About Us

Samual Sellard, Chairman

Sam was born and raised in Lancaster PA. 

He was a Sales Consultant in the commercial printing and newspaper advertising industries for over 30 years.

He has been married to his wife Jean for 23 years. They enjoy Fishing, Pickleball and Bird Watching. 

Sam has been a member of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Anglers Club for 15 years, serving 11 years as President and is currently Vice President. He enjoys serving in the club’s mission to introduce children to the sport of recreational fishing.

Sam has been a member Pungoteague Ruritan club for 10+ years and sits on the Board of Directors.  

The Pungoteague Ruritan club raises funds and awards thousands of dollars in college scholarships given out annually.

Pungoteague Ruritan Club also installs wheelchair ramps for folks that could not otherwise afford them.

Sam and his wife Jean got involved with the Accomack Republican Party in August of 2021. Several months after helping the party work to get Governor Glenn Youngkin elected, Sam was asked to consider being Chairman of Party and after careful consideration he accepted the nomination and was voted in as Chairman of the Accomack Republican Party in January 2022. 

Since being elected, the Accomack Republican Party has seen its membership grow over 400% from 50 to 200+ members, has grown a database of interested County voters to over 500 names, increased monthly meeting attendance from 12–15 to an average of 55, has appointed 9 Committee Chairs, the Party now has a Website, active Social Media presence and in 2023 the Party recruited 6 candidates that ran for Accomack County School Board position. 3 of those candidates won, flipping the School Board.

In 2023 the Party also endorsed and helped 1 County Supervisor unseat an incumbent and helped the newly elected Circuit Court Clerk to a resounding victory.

In 2024,  Sam was reelected to another 2 year term. 

Terry L. Strong, Vice Chairman

Terry Strong is a native Eastern Shoreman, being born and raised in Miona, Virginia. He is a husband, father, brother, and local politician. In 2020, Terry and his wife relocated to the seaside of the peninsula and currently live in Greenbackville, Virginia. Terry is a defense contractor in a senior leadership role where he is able to make a difference on the national scale by helping keep the United States Navy saliors safe at sea. He is also involved in the local arena as an Accomack County Public Official, serving as the District 2 representative on the Accomack County Economic Development Authority. Terry loves traveling, fishing, sports, and reading.

Terry was appointed Vice Chairman of the Accomack County Republican Party in 2024. In his time as Vice Chairman, Terry hopes to administrate effectively and reinforce conservative values in order to preserve the Eastern Shore way of life for generations to come.

Carole Stowell, Secretary

Carole Stowell was born, raised and lived most of her life in and around the Philadelphia, PA area.  However, her mother and her mother’s family were born and raised on Chincoteague Island.   Each year for most of Carole’s life she would spend some part of the summer in the family homestead on the Island.   At the end of 2010 she retired from over a 30-plus year career as a system engineer for an aerospace company.  After her retirement she promptly moved to the Eastern Shore.

In the early years of her retirement, she volunteered as a math/science tutor at the Eastern Shore Community College.   Most recently she volunteers at the Chincoteague Island Library.

Jeff Procter, Treasurer

Jeff add bio

Jo Procter, District Organizations and Operations Chair

Jo was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. She grew up in the beautiful and fragrant farming community of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She is the oldest of her siblings, two brothers and one sister. Growing, up Jo and her siblings attended public school and played sports. Jo was exceptionally passionate about field hockey. After high school, Jo went on to receive her Bachelor degree in microbiology with a Medical Technologist option from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Education with concentration in health services from Augusta University. Jo met her husband Jeff while attending PSU and have been married for 44 years. They have two children and six grandchildren. Jo and Jeff enjoy spending time with their family and taking the grandchildren to soccer, football, basketball, field hockey, choir, and gymnastic events.

In Jo's 40-year career, she spent time working as a Med Tech, a specialist at the blood bank, then ultimately spent 27 years at the National Institutes of Health as a cellular engineer. She is still is very interested in holistic medicine. Jo retired to the Eastern Shore of Virginia in 2019 and enjoys sailing, gardening, yoga, and knitting. She is a member of the Methodist Church and Pungoteague Ruritan Club. She also works with the local the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary so she can better serve her community while spending more time on the water, a win-win.

Jo joined the Accomack Republican Party in 2022. She has served as the Membership Chair and currently serves as the District Organization and Operations Chair. She enjoys the comradery of the group, claiming "I have to say that I have never met a more likeable and motivated group of people!".

Amy Kay Hines, Fundraising and Event Planning Chair

Amy Kay Hines was born and raised on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, growing up in the small fishing town of Wachapreague. She pursued cosmetology after graduation, and has owned her own business for over 40 years, now working part-time. Additionally, she works for a nutraceutical company that offers category-creating products.

Amy Kay has been married to her husband Tommy for 39 years, and together they have five children and five grandchildren. She is very active in her community and participates in activities at Drummondtown Baptist Church in Accomac, where she resides. She is also part of Waste Watchers of the Eastern Shore, a group dedicated to keeping the Eastern Shore litter-free.

Amy Kay started attending A.R.P. meetings in 2022 and decided to get involved to help her Accomack Republican Party in whatever way she could.

In her free time, Amy Kay loves taking walks, boating, clamming, fishing, baking, enjoying her animals, and getting together with friends.
 

Kristen Schad, Social Media

Kristen Schad relocated in 2020, from Central NY State, to Melfa VA. Kristen started coming to Chincoteague Island in 2002, when she worked for the Cortland Youth Bureau as a Youth Services Specialist. At the time, her children were young, but she fell in love with all the area had to offer, as did her children.  Kristen was later employed as a Caseworker and then Probation Officer for well over a decade, before making the move to the shore.  The COVID down-time turned out to be the perfect opportunity to make the shore her home.  Kristen also taught GED classes and tutored at the local high school in the area. Later, she also taught Foster Parent classes for her last six years in NY. 

Kristen started dabbling in computer graphics and web design in the late 1990's. While never having had any formal training, Kristen built and operated different websites as well as social media pages for decades for both personal use and businesses. Kristen also does some photography on the side and runs a popular photography group on Facebook.  

Kristen resides with Charles, her partner of many years and his son.   In 2018 a long-time dream was fulfilled when she and Charles purchased a vacation property on Chincoteague Island with the intent of retiring to the island later on.  That planned changed, however when her daughter and now son-in-law moved to the Shore.  Kristen has two adult children and a five year old  granddaughter. 

Reflecting on her journey as a lifelong Republican, Kristen feels it is her mission to do her part in getting her beloved country back! Final thoughts: "If you want things to change; you need to be the first step in making that change."