Harold F. "Bud" Otis (born September 13, 1938) is an Elder of the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

and an American publisher and politician.

Early years

Otis attended

Andrews University Andrews University (Andrews) is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flag ...

where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1965.

Professional career

Otis was

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Review and Herald Publishing Association The Review and Herald Publishing Association was the older of two Seventh-day Adventist publishing houses in North America. The organization published books, magazines, study guides, CDs, videos and games for Adventist churches, schools and ind ...

from 1978 to 1988. In 1981, when Otis moved the company to new, $14 million facility in

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. The population was 43,527 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's List of municipalities in Maryland, sixth-most popu ...

, the publishing house had 350 employees and an annual payroll of $6.7 million. From 1989 to 1990, Otis served as assistant to the president of the

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

. Based in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

, the General Conference is the governing organization of the worldwide

. Otis was

of Family Enrichment Resources from 1991 to 1997. Otis served as

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of the

Board of Directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the Maj. Gen. Boyd C. Cook Foundation from 2012 to 2013.

Political career

Otis was the campaign chair for Ruthann Aron's campaign for

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. Otis joined

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Roscoe G. Bartlett Roscoe Gardner Bartlett Jr. (born June 3, 1926) is an American politician who served a member of the United States House of Representative from 1993 to 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a member of the Tea Party Caucus. At ...

's staff in 2001, and he served as his

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

beginning in 2003.Bourg, Allison.
Political Notes: Maryland Republicans criticize Obama's vacation choice: Otis Joins Vogt Team
. ''The Capital'' (Annapolis, Maryland). August 1, 2013.Dishneau, David.
Aide to Md.'s Rep. Bartlett quits; eyes House run
. ''Associated Press''. December 1, 2011. Bartlett considered not running for reelection in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, and Otis resigned from Bartlett's staff in December 2011 when the fact that he was actively lining up support to run for his boss's seat before Bartlett had decided to retire, made it impossible for him to continue as chief of staff. Otis ended up deciding not to run for the office.Pershing, Ben.
On Md. ballot, Bartlett faces tough race, Edwards escapes challenge from Ivey
. ''The Washington Post''. January 11, 2012. Otis served as

of the Ethics Commission of Frederick County from 2012 to 2013. Otis joined as a campaign adviser for David E. Vogt, who ran for

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. Vogt ended up withdrawing from the race. Otis became a member of the Board of Elections of Frederick County in 2015.

Frederick County Council

In 2014, Otis ran as the Republican candidate for one of the two

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

positions on the first elected council of Frederick County. Otis was one of thirteen candidates for the two at-large seats. Otis campaigned to reduce traffic by increasing the number of jobs in the county.Rodgers, Bethany.
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=14F25431F87C6B30&p_docnum=92&p_queryname=2 County Council at-large candidate Bud Otis
. ''The Frederick News-Post''. May 3, 2014. Otis wanted to make sure roads were being built in pace with development, but he did not want development to be so dense that residents fail to interact with each other. Otis said he would reduce the county's budget spending and increase long-term planning for future expenses, such as building roads and schools. Otis and Billy Shreve won the Republican primary election; Otis received 20 percent of the vote. In the general election, Otis won an at-large seat on the Council with 27 percent of the total vote.
. ''Maryland Manual On-line''. Maryland State Archives. Retrieved December 2, 2016. Otis was sworn in on December 1, 2014. Following his election to the Council, the

editorial board The editorial board is a group of editors, writers, and other people who are charged with implementing a publication's approach to editorials and other opinion pieces. The editorials published normally represent the views or goals of the publicat ...

of the

Frederick News-Post ''The Frederick News-Post'' is the local newspaper of Frederick County, Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its ...

endorsed Otis for council president.Bud Otis should be council president
. ''The Frederick News-Post''. November 30, 2014. The county voted 4–3 to elect Otis president of the Council.Rodgers, Bethany.

. ''The Frederick News-Post''. December 2, 2014. Otis joined with three Democrats in repealing a law making English the official language of Frederick County. Otis changed his party affiliation from Republican to unaffiliated on May 19, 2016. Otis said, "I think the direction of the Republican Central Committee is not where the majority of this county is, among Republican voters."Gaines, Danielle E.
Republican groups call on Otis to step down, return donations: Otis says no
. ''The Frederick News-Post''. June 7, 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Otis, Bud Andrews University alumni Living people Maryland independents Maryland Republicans People from Indiana People from Middletown, Maryland 1938 births American Seventh-day Adventists