J. Christopher Chocola  

Joseph Christopher "Chris" Chocola was first elected to Congress on November 5, 2002 as a Republican to the One Hundred Eighth and to the succeeding Congress (January 3, 2003-January3, 2007); unsuccessful candidate for re-election to the One Hundred Tenth Congress in 2006.

Joseph Christopher "Chris" Chocola (born February 24, 1962) has, since 2003, been a member of the United States House of Representatives from (map). He is or has been a member of the Agriculture, Small Business, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Ways and Means [appointed May 2005], the Budget committees; and on the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures of the House of Representatives.

Chocola was born in Jackson, Jackson, Michigan. He graduated from Williamston High School in 1980. He graduated in 1984 from Hillsdale College, in Hillsdale, Michigan. He graduated in 1984 from Hillsdale College, in Hillsdale, Michigan, with a double major in administration and political economy.

After graduation, he went to work Society National Bank, now known as KeyBank, which had recruited him into its management program in Cleveland. When he left to go to law school, he was a foreign exchange trader for the bank. He graduated in 1988 from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, in Lansing, Michigan. He worked his way through school as a credit manager for his family's business, Chocola Cleaning Materials; while attending classes at night.

After graduating from law school, Chocola joined CTB International in northern Indiana. He worked as Corporate Counsel and held several management positions until he was ultimately named Chief Executive Officer in 1994. In April 1999, he left the CEO position to become chairman of the board. CTB International in Milford, Indiana, a manufacturer of products for the po ultry, egg, swine, and grain production industries, which his grandfather, Howard Brembeck,

In August 2002, CTB International was sold to Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the investment firm of billionaire Warren Buffett. The Chocola family (Chris, his parents, and other relatives) received 55% of the $140 million paid to shareholders of the company

In the 2000 election, Chocola made an unsuccessful bid for Congress, losing to incumbent Democrat Timothy J. Roemer by a 52-47 margin. In 2002, Chocola ran again for the open seat. In November, he defeated former Congresswoman Jill Long Thompson by a 50-46 margin. Elected to Congress on November 5, 2002, Chris Chocola was sworn in as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 108th Congress on January 7, 2003, by Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert. In 2004, Chocola defeated Democrat Joe Donnelly by a 54-45 margin. He was defeated in the 2006 election by Joe Donnelly.

At home, Chris and his wife, Sarah, remain actively involved in the community. Chris is a member of Rotary, sits on the Board of Directors at Oaklawn Psychiatric Center and the St. Joseph County Red Cross, and serves on the Council of Advisors at the South Bend Center for the Homeless. Sarah sits on the Board of Directors at the Boys & Girls Club in Goshen and the Elkhart County Community Foundation. Chris and Sarah reside in Elkhart County.
In April, 2009 became the president of the Club for Growth, a fiscally conservative political organization that supports a low-tax and limited-government agendand a a free-market advocacy group that rates members of Congress. The club was started in 1999 and is bankrolled by contributions from 75,000 members across the country.

As president of the Club for Growth, the politically active free-market advocacy group, Chris Chocola wields tremendous power, rating members of Congress on their fiscally conservative purism