Chairman Richard FrenchBig Cove Community

PO Box 1793
Cherokee, NC 28719
C: 828.736.3054
Email: richfren@ebci-nsn.gov

Richard is serving his fourth term as a representative of the Big Cove Community. He is the son of the late Roy D. French and Mary Swayney French. Roy served as a Council Representative for the Big Cove Community also.  Richard is the youngest of six children, and a proud graduate of Cherokee High School. Prior to being elected to Council, Richard worked 15 years for NCDOT before returning to Cherokee where he worked 17 years in various positions with the EBCI and Tribal Entities.

He is married to Angela Bradley. He has two children, Brittany and Madisyn, and one grandson, Maddux and one granddaughter Embree. His daughter Brittany completed her BS at Western Carolina University, and her masters at Montreat and is the Manager of the Tribes Tribal Education Department. His youngest daughter, Madisyn, is a graduate of Western Carolina University with a degree in biology. He also has a stepdaughter, Emily, a step granddaughter, Campbell, a step- grandson, Cash, and a step- granddaughter Corlee.

Richard enjoys giving back to the community that raised him, Richard also helps Big Cove by giving back to the community that raised him. In his free time, he enjoys walking, fishing, playing with his dogs, and spending time with his children and grandchildren.

Vice Chairman Albert D. RoseBirdtown Community

PO Box 2452
Cherokee, NC 28719
C: 828.788.2678
Email: alberose@ebci-nsn.gov

Albert has proudly represented the Birdtown and 3200 Acre Tract Communities for four terms and is currently on his fifth term. He is the son of the  Albert Dale Rose, Sr. and Kathy Owle Rose.  Albert has one son, Dylan who is currently serving as the EBCI Watershed Coordinator. Prior to serving on Tribal Council Albert was employed with the United Parcel Service (UPS) for 20 years before retiring.  After retiring, in 2006 he begin his own contracting firm and received his General Contractors license in both Heavy Highway and Commercial Building, in addition to being certified as an MBE/DBE/SBE and Hubzone in 2019.  Albert actively pursues furthering his resources by attending compliance and regulatory training and visiting with local, state and federal government representatives.

Albert serves as a representative, not just for the Birdtown and 3200 Acre Tract Communities but for all enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Albert places priority in serving with responsibility transparency and accountability.  During Alberts tenure on Tribal Council he has submitted many pieces of legislation with a 90% pass rate.  Most recently Albert submitted legislation that created a Tribal Council CPA position to provide Tribal Council with a third-party review process for both budget review and due diligence assurance.  Albert’s goal is to ensure protection of Tribal assets while continuing to advance the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Adam WachachaSnowbird/Cherokee County

PO Box 2443
Robbinsville, NC 28771
C: 828.735.1283
Email: adamwach@ebci-nsn.gov

Adam is serving his seventh term as a Snowbird and Cherokee County Tribal Council Representative. He resides in the Snowbird Community with his high school sweetheart, Heather, whom he has been married to for 24 years. They have five children: Zane, Sierra, Xander, Xamuel, and Bently, and two grandchildren, Jonathan Axe and Madelyn Poppy ?.   Adam is the son of Renee Gonzales and former Snowbird and Cherokee County Tribal Council Representative Abraham Wachacha.

In his spare time, he volunteers coaching youth football and basketball. He is actively involved with the Snowbird Ga-du-gi free labor group. He is also a veteran of the US Army, where he served fourteen years. Adam attained the rank of Sergeant First Class and was a Drill Sergeant at Ft. Jackson, SC. He earned an undergraduate degree in business management from Montreat College, and is a 2021 graduate candidate at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville’s  Professional MBA (ProMBA) program.

David WolfeYellowhill Community

PO Box 850
Cherokee, NC 28719
C: 828.736.6299
Email: daviwolf@ebci-nsn.gov

David has lived in Yellowhill all his life, and it is where he currently resides with his wife, Susie. They have three children, Jennifer, Jeremy, and Sweet Pea, along with two grandchildren, Jeron and Addie. His parents are Noah and the late Bill Jean Wolfe.  David graduated from Cherokee High School in 1988 and from Western Carolina University in 1992. He has a degree in business, along with a degree in accounting and finance from WCU. Before serving his first term on Tribal Council David was employed with UPS for fifteen years. David will be entering his 8th term in office as a Yellowhill Tribal Council Representative. His hobbies include fly fishing, horseback riding, and spending time with his family and friends.

Boyd OwleBirdtown/3200 Acre Tract Community

156 Owles Nest Road
Cherokee, NC 28719
C: 828.736.8276
Email: boydlowle@ebci-nsn.gov

Councilman Boyd Owle represents the Birdtown and 3200 Acre Tract Communities. He is one of seven children to the late Robert (Bob) Owle and the late Helen Enloe Owle. Boyd is a lifelong resident of the Birdtown Community where he resides with his beautiful wife of 32 years, Cathie, and their four children, Amanda, Neil, Christian and Brett. He attended the Cherokee Central School System and is a graduate of Cherokee High School from there he entered the workforce fulltime.

Boyd’s career with the Tribe started at the age of 16 working for various Tribal Summer Programs and then he was employed by the Cherokee Boys Club for over 20 years before going to work for Harrah’s Cherokee Casino. He worked at the casino for 12 years.  His career from there led him to the Tribe where he served as the Tribal Sanitation Manager for 8 years. Boyd worked for the Tribe for 43 consecutive years and he planned to retire from the Tribe in September 2017 but his desire to serve his Tribe took over.

At the age of 47, Boyd enrolled in The Adult Studies Accelerated Program at Montreat College where he received his Associates of Science Degree in 2004. Having the urge to pursue his education further he then received a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in 2006 and then he received a Master of Science in Management and Leadership Degree in 2009.

Boyd takes pride in being open-minded, dependable, honest and fair and he considers it a great honor to represent the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. He enjoys helping others within the Tribe and staying active within the community. His hobbies include woodcarving, woodworking and golfing.

Boyd is currently serving his third consecutive term as the Tribal Council Representative for the Birdtown and 3200 Acre Tract Communities.

TW SaunookeYellowhill Community

Email: twsaunooke@ebci-nsn.gov

Councilman Saunooke is serving his first term as a Council Representative for the Yellowhill Community. TW is married to Yolanda Saunooke, with 5 children Tristan, Breece, CeAnna, Tivan and Walika and they reside in the Yellowhill Community.

TW has served 6 years as an elected official on the Cherokee Central Schools School Board. During this time, he was elected by the NC General Assembly of School Board members to serve on the North Carolina School Board Association Board of Directors and the NC School Board Federal Relations Network. He has also served on the NCUSA Wrestling Board of Directors. Prior to the current election he has been a Project Manager for the past 7 years with 25 years of experience in the construction industry.

Teresa McCoyBig Cove Community

Email: teremcco@ebci-nsn.gov

Teresa Bradley McCoy has represented the Big Cove Community for 22 years. She attended Sylva Webster High School and graduated from Cherokee High School. Mrs. McCoy’s bid for Tribal Council arose out of her concern about the maintenance and safety of Tribal Roads. She is married to John McCoy and they have two sons and six grandchildren. Teresa enjoys serving her community and her Tribe and her hobbies include, gardening, art, and hiking in the mountains.

Bucky BrownSnowbird/Cherokee County

PO Box 1125
Robbinsville, NC 28789
C: 828.735.5542
Email: buckbrow@ebci-nsn.gov

Bucky and his wife Marie reside in the Snowbird Community. He is beginning his third term serving as the Council Representative for the Snowbird and Cherokee County Communities. Bucky is the son of the late Louis and Ramona Brown and the Grandson of the late Ammons and Zena Rattler, both former Council Members for the Snowbird Community.  Bucky has two children and two step children. Anthony and Eden Brown  and  Brendan and Karree Cole.  He also has two grandchildren Marek and Maliyah Brown. Bucky is a 1983 graduate of Robbinsville High School.   Bucky grew up the youngest of six kids and has a very strong sense of family.  Bucky, his parents, and older brother Jody Brown sang gospel music as the “Singing Browns” for several years.

Bucky is very active in his communities. Prior to Council Bucky was employed by the EBCI Cherokee Life Department at Snowbird Recreation, and by the Graham County Schools. Bucky loves sports and working with the youth in his communities.  He has coached basketball for several of the Snowbird Warrior basketball teams over the last seventeen years. Bucky takes a great pride in his communities and looks forward to continuing to work hard and move the Tribe forward.

Dike SneedPainttown Community

PO Box 733
Cherokee, NC 28719
C: 828.736.5334
Email: dsneed@ebci-nsn.gov

Dike Sneed is serving his second term as a Council Representative for the Painttown Community. He is the son of Reverend Jimbo and Hazel Sneed. Dike is married to Bambi Armachain Sneed and they have two daughters, Shondi Thompson and Hannah Johnson.  They have six grandsons and two granddaughters, along with two great-grandsons, and two great-granddaughters.

Dike graduated Cherokee High School in 1980 and began working two days after graduation at Barkley’s Textile of Cherokee. He then worked for Buncombe Construction, Ken Wilson Ford (because Fords always break down)

In 1994 he entered law enforcement as a project cop.  He then moved up the ranks serving as a: patrolman, K-9 officer, investigator, assistant Chief and then he became Chief of Police, where he retired.  Soon after he began serving the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians as a Tribal Council Representative for the Painttown Community.

Mike ParkerWolftown/Big Y Communities

Information coming soon

Michael StamperPainttown Community

PO Box 2327
Cherokee, NC 28719
C: 828.736.6192
Email: mikestamper@ebci-nsn.gov

Michael has lived in Painttown all of his life and it is where he currently resides with his wife, Paige Stamper. Together they have two (2) children, Penelope age eight (8) and Sean (SJ) age six (6).

Michael graduated from Cherokee High School in 2009. He received his Bachelors in Business Administration and Organization Leadership from Brevard College in 2013. After graduation he immediately went into the workforce for the tribe and has continued his tenure with the tribe until being elected to serve as Painttown’s representative in December 2022’s special election. His most recent position held with the tribe was as a Regulatory and Appeals Officer for the Regulatory and Compliance Department within the Public Health and Human Services Division.

This is Michael’s first term in office as a Painttown Council Representative. His hobbies include golfing, watching sporting events, and spending time with his family and friends.

Andrew OocummaWolftown Community

Andrew Oocumma resides in the Wolftown Community, proudly serving his first term. He is a member of the Bird Clan, son of Mary Oocumma, grandson of Susie Reed Oocumma and Andy Welch Oocumma. He has a son, Andrew (Drew) attending Ohio University in Athens, OH and a daughter, D’nisa attending the University of District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. Andrew is a graduate of Western Carolina University where he earned a Marketing Degree and earned an athletic football scholarship.

Most recently Andrew worked at Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos as the Regional Advertising Manager for both Harrah’s properties. This also included managing the portfolio of major sports team sponsorships that include Major League Baseball, National Football League, Professional Soccer, Professional Lacrosse, National Basketball Association and some collegiate relationships. He also has extensive experience in the banking industry, workforce development and economic development in the state of Ohio.

Andrew also enjoys spending time with his children when they are in town, watching sports, riding his Indian motorcycle, live music and the natural beauty of the Smoky Mountains.