HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton Rotary Club met for its luncheon meeting on Monday Nov. 6, where members heard a presentation from Terry Hayes, Maine’s treasurer.
Rotarian Fred Grant hosted Hayes, who is also a candidate for governor. Hayes is the first Independent party treasurer in the state in what has historically been a biased position. Formerly a Democrat, Hayes said she became disillusioned with both parties and changed to an Independent. Hayes grew up in Maine and during her difficult childhood was split up from her siblings after her father died when she was 11 years old.
After working through school and graduating from Bowdoin College in 1980, Hayes married and raised a family, while putting her husband and children through college. She served on the House of Representatives representing Oxford County from 2006 to 2014.
She earned her master’s degree from Thomas College in 2014. She has served on the school board in Buckfield, has been a guardian ad litem and has also been a real estate agent. Hayes said she feels she is a common sense leader who works with both sides of the aisle in government. She has balanced the treasury budget and her job is to make sure that bills are paid on time with the treasury’s money. Areas that her job includes are Investments, Tobacco Settlement, Board of Revenue Forecasting, College Savings, Banking, Revenue Sharing, Unclaimed Property, Trust Funds, Debt Management and Boards.
Hayes serves on 11 boards, where she is paid to read everything to prepare for each board meeting. For example, with the Finance Authority board, there is a moral obligation to make sure that bonds will be paid in a timely manner. In Revenue Forecasting, Hayes explained that they must plan for the economy of the state and not include more that the state can afford.
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- Kyle Taylor, left, was inducted into the Houlton Rotary Club Nov. 6. With Taylor is Rotary President Matthew Nightingale. (Courtesy/Nate Bodenstab)
She works to keep politics out of this area. By being apolitical about spending she leaves planning to the experts. Unclaimed property is an interesting part of her job. There is money owed to people in Maine from trust funds, dormant property and unclaimed life insurance properties.
Most claims amount to between $100-$600 but occasionally a quarter of a million dollars is awarded to the rightful heir. Last year, $25 million was unclaimed and $18 million was given to those who claimed it. The rest goes into the General Fund but it is always available if proven to be owned by a claimant. Hayes looks forward to her run for Governor next year.
In other business, Rotarians Leigh Cummings and Michael Clark were recipients of gifts for being past District Governors, Cummings from 2011 to 2012 and Clark from 1974 to 1975.
Kyle Taylor was inducted as a new member and for becoming a member there was a seven day reading for Houlton businessman Alex Crone of Aroostook Print Shop.
