Board of Trustees
Charles T. “Chuck” Akre
Chuck founded Akre Capital Management in 1989 after twenty-one years in the securities business at NYSE member firm Johnston, Lemon & Co. where he managed various parts of the business, including branch management, research, and asset management. Beginning in June 1993, he operated the firm under the umbrella of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. Taking the business private again in 2000, he moved the firm to the rural village of Middleburg, Virginia.
Duncan W. Brown
Combining experiences in the entrepreneurial world with experiences in the not-for-profit sphere has filled the decades of Duncan’s post-college years. As a manufacturer and a marketer, a committee member and chairman, a CEO and a Chairman, the intertwining of for-profit and not-for-profit worlds have brought him to where he is today – an experienced generalist with love of the vision while insisting on the nuts and bolts. Duncan is Owner of Cedar Works in Rockport, Maine. Duncan graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in 1960 and currently serves as Class President. He is the President of the Torrington, Connecticut, YMCA and is a past National Board Member for the Y. Duncan also volunteers his wealth of experience for the Farnsworth Art Museum. He claims that he “…was lured into the world of OHTM when I first saw the magnificent collection of antique cars and airplanes. I was totally hooked when I understood the entire collection was active and operable. Here I am, thirty-one years later, even more excited as OHTM begins a new chapter in which education takes the lead.”
Richard Cease
After a youth spent building, flying, and sailing model aircraft and boats, Dick was educated at MIT in electrical engineering. His career was spent at Raytheon Company, primarily in the area of communication systems development for the armed services. Notably, one of his last assignments was to define the internal and external communications architecture for the Zumwalt class of destroyers. Earlier, he worked as technical director and program manager for airborne and ground terminals for the Milstar secure satellite communications system. Dick has long had a fascination with anything that flies, floats, or rolls, and their history. He moved to Maine following retirement in 2004 and is an avid sailor and skier. He has a passion for Owls Head’s collection of antique aircraft and the stories they represent.
Gary C. Dunton
Gary has had a significant and longstanding connection to Owls Head Transportation Museum from its earliest years where his father, Parker Dunton, was the Museum’s Founding Chief Pilot. With a strong interest in ground vehicles, he is extremely passionate about high performance automobiles and their representation in the Museum’s collection. Graduating in 1978 with a B.A. from Northeastern University, Gary went on to earn an M.A. from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Serving as V.P. of Personal Lines Field Operations for Aetna Life & Casualty from 1980-1991, he then became President of Family and Business Insurance Group for USF&G Insurance from 1992-1997. Gary retired in 2008 after taking the Chairman, CEO, and President position for MBIA in 1998. Gary currently serves as Co-Treasurer for Owls Head Transportation Museum.
Rodney D. “Chip” Gray
Chip is a quintessential “Man of All Trades”, with careers in aviation as an A&P Mechanical Inspector, in the Tourism industry as a hotelier in New England, an experienced guide and fly fisherman, a naturalist, and an inveterate tinkerer. Owner of Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, Maine, Chip is a member of Hospitality Maine’s executive committee, the Maine Tourism Association Board, the Freeport Economic Development Corporation Board, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council, and is an American Hotel and Lodging Association and Resort Committee Honorary member. Chip is happiest troubleshooting any sort of mechanical issue on anything transportation related. Deeply passionate about the Owls Head Transportation Museum and its mission, he lends his great talent and experience in the arena of management and HR.
John C. Harris
John grew up in a rural farming community, a suburb of Rochester, New York. He attended college at Middlebury College and graduated in 1962 with a B.S. degree. John met his wife KoKo while in college, and she came with a 1935 Ford convertible - which is still in their garage after sixty years of marriage. John has been an antique car enthusiast since the age of twelve, when he purchased a Model T. He has been a pilot since the age of sixteen. After serving in the Navy as a Supply Officer, John had a short stint working for the Navy’s Federal Civil Service in Washington, D.C. In 1971, Koko and John fulfilled one of their marriage vows by moving to Newcastle, Maine, to purchase the Country Farm Furniture Store. John is a Board Member for the Stanley Steamer Museum and has been a longtime volunteer at Owls Head, where he is deeply passionate about the Museum’s mission. John currently serves as Board Secretary.
Robert T. Jacobs
After serving as an aviator in the U.S. Navy, Bob went on to lead a distinguished career in banking as a commercial loan officer at Citibank. His focus was on the aviation industry, Boeing in particular. Sailboats and vintage automobiles figure prominently in Bob’s life. He is an engaging storyteller with a natural talent for weaving those delightful means of conveyance into each of his recollections.
John D. Karp
John is a Mechanical Engineer and Serial Entrepreneur with startups and turnarounds ranging from Medical Devices to Acoustic Guitar Manufacturing. He is passionate about vintage cars, airplanes, and the learning opportunities they present for today’s youth. Failing at full retirement, John enjoys serving Owls Head as a Trustee, Co-Treasurer, and Strategic Planning Chair. He has served as part-time Executive in Residence at the Maine Technology Institute since 2016. He graduated from Northeastern University with a B.S. in 1984 with dual studies in Mechanical Engineering and Thermo-fluids and Mechanical Design. John is Principal of Karp Strategic Consulting. He serves as Program Manager for Maine’s MEP Manufacturing Technology Accelerator and is Past President and CEO of Pantheon/Bourgeois Guitars. John enjoys biking, running, sailing, and maintaining his collection of cars and boats. He also serves as Co-Treasurer for the Board.
Ruth Kermish-Allen, Ph.D.
Ruth is the Executive Director of Maine Math and Science Alliance (MMSA), a leader in STEM education professional development for K-12 educators. Ruth has extensive experience leveraging cutting edge research into learning experiences for K-12 youth in the classroom and beyond. She has a passion for designing and researching educational environments that empower learners with the skills, experiences, and confidence to find creative solutions to the environmental and social challenges they care about. Throughout her career, she has advocated for disadvantaged rural youth and communities, finding ways to amplify their voices to initiate change for a better world. Ruth serves on the Governor’s Permanent Commission for the Status of Women in Maine, served on multiple STEM education research review panels at the National Science Foundation and collaborations at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She lives in Appleton, Maine, with her husband and two daughters.
Steve H. Levesque
Steve is a man of few words and many good deeds. He brings to the board an entrepreneurial spirit, an unparalleled knowledge of airport operations and management coupled with a strong knowledge of State Government. With an M.S. in Environmental Studies from California State University, Steve became Commissioner for the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development in 1997 and then moved on to form SHL Enterprise Solutions in 2003. Steve subsequently became Executive Director at Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority from 2006 through 2021.
John S. Reed
John spent his career at Citi (Bank, Corp, Group) serving as Chair and CEO from 1984-2000. Following his retirement, he served as Chair of the NY Stock Exchange (2003-2005) and of MIT (2010-2014). Born in Chicago and raised in Argentina and Brazil, John came to the states and went to college at Washington and Jefferson and then MIT under a joint degree program earning a B.A. and B.S. in 1961. He spent two years in the U.S. Army and returned to MIT for his M.S. in Management. While working, John served on the Boards of Citi, Philip Morris, Monsanto, and United Technology. Since retiring, he has been engaged with a number of not-for-profits. He and his wife, Cindy, have a home in Camden.
James S. Rockefeller, Jr., Founder
Jim’s most recent book is titled Wayfarer: A Memoir, an apt description of one who has patiently and thoughtfully traveled through life with an enduring passion for planes, boats, and engines a passion that led him to establish the Owls Head Transportation Museum 1975. He was chairman of the Board of Trustees until 2017. Born in 1926 and raised in Greenwich, Conn., Jim served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. A graduate of Yale University, Jim spent his youth traveling and exploring until settling down in Maine. His book about his travels in the Pacific, Man on His Island, was published in 1957 by W.W. Norton. In 1959 his book With Liv on Board, was published by Ascheog & Co, Norway, and is about a voyage through The French Canals on a small Viking craft with his wife. Rockefeller built boats for twenty years at the Bald Mountain Boat Works, where he also restored a 1912 Etrich Taube replica airplane, now part of the founding collection of the Museum. He stopped flying at the age of ninety, after clocking more than 2,000 hours in the air. The Museum that Jim and two others, Steve Lang and Tom Watson, founded is a shared community of energy, excitement, collective human resources, compassion and commitment. This was the founders’ vision and has in great part fueled the Museum’s success. Jim’s vision was not focused on objects alone, but more importantly on the people of Maine and the creation of a place where skills were shared, vehicles demonstrated, and imaginations ignited. Jim and his wife, Marilyn, live in Camden, Maine.
Thomas H. Rudder
Tom is a businessman from Hartford, Connecticut, whose contracting companies perform building façade restoration, environmental remediation, and industrial cleaning. His most notable projects include the restoration of the exterior of the White House, the interior of the U.S. Capitol, and the exterior of the Forbidden City in Beijing prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics. A member of the United States Marine Corps from 1957-1959, he graduated from the University of Miami with a B.B.A. in 1962. He is Chairman of the Board and owner of Ramco Companies and owner of Hydrochemical Techniques, Inc. Tom is a past member of the Board of Directors of Hartford Stage Company, New England Air Museum, and was a member of the Professional Airshow Performer Association. Tom has been an active pilot for over sixty years and has been associated with Owls Head Transportation Museum since 2021 and is the current Chairman of the Board.
Lawrence M. “Bud” Woodworth
Bud was educated at Williston Academy. He subsequently graduated from Union College with an engineering degree and is licensed as a professional engineer. Early in his career he worked for an engineering firm and designed marinas and airport systems. Later he was employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory creating innovative combustion systems which led him to start his own companies. The companies developed water and oil emulsions for improved combustion of heavy fuel oils. The emulsions were used in commercial and utility boilers around the world. Bud holds several patents in this field. For forty years, Bud had a construction business specializing in complete renovations of large Gold Coast mansions on Long Island. He is a lifelong boater owner, an ocean racer, and has cruised all over the world. Bud has a passion for restoring boats and cars, doing all the work himself. Today, he still maintains a small collection of antique boats and cars.