanity ‘Spirit of Humanity’ Award, the Boy Scouts of America’s ‘Distinguished Citizen’ Award, and Timber Processing Magazine’s ‘Man of the Year’ Award. He also spent 20 years coaching middle school basketball for the Lake Region school district from which he graduated.
In 2012, Kevin read about the severe housing shortage at Pine Ridge, an Oglala Lakota Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Because of his ongoing interest in the history of the American West in the late 19th century, he became a frequent visitor to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and a passionate advocate of the economic and social challenges faced by the Pine Ridge residents.
In 2015, he published a book about his experiences with the Oglala Sioux Tribe titled, “Not For Sale: Finding Center in the Land of Crazy Horse.” The book won the National Indie Excellence Award, first place in leadership and runner-up in the spirituality category. Kevin is an advocate of strengthening the voices of all individuals — within a company or a community such as Pine Ridge — through listening, empowering and shared leadership. Books will be available for sale ($20 each) at the luncheon.
Established in 1848, Hancock Lumber operates ten retail stores and three sawmills that are led by 460 employees. The company also grows trees on 12,000 acres of timberland in Southern Maine. Hancock Lumber is a multi-year recipient of the ‘Best Places to Work in Maine’ Award. The company is also a past recipient of the Maine Family Business of the Year Award, the Governor’s Award for Business Excellence, and the MITC ‘Exporter of the Year’ Award.
Senior College, now in its 19th year, presents a monthly luncheon program open to the public in Function Room 170 at USM LAC. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., and the program begins promptly at noon. The cost, which includes lunch, is $7, with an advance reservation, or $8 at the door. To make your advance reservation, call Senior College at 753-6510 by noon on Wed., April 12. Reservation calls received after this date/time will be considered “at the door.”
