Rhode Island Commodore, formally Commodore of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is Rhode Island's highest honor, and an honorary title

Title of honor

An honorary title or title of honor is a title bestowed upon individuals or organizations as an award in recognition of their merits.Sometimes the title bears the same or nearly the same name as a title of authority, but the person bestowed does not have to carry any duties, possibly except for...

 bestowed upon individuals by approval of the Governor of Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

. It is not a military rank

Military rank

Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms...

, requires no duties, and carries with it no pay or other compensation. However, the Rhode Island Commodores are organized as a non-profit, non-partisan organization with the purpose "to assist and stimulate economic enterprise within Rhode Island by direct action through education, economic promotion and hospitality."

History and organization

The Rhode Island Commodores was established in 1968 by then governor John H. Chafee. Commissions as a Rhode Island Commodore have always been given to prominent citizens who are business or civic leaders in Rhode Island upon nomination by a commodore and appointment by the governor. The Governor of Rhode Island, currently Lincoln Chafee

Lincoln Chafee

Lincoln Davenport Chafee is an American politician who has been the 74th Governor of Rhode Island since January 2011. Prior to his election as governor, Chafee served in the United States Senate as a Republican from 1999 until losing his Senate re-election bid in 2006 to Democrat Sheldon...

, serves as commander-in-chief

Commander-in-Chief

A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...

 of the Commodores and the organization led by its admiral, currently Colin P. Kane and its board of directors. It is administered by the quasi-public Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, and its director, currently Keith W. Stokes, serves as vice admiral and as an ex-officio member of the board of directors. As of 2011, there are about 260 Rhode Island Commodores. Prominent speakers are often featured at meetings of the Commodores, but in 2011 the Rhode Island press criticized the organization for their long-held policy of excluding reporters from their privately-held meetings.

Charitable activities

The Rhode Island Commodores is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization that is devoted to a number of causes, including promoting economic development in Rhode Island, promoting Rhode Island products, conducting educational activities, promoting tourism and serving as goodwill ambassadors while traveling out of the state.

Notable commodores

Below is a partial list of notable Rhode Island Commodores:

• Lincoln Almond
  Lincoln Almond
  Lincoln Carter Almond is an American attorney, politician and member of the Republican Party. Almond served as United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island from 1969–1978 and 1981–1993 and latter the 72nd Governor of Rhode Island, serving from 1995 to 2003.- Early life, education and...
  
  
• Donald Carcieri
  Donald Carcieri
  Donald L. "Don" Carcieri was the 73rd Governor of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Carcieri has had a varied vocational background, having worked as a manufacturing company executive, aid relief worker, bank executive and teacher.-Personal background:...
  
  
• John H. Chafee
• Lincoln Chafee
  Lincoln Chafee
  Lincoln Davenport Chafee is an American politician who has been the 74th Governor of Rhode Island since January 2011. Prior to his election as governor, Chafee served in the United States Senate as a Republican from 1999 until losing his Senate re-election bid in 2006 to Democrat Sheldon...
  
  
• Trudy Coxe
  Trudy Coxe
  Gertrude M. "Trudy" Coxe is an American environmental activist who is the current CEO of the Preservation Society of Newport County and the former Secretary of Environmental Affairs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts....
  
  
• Robert G. Flanders, Jr.
  Robert G. Flanders, Jr.
  Robert G. Flanders, Jr. is an American attorney who served as an Associate Justice on the Rhode Island Supreme Court from 1996 to 2004. He earn his bachelor's degree at Brown University in 1971 and his law degree at Harvard Law School in 1974. He served as Chairman of the Rhode Island Board of...
  
  
• J. Joseph Garrahy
• Alan G. Hassenfeld
  Alan G. Hassenfeld
  Alan G. Hassenfeld was the chairman and chief executive officer of Hasbro Toys from 1989 to 2008. He was the brother of Stephen D. Hassenfeld, who preceded him in the post. Hasbro was founded as a Hassenfeld family business in 1923...
  
  
• Maxwell Mays
  Maxwell Mays
  Maxwell Mays was an American painter known for his whimsical depictions of Rhode Island.-Early life and education:...
  
  
• Claiborne Pell
  Claiborne Pell
  Claiborne de Borda Pell was a United States Senator from Rhode Island, serving six terms from 1961 to 1997, and was best known as the sponsor of the Pell Grant, which provides financial aid funding to U.S. college students. A Democrat, he was that state's longest serving senator.-Early years:Pell...
  
  
• Bruce Sundlun
  Bruce Sundlun
  Bruce Sundlun was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as 71st Governor of Rhode Island from 1991 to 1995. He was Rhode Island's second Jewish governor, and the only Jewish governor in the United States during his two terms...
  
  
• Ted Turner
  Ted Turner
  Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
  
  

See also

• Commodore
  Commodore (rank)
  Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
  
  
• Kentucky colonel
  Kentucky colonel
  Kentucky colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Commissions for Kentucky colonels are given by the Governor and the Secretary of State to individuals in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to a community, state or the nation...
  
  
• Nebraska Admiral
  Nebraska Admiral
  Nebraska Admiral is Nebraska's highest honor, and an honorary title bestowed upon individuals by approval of the Governor of Nebraska, a landlocked U.S. state. It is not a military rank, requires no duties, and carries with it no pay or other compensation...
  
  
• Sagamore of the Wabash
  Sagamore of the Wabash
  The Sagamore of the Wabash is an honorary award created by the state of Indiana during the term of Governor Ralph F. Gates . A tri-state meeting was to be held in Louisville with officials from Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Aides to Gates learned that the governor of Kentucky was preparing...
  
  
• Order of the Long Leaf Pine
  Order of the Long Leaf Pine
  The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, created in 1965, is an honor that can be granted in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The Longleaf Pine is the official state tree of North Carolina. As of Dec 31, 2006, the Order has been awarded to 6,672 individuals....