RC&D presents awards
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
CONSERVATION EFFORTS were recognized at the 45th annual meeting of the St John Aroostook RC&D in Presque Isle. Among those being honored were pictured in front from left: Harry Hafford, chair of the Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery Corporation; Philip Levesque, Frenchville town manager; Gary Picard, selectman, town of Frenchville; Angie Wotton, district manager, Southern Aroostook SWCD; and Benjamin Lynch, executive director, Central Aroostook SWCD. Second row: Michael Shrewsberry, director of Community Development, city of Caribou; Jamie Francomano, city planner, city of Presque Isle; Patty LeBlanc, Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee; and Dotty Dudley, associate supervisor, Central Aroostook SWCD. Third row: John Edgecomb, RC&D Council member representing the town of Mapleton; Phil Soucy, RC&D Council member representing the town of Fort Kent; Tom Whitworth, regional enforcement coordinator, Maine Forest Service; Dave Rochester, district forester, Maine Forest Service; Wade Hanson, Community Development director, town of Houlton; and Dan Foster, Fort Fairfield town manager.
PRESQUE ISLE — The St John Aroostook RC&D Council’s annual meeting, awards ceremony and holiday party was held earlier this month at the Grant Memorial United Methodist Church, with keynote speaker Gary Edwards, president of the New England Association of RC&D areas, discussing the many ways the organization benefits surrounding communities.
Edwards noted that the RC&D was his “first association with conservation.”
“I was a student at UMPI and ran a two-week conservation camp. I didn’t know what RC&D meant — thought it stood for rolls, coffee and donuts. I directed the camp for two weeks at Loring,” said Edwards, who from there indicated he went on to serve 22 years in Houlton as the rec director.
During that time, Edwards said he served on the RC&D steering committee or as an alternate.
“I did that up until eight years ago when I became a coordinator of RC&D. One of my mentors was Bill Haskell,” he said.
He told the group he decided to take the position of president because the interest in conservation issues was on the rise.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
Gary Edwards, president of the New England Association of RC&D areas, served as keynote speaker at the 45th annual meeting of the St John Aroostook RC&D held earlier in December in Presque Isle.
“It’s an interesting process. Our program is the strongest and best known at this level. Of the 375 nationally, as a grassroots program there may be two or three not producing, but I doubt that. Most are like you — rural programs that are very effective in doing their job with local communities,” said Edwards.
He said one of his biggest concerns is that the organization is understood as well as it should be.
“Some don’t understand what it means to live in communities like ours. We’re little towns doing the work big cities do, but without the time and talent to do the work. That’s why RC&D was created. The term that gets lost is ‘project.’ Without it, we’d have nothing to do,” said Edwards. “That’s what we’re about.”
He said what he’s discovered is big cities have two or three individuals involved with economic and community development, but that’s not the case for communities in Maine.
“You have a roomful of people to take care of the whole county. In talking with other councils around the country, there are very few meetings without political representatives present. But the level of stability is not there. Programs aren’t grounded with a foundation to keep things flowing regularly. That’s one reason I accepted my position is to have a seat on the board. There shouldn’t be people (on the board) who don’t understand us (residents of the County) determining whether we get funding this year or not,” said Edwards.
He said at the local level, the organization has had strong support. It’s his goal to get similar response at a higher level, including in Washington.
“Having worked with nonprofits as much as I have, it took a long time to grow to a point where they were effective. I’ve always been concerned about the disconnect — that there was no direct connection between St John RC&D and downstate, at the state level,” he said. “Now it’s through me. I’m the one you should contact when you have concerns. Let’s get people thinking about making changes.”
Edwards said he wouldn’t have gotten onboard in his retirement years if he didn’t believe in what RC&D was doing.
“I went a long time as a rec director and learned you have to borrow ideas to be successful. When there’s an opportunity, you have to grab it,” he said.
As an organization, he said it’s easy to see what’s being done on a day-to-day basis and react to help. His concern is what can and is being done at the state and national level.
“The Maine association has not been active for several years. I’m not sure what we have to do,” said Edwards, noting the state level was active in the beginning when funding was more readily available. “That’s when it was formed and was strong — because it always had something to do.”
In order to be effective, Edwards said the organization needs personnel interested in performing the necessary tasks.
“I’ve been asked what makes this organization a success. It’s the people. I have local people providing expertise and skills to help others help themselves. We’ve given them something that will give them a lot more,” said Edwards. “I don’t know if Washington knows how important Skip is (Skip Babineau is coordinator of the St John Aroostook RC&D area, based in Presque Isle).” Babineau has been instrumental in recent years in matching people with needed skills with projects needed to be completed, among other duties.
“We always used to get nervous when the Maine Association wanted to do a project because the concern was who would do the work,” said Edwards, adding networking could be one option for getting the Maine Association going again. “That’s the problem with levels beyond local. All of you are volunteers, not getting paid by RC&D. You’re doing a great job — always have and always will.”
Edwards said he has a lot of respect for the program and has gotten a lot out of his experience with RC&D, both personally and for the organizations he’s worked with.
The Awards Ceremony followed Edwards’ presentation, marking the 45th anniversary of the St John Aroostook RC&D and included numerous council sponsorship, partnership and years of service recognitions. Projects recently completed include the Frenchville boat ramp; Monson Pond boat ramp in Fort Fairfield; and the Williams Brook watershed erosion inventory, a tributary to the Prestile Stream near Westfield.
Among those being honored were: Harry Hafford, chair of the Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery Corporation; Philip Levesque, Frenchville town manager; Gary Picard, selectman, town of Frenchville; Angie Wotton, district manager, Southern Aroostook SWCD; Benjamin Lynch, executive director, Central Aroostook SWCD; Michael Shrewsberry, director of Community Development, city of Caribou; Jamie Francomano, city planner, city of Presque Isle; Patty LeBlanc, Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee; Dotty Dudley, associate supervisor, Central Aroostook SWCD; John Edgecomb, RC&D Council member representing the town of Mapleton; Phil Soucy, RC&D Council member representing the town of Fort Kent; Tom Whitworth, regional enforcement coordinator, Maine Forest Service; Dave Rochester, district forester, Maine Forest Service; Wade Hanson, Community Development director, town of Houlton; and Dan Foster, Fort Fairfield town manager.
