Champion of UMaine Award Recipient
The Champion of UMaine Award recognizes an individual, who, while not a University of Maine alumnus, has been an outstanding advocate for the university. Charles “Chip” Hutchins of Brewer has continued his family’s strong tradition of support for the university, specifically for the Collins Center for the Arts and UMaine’s athletic programs. Hutchins obtained a B.A. degree in politics from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia in 1985. Upon graduation from college, Hutchins worked in the banking field in Boston before returning to Bangor in 1989.
Over the next thirty-plus years, Hutchins became a local fixture both as a businessperson and a diehard Black Bear fan alongside his wife, Kelli Theriault Hutchins, a 1985 graduate of the university. He acquired several businesses, including a four-station radio broadcasting company, a real estate investment firm, and a vending and games company. In the UMaine athletics community, Hutchins can often be seen at Black Bear sporting events. Locally, he and his family are longtime box holders at Alfond Stadium. He has also traveled with the team to cheer on his Black Bears away from home.
Hutchins comes from a long line of UMaine champions. His grandparents, Ruth and Curtis, were among the first proponents of the (then) Maine Center for the Arts and the main auditorium, the Hutchins Concert Hall, is named in their honor. With this family legacy, Hutchins served on the Maine Center for the Arts Advisory Board from 1996-2004 and later rejoined the Collins Center Advisory Board, serving as Chair of the Advisory Board since 2015.
Beyond his volunteer support of the Collins Center, Hutchins has given his time, talent, and treasure to UMaine. When the Stillwater Society was created in 2000 to celebrate donors who have given at least $25,000, he was its youngest member. He is an incorporator of the University of Maine Foundation board, served on athletics director search committees, the Buchanan Alumni House Steering Committee and Endowment Trustees, the Zillman Museum of Art Advisory Board, and chaired the Black Bear Board of Advisors.
Hutchins lives in Brewer with his wife, Kelli.
Sponsored by:
