Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I I N O. X I I J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 2 2 6 Incumbent Mills has raised $3.2M for campaign e reelection campaign of Democratic Gov. Janet Mill said it has raised $3.2 million to date, including $516,941 in the pre-primary fundraising period between April 27 and May 31. e campaign has $2.3 million cash on hand. Her challenger and also predecessor, two-term Gov. Paul R. LePage, a Republican, has raised $1.49 million. e total includes $124,013 during the most recent filing period. e campaign has $685,421 cash on hand. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E Gov. Janet Mills announced that 14 or- ganizations will receive a total of $12.3 million to expand apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships across Maine to strengthen Maine's workforce through the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan. The funding is expected to provide more than 3,000 Maine people with new apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship opportunities, more than doubling the number of Maine's current apprentices. The Maine Connectivity Authority launched the Jumpstart Connectivity Initiative to provide accelerated low-cost internet access to the least served areas of the state by trialing the deploy- ment of wireless technology deploy- ments. Target areas are those where service level is estimated to be at or below 25/3 mbps and where wired de- ployments are currently impractical. Clark Insurance sold to NY firm Clark Insurance, a 91-year-old insur- ance agency headquartered in Portland, has been acquired by New York-based Marsh McLennan Agency LLC for an undisclosed price. All 135 employ- ees of Clark will be joining the new parent, a subsidiary of insurance and risk management conglomerate Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. (NYSE: MMC). Clark has offices in Gorham, Portland, Windham, Lowell, Mass., and Manchester, N.H. Clark also operates Haberman Insurance, an agency in West Springfield, Mass., that was acquired last year and is included in the Marsh trans- action. Marsh McLennan Agency oper- ates 160 offices across North America and employs about 9,000 people. N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N Shalom House Inc. said it completed the renovation of 30 Mellen St. in Portland into a 12-bed residential program for adults living with severe mental illness. ORPC, a hydropower company in Portland, announced that ORPC Canada, with the support of Marine Energy Group/CanmetENERGY-Ottawa, will deploy a RivGen renewable power system at the Canadian Hydrokinetic Technology Testing Centre this summer. The Maine Film Association in Portland released a report stating that the Maine film and video production in- dustry generates an annual total eco- nomic impact exceeding $64 million. Waterville startup accelerator gains key partner Maine Venture Fund will team up with Dirigo Labs, a Waterville-based startup accelerator launched by the Central Maine Growth Council, to boost capital investments in central Maine startups. Dirigo Labs will help get the word out to companies about equity financing B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E S O U T H E R N C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N B R I E F Leader of Saddleback's revival steps down, citing health issues B y J e s s i c a H a l l R a n g e l e y — Andy Shepard, the CEO and general man- ager of Saddleback Maine since the ski area's revival after five years of closure, said he has resigned from those roles, effective immediately, due to health issues. He will shift his professional focus to the resort's charitable programs. Shepard, 65, said he has back problems that prevent him from continuing his current work and needs to spend more time focusing on his well-being. A successor has not yet been named and will likely be found internally. "I'm a really upbeat, positive person typically and gener- ally had a lot of energy. I couldn't continue to do that job and get my health back," Shepard told Mainebiz. "I went into this trying to create a culture of empowerment and build a staff capable of anything. I'm so proud of the group that is there now. I do step away with confidence." In his new role, Shepard will focus on fundraising and community development, telling the story of the mountain, and continuing to support the needs of the greater Rangeley community. Shepard said he will work on fundraising for continued redevelopment of the mountain and the surrounding com- munity. Among the areas he wants to focus on: supporting health and wellness, access to child care, workforce hous- ing, and starting a staffing agency so seasonal workers can find year-round employment. Shepard was instrumental in the rebirth of Saddleback, which before its closure in the 2014-15 season was the largest employer in the region and supported dozens of other nearby businesses. Boston-based Arctaris Impact Fund acquired the moun- tain in January 2020 with a goal of creating hundreds of local jobs and establishing the mountain as a sustainable economic engine, "We had to build everything from scratch. There was deferred maintenance that needed to be addressed. All the things that made the mountain unprofitable before had to be addressed," Shepard said. Jonathan Tower, managing partner at Arctaris, said, "Thanks to Andy Shepard, here's proof that you can move mountains with enough vision. Arctaris and Saddleback are grateful for Andy's leadership in rebuilding Saddleback Mountain in less than a year and during a pandemic, and now he's carrying the torch even further with our philanthropic initiatives." Shepard said the biggest challenge was working to get the ski area operational and open during the pandemic. "We bought the mountain and were meeting with architects when the pandemic hit. We talked about what it would take to get the mountain open at a time like that and we decided to create the safest air quality possible. We put in massive air duct and HVAC systems. We put 'outdoor quality air' indoors," Shepard said. "Even if COVID went away, there would still be cold and flu season and we needed to keep it safe for people." F I L E P H O T O Andy Shepard will focus on fundraising for continued redevelopment of the mountain and community. Andy Shepard has resigned as general manager of Saddleback ski resort.

• Cover