Board of Directors

Ivan Hankins

Chairman

Mahesh Albuquerque

Chairman-Elect

Albuquerque's service to NCWM includes membership on the Specifications and Tolerances (S&T) Committee from 2012-2016, later as S&T Committee Chair from 2015-2016.

Hal Prince

Immediate Past Chairman

Prince began his weights and measures career with the Maine Department of Agriculture as an inspector in 1990 and remained with the department for twenty years. During that time, he fulfilled the roles of Inspector, Analyst/Trainer, Program Manager and Director of the Division of Quality Assurance and Regulations where he received the Governor’s Safety Award and Employee of the Year. Prince attended the NIST Basic Metrology training in 1997 for mass, volume and length after which he assisted in the Maine Metrology Lab.

Hal has worked in private business, local government and state and federal regulatory enforcement. Serving on many food safety, fertilizer and dairy boards and committees as well as being the liaison to several legislative committees. Upon his retirement from Maine, Prince received a rarely awarded Legislative Proclamation for his service, signed by numerous Senators and Representatives with whom he had worked.

After relocating to Florida in 2012, he accepted a position with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services where he briefly worked in several field inspector positions, as an Administrator and, since 2016, Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Standards.

Over his thirty plus years in weights and measures, his association with the NCWM began as a Sergeant-at-Arms in Portland, Maine in 1995, Hal has served on the Awards Committee, FALS Committee, MPFS Task Group, Nominating Committee, PALS Committee, Laws and Regulations Committee and the Skimmer Task Group.

Since moving to Florida in 2012, Prince has been an active member of the Southern Weights and Measures Association (SWMA) where he served on and chaired the Laws and Regulations Committee and served as the SWMA’s president in 2017-2018.

Craig VanBuren

Treasurer

Craig VanBuren is NCWM's Treasurer.  VanBuren served as NCWM Chairman and NTEP Chair.

Craig attended Michigan Technological University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. VanBuren started his career in the automotive industry; first designing chassis for motor homes and later designing parts for a Tier 1 supplier to Ford Motor Company. VanBuren began work for the State of Michigan as a field Metrologist in 2000.  He later transferred into the laboratory after training at NIST in basic, intermediate, and advanced mass calibrations.  VanBuren became the Metrology Lab manager in 2003 and served in that role until 2010 when he became the Director of the Consumer Protection Section.  The Section administers the State’s Metrology Lab, Motor Fuels Quality Program and the Weights and Measures Program.

VanBuren has been active in the Central Weights and Measures Association (CWMA) serving currently as a member on the Executive Committee, VanBuren is currently serving as Chair for the Nominating Committee for NCWM,  as well as member of the Laws and Regulations Committee.

Cadence Matijevich

Active Membership - Western Region Representative

Cadence Matijevich is currently employed as Division Administrator for the Nevada Department of Agriculture’s Division of Consumer Equitability, leading the agency’s Metrology, Petroleum Technology and Weights andd Measures teams in their efforts to ensure a fair and accurate marketplace for both consumers and businesses in Nevada.

Matijevich began her public service career in Nevada in 2005, spending nearly a decade with the City of Reno, where she held several positions, including Director of Government Affairs and Assistant City Manager.  After a brief but rewarding period as an analyst in Placer County, California’s County Executive Office in North Lake Tahoe, she was appointed Deputy Secretary for Operations for Nevada Secretary of State Barbara K. Cegavske.  Here, she oversaw fiscal, personnel, information technology and facility management functions.

Prior to her career in public service, Matijevich worked in the private sector for ESPN and Reebok International, LTD. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California and a Certificate in Public Management from the University of Nevada, Reno.  The daughter of a university professor and a career United States Marine, she endeavors to be a lifelong learner and holds dear the value of service over self.

Gene Robertson

Active Membership - Southern Region Representative 

Gene Robertson serves as the Southern Regional Representative of the NCWM Board of Directors.  He also serves as NCWM's Chaplain.

Gene has been an active member in the Southeastern Weights and Measures Association (SWMA) for several years.  He served on the Laws and Regulations, Professional Development, and Executive committees.  Robertson was also a past SWMA President.

Robertson earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Business at the Mississippi State University.  From 1982 to 1993 he worked as a Catfish Farm Manager and Cotton Gin Manager. From 1993 to 2003, he was an Aquaculture Specialist/Market Specialist for the Mississippi Department of Agriculture where he is currently employed.  Gene’s current responsibilities include Deputy Bureau Director of Regulatory Services, Grain Warehouse/Dealer Licensing, Aquaculture Coordinator, Egg Marketing Board Member, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Representative.

In addition to NCWM and SWMA, Gene is professionally involved with the Association of Grain Regulatory Officials, Mississippi Aquatic Invasive Species Council, and National Association of State Aquaculture Coordinators.

During his spare time, Gene enjoys hunting, traveling and spending time with his grandchildren.

Marc Paquette

Active Membership - Northeastern Region Representative

Loren Minnich

Active Membership - Central Region Representative

Loren Minnich serves as the Central Regional Representative of the NCWM Board of Directors.

Loren is a graduate of Kansas State University earning a Bachelor of Science in Milling Science and Management in 1998.  After graduating he worked in the private sector in a variety of industries and was a small business owner.

He joined the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Weights and Measures, as an Inspector in 2006, inspecting scales and conducting price verification and package inspections. In 2014, he became the Market Equity Protection Program supervisor for the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Weights and Measures.  As a member of the Central Weights and Measures Association Minnich served on the S&T Committee from 2013-2017, ending his term as Chairman, and was a member of the Nominating Committee from 2018-2019.  He joined NCWM in 2015 and served as a Presiding Officer in 2018, as the Chairman of the Point-of-Sale Tare Task Group from 2018 to 2019, and as a member of the S&T Committee from 2018-2020 serving as Chair from 2019 to 2020.

Rebecca Richardson

At-Large