Chris Gardner

Biography

Chris Gardner was born and raised in Washington County. He graduated from Shead High School in 1992 and still resides in his home town of Edmunds with his wife Amanda and their three children Madelyn, Emmitt and Reagan. Chris earned a BA in Business Administration from the University of Maine at Machias with concentrations in Marketing and Finance and was a valedictorian graduate of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

After college Chris served for over a decade as a law enforcement officer throughout Washington County as a member of the Washington County Sheriffs Department particularly in the communities of Lubec, Machias and Calais; today he still serves as a reserve officer in Eastport. In 2004 Chris was first elected as a County Commissioner and won re-election in 2008 and 2012. Since 2007 he has had the privilege of being elected to serve as the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners.

In 2007 Chris was hired as the Executive Director of the Eastport Port Authority. Since taking over, Chris has championed the potential of the Port and which has seen record growth in both its net worth and business volume.

In 2010 Chris oversaw the Port's expansion into the live dairy cow export market and was instrumental in the almost 10 million dollar bulk materials handling system investment at the Port.

In 2013 Chris was selected by Maine Magazine as one of Maine's 50 people who have made a difference in Maine. The Port of Eastport was selected by the Maine Development Foundation as their “Champion of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Capacity” award winner in the same year. In his off time, Chris has spent over a decade coaching high school sports in communities such as Lubec and Eastport; he currently coaches at Washington Academy and Edmunds Community School and remains active in various community activities.

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