Umatilla County
Board of County Commissioners

Commissioner Bill Hansell was raised on a wheat and cattle ranch north of Athena. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Political Science. He was first elected to the Board in 1983, making him the longest serving Commissioner in Umatilla County's history. He has been active on the local, state, and national levels. Bill is a past president of both the Association of Oregon Counties and  the National Association of Counties. He and his wife Margaret reside in Athena and have six grown children.

Commissioner Larry Givens, a native of Umatilla County, was raised on a hay, wheat, and cattle ranch. He graduated from Umapine High School in 1967. He furthered his education by receiving a BA in 1972 From Northwest Nazarene College in Education and Earth Science. He did his post graduate work at Washington State University, University of Oregon, and Portland State.

He was a dedicated educator in Milton-Freewater for over 30 years, 1972-2003. From 1978-1982 he was the superintendent of the Tum-a-lum School District. Between 1986 and 1993 he spent his summers working with the US Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest, Walla Walla Ranger District (in fire management) and eventually law enforcement. He was the staging manager for the Redmond Air Center during the summer of 1992. After retiring from education and before becoming a county commissioner, Larry worked full time managing his farming business, L&A Ranches Hay Sales. During that time, he served on the Umatilla County Planning Commission for 12 years, spending 2 of those years as the chair.

Larry was selected to participate in Safety Operations Procedures for Nuclear Energy Reactors/Hanford Energy Site and to also participate in Safety Procedures and Storage of Nuclear Waste at Carlsbad, New Mexico low level nuclear waste storage facility.

As a county commissioner since 2007, Larry has been actively involved in following committees and organization:

• Chair of the governing board of the Oregon Dept of Geology and Mineral Industries
• Member of the National Association of Counties’ Energy, Environment and Land Use Committee
• Member of the LOAC for Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission
• Umatilla Hospital Authority Board
• Committee member for the Oregon Forest Land Reclassification committee
• Chair of the Umatilla County Board of Tax Appeals.
• Pacific Corp Regional Advisory Committee
• Chair of the Association of Oregon Counties Energy & Environment Committee
• Oregon Wind Energy Task Force

He and wife Anne (currently a third grade teacher) have four children - Trina, Brandon, Jeff, and Katie.

Commissioner Dennis Doherty's roots are in neighboring Morrow County. He was raised on the farm that his grandparents homesteaded near Heppner. He graduated from the University of Oregon and Willamette Law School. He practiced law for 26 years, including 5 years as Morrow County District Attorney. He and his wife, Anne, reside in Hermiston where they are active in the community. They have four grown children. He was elected to the Board in 1997.