The Maine Association of Police recently bestowed three incredible honors to U.S. Army SSG (Ret.) Travis Mills and his wife, Kelsey Mills.
Travis and Kelsey opened the Travis Mills Foundation Veterans Retreat in 2017 after Travis lost potions of all of his limbs in a 2012 IED explosion while serving our country in Afghanistan. Since then, thousands of recalibrated veterans and their families have learned to live life off the sidelines through adaptive sports, spending quality time together and meeting other veteran families.
Presenting the awards were Kevin Riordan, association president; Shane Stephenson, second vice president; Paul Gaspar, executive director; and Nancy Troubh, widow of William “Bill” Troubh, whom one of the association’s top awards is in honor and memory of.
The William B. Troubh Leadership Awardee is selected by a joint committee of the Maine Association of Police, Maine Association of Police retirees and Troubh, Heisler, P.A. They select an individual (civilian or police officer) who demonstrates extraordinary leadership abilities in their profession, community or the field of law enforcement.
“This award isn’t given every year,” said Kevin Riordan, president of the Maine Association of Police, addressing SSG Mills in the living room of the Travis Mills Foundation Veterans Retreat.
“All off what I know of you led you to this place,” said Troubh, referring to Travis. “Your compassion, your gratitude – that hit me. Your joy in life, your love of family, your resilience, your toughness – it took all of that to the person you are standing here today.”
“Billy would be incredibly honored that an award was given to you in his name,” she added.
Troubh and her husband were married for 47 wonderful years, giving back to the greater Portland community in which they lived. In addition to being a founding partner of Portland law firm Troubh Heisler, he was a compassionate public servant who led with honesty and integrity. He served multiple terms as a city councilors and mayor of Portland. He was also instrumental in the development of the Portland waterfront, Portland Sea Dogs, Cross Insurance Arena and Portland Ice Arena.
“Bill was a very unassuming man” said Paul Gaspar, Maine Association of Police executive director. “Everything he did was in service to his community, and you would never know that this man was the Mayor of Portland, congressional candidate and gave the gift of baseball to the people of Maine by bringing the Portland Sea Dogs our state. He added, referring to Travis, “You truly exemplify Bill’s high standard of service and leadership and are truly deserving of this award of his namesake.”
Riordan, Troubh and others toured the Retreat in the Belgrade Lakes Region of Maine to learn more about how the Foundation serves recalibrated veterans, their families and law enforcement through various programming.
The Maine Police Association also made Travis an honorary, lifetime member and issued him a badge – a gift that came with some of the group’s favorite stories about driving a little too fast.
“I am beyond grateful to the Maine Association of Police – and not simply because of the incredible award in honor of Bill and the other amazing honors, which mean the world to me and Kelsey,” said SSG Travis Mills. “But for the difficult job our law enforcement have. Everyone I met today, or had the pleasure of meeting again, are top notch individuals whom the state is fortunate to have protecting us.”