Setting off a few Fridays ago at 6:15 a.m. from Mount Desert Island, I had a sense of new horizons. My son James and I were off to Rockland to take the pulse of a part of Maine’s economy, its downtowns.
James is an econ major at Wheaton College (the one in Massachusetts) and he wanted to learn something about business in his home state. The annual Maine Downtown Conference seemed like it might be a good intro, and it was: To a piped-in "Downtown," he and I joined more than 200 town and city fathers and mothers, retailers, and individuals from across Maine gathered to figure out how to grow community. Twitter? TIF (tax increment financing)? Cultural tourism? The conference agenda offered a range of methods and approaches.
On several occasions over the course of the day, James expressed a new appreciation for the passion people have for their communities. There was Marsha Donahue, painter and owner of North Light Gallery in Millinocket, showing off a Mount Katahdin pendant as she spoke with enthusiasm about her town. There was Phil Poirier, an artist and web wiz, seeking new social media ideas for promoting his town of Livermore Falls.
It was also a day of advocacy. As we exited the Strand Theater after marketing guru Rick Segel’s wildly entertaining keynote address in the morning, we encountered Olive Pierce, one of Maine’s most distinguished photographers, handing out leaflets promoting single payer healthcare. At lunch, we heard the 2009 Downtown Visionary Award winner Maggie Drummond from GrowSmart Maine make a plea for attendees to support the Communities for Maine’s Future Act.
The closing panel discussion, moderated by Roxanne Eflin, program manager at the Maine Downtown Center, was exemplary: five lively experts sharing real life stories, advice and specific information related to downtown vitality.
Before finishing up the day with a reception at the Farnsworth Museum, conference participants gathered on the sidewalk in front of the Strand Theater for a photo op. With the traffic on Main Street finally cooperating, the photographer, stationed on the second floor of a building across the street, took a shot of us holding up our National Trust for Historic Preservation "This Place Matters" signs.
Considering the economic times, the spirit at the conference was upbeat. Maybe it was spending a June day near the waterfront; maybe it was the venues (the Strand Theater, the Maine Lighthouse Museum, and the Maine Eastern Railroad, among others); maybe it was the commitment to learning from each other. For James and me, it was all of those things, plus watching a bear cross the road between Bucksport and Ellsworth on our way home.
Cost of the conference: $60. Spending quality time with your son while learning how to build community in Maine: priceless.
Carl Little is director of communications and marketing at MaineCF.