Staff Writer
Many individuals at the Loring Commerce Centre will tell you that their job isn’t easy, but on Sept. 9, Loring Development Authority (LDA) President and CEO and LDA Board of Directors Chair Kay Rand presented a monument dedicated to 12 individuals who had some of the hardest jobs the Loring Commerce Centre has seen; founding the LDA was no simple feat.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Original members of the founding Loring Development Authority Board of Trustees include Brian Thibeau, Albert Watt, first LDA Chairman Art Thompson, Elizabeth Reuthe, First LDA President and CEO Brian Hamel, Don Collins and Dan LaPointe. Other original board members absent from the photo include Paul Cariani, David Dorsey, Michael Aube, Robert Umphrey and Joe Wishcamper.
With such relatively little time to react, everything had to be done perfectly, precisely, and promptly; and those who are responsible for the LDA rose to the challenge.
“The job was so big that we had to step up beyond what we were used to and so, somehow, the board trusted one another; three people would work on bylaws, three people would work on financing, etc., and then we’d come back together, report and make recommendations,” explained founding Loring Development Authority Board of Directors Chair Arthur Thompson. “There were never any questions, (aside from explanations or clarification of facts); when it came to vote, it was always unanimous. I don’t think we did anything that wasn’t unanimous,” he remembered. “We’d work it out, trust one another; I’ve never been on a board where people trusted each other immediately like that,” Thompson added, “It was unique.”
All the hours spent pouring themselves into the development of the former base paid off, as their quick thinking allowed for the generation of funds to found the Centre and keep it operational.
“We were able to secure a lot of federal funding for that closure; if we hadn’t received that level of funding from the federal government, Loring would not be there today,” said founding President and CEO of the LDA, Brian Hamel. “I presented a plan to the Board of Trustees that indicated that unless the federal government could write us a check for about $30 to $40 million, then we shouldn’t take it off of their hands because the state of Maine and its citizens can’t afford to do it,” he added. “It was necessary for that funding to go into Loring to allow it a chance to survive.
The funding that Loring received has been placed into the local communities through municipal-type functions and building improvements, leading to new jobs and economic development.
A base closure is generally not unique, but the individuals who diligently ensured the creation of the Loring Commerce Centre surely were.
Thompson spoke fondly of working with the board, stating that the general consensus of those who founded the Centre — Hamel, the Board, and the staff — were just like a family. “It was more than just working together as a team,” he explained. “It was unique.”
