Charles "Chuck" Knowlen is an excellent role model and example of our Maine can-do spirit, hospitality and gratitude. Devoted to honoring veterans as a Maine Troop Greeter at Bangor International Airport, Chuck has served on the board of the Troop Greeters since 2008 and is currently serving his second three-year term as chairman.
While Chuck provides leadership and direction to more than 400 volunteers, he is also a 4 a.m.-8 a.m. greeter as military service people arrive and depart BIA. His dedication to veterans goes even further. Since the mid-1990s, Chuck has served as a volunteer tour guide and "veteran interpreter" at the Cole Land Transportation Museum, the home of Maine's WWII, Vietnam Veterans, and Purple Heart Memorials.
In particular, he regularly meets with student groups at the Museum to share and discuss the part that military veterans have played in American democracy and freedom. Chuck is a retired lieutenant colonel, having served the Army as an aviator, an infantry battalion commander, and in operations at the Pentagon.
While he volunteers with many veterans groups, fellow troop greeter Charles Fisher says, "He is not just a name on a letterhead. When Chuck gets involved, he does so with gusto."
