Kevin Hancock

I see a time of Seven Generations when all the colors of mankind will gather under the Sacred Tree of Life and the whole Earth will become one circle again. In that day, there will be those among the Lakota who will carry knowledge and understanding of unity among all living things and the young white ones will come to those of my people and ask for this wisdom. I salute the light within your eyes where the whole Universe dwells. For when you are at that center within you and I am that place within me, we shall be one. — Crazy Horse

Kevin Hancock is both a successful and nationally-recognized business leader and a passionate advocate for many social causes, including access to justice.

His family business is Hancock Lumber, a sixth-generation company that has operated from Casco, Maine, since 1848. A graduate of Lake Region High School and Bowdoin College who began his career as a history teacher, Kevin became the President of Hancock Lumber at the age of 32, following the untimely death of his father. Over the past 19 years, Kevin has introduced innovations in operation and management that have allowed the company to weather very difficult economic times and to become much stronger. Those efforts have led to numerous awards, including the Governor’s Award for Business Excellence, the Maine Family Business of the Year Award, and the Maine International Trade Center’s ‘Exporter of the Year’ award. Hancock Lumber has twice been selected as a ‘Best Places to Work in Maine’, both in 2014 and 2015.

Kevin’s own journey as a business leader is chronicled in his wonderful book, Not for Sale: Finding Center in the Land of Crazy Horse, which was published in 2015. In it, Kevin recounts the gradual loss of his voice to spasmodic dysphonia in 2010 and how his life changed as a result of his interactions with the people of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

As part of his commitment to strengthening the voices of others, Kevin has become one of Maine’s strongest champions for the cause of “justice for all” within Maine’s business community. A long-time supporter of the Muskie Access to Justice Dinner, Kevin recently served on the Pine Tree Fund cabinet which raised $1.5 million for Pine Tree Legal’ s first-ever endowment fund. In 2015, Kevin was honored as Timber Processing’s “Man of the Year” for his leadership at Hancock Lumber and his active social participation. Earlier this year, Kevin was profiled by the New York Times in an article entitled “A Lumber Executive Loses His Voice and Finds Balance.” In addition to his support for civil legal aid, other causes include Camp Sunshine (a camp in Casco for children with life-threatening illnesses), Habitat for Humanity, and anti-bullying efforts directed at schools in southern Maine.

Kevin is married to Alison and has two daughters, Abby and Sydney.