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Michael Bourque is president and CEO of MEMIC Group, the workers compensation insurance firm headquartered in Portland. He's been with the company for 30 years, but he began his career in journalism. "My first 'real' job was as a sports- writer for the Anchorage Times in Anchorage, Alaska — a long way literally and figuratively from my job today!" Bourque says. "I was a journal- ism major graduate at the University of Maine and had covered the Black Bear hockey team, which was rising in national prominence under then-new coach Shawn Walsh. "Covering that team gave me experience, which landed me a job covering the University of Alaska- Anchorage Seawolves men's hockey team. I worked out there for about 15 months before returning to another newspaper job in Maine," Bourque recalls. "e Alaska experience was life- changing for me. It was my first time living outside of Maine and on my own. I made lifelong friends, found colleagues who made me better at the craft and learned to navigate life with- out the safety net that existed for me back in Maine. "It was a small part of my life in duration, but I think about those experiences and those people every single day." Staying busy Kelly Flagg is the execu- tive director of the Associated General Contractors of Maine. is job, along with her former posi- tion in human resources with CCB Construction in Westbrook, exercises skills honed at one of her early jobs in her teens — a barista at a coffee cart inside the Portland Post Office lobby. "It was a small cart owned by a lovely couple; it was long before the chain coffee shops had arrived in the city. My job was, as I referred to it, the 'bartender of the morning.'" "While the job description may have read 'make espresso and other coffee drinks, serve customers and wipe tables,' I found the job to really be so much more than that. I loved the fast pace and the repeat customers and met many wonderful people. "My customers were people who worked in and around Congress Street, teachers from Portland High School and others who had post office boxes in the building. I would spend my days focused on being as efficient as possible behind the counter, while also chatting with customers to learn more about people, their jobs and their lives. "What I learned from this job was my own love for being busy, efficient and engaging with people. A skill that still serves me well today. "I also learned I had an uncanny memory for details about people. On a funny note, I ran into one of those customers many years later on the summit of Mount Washington, and while I could not recall his name, I swiftly recalled he was a double cap- puccino with extra foam." Mowing lawns, raking blueberries Fred Forsley is the founder and CEO of Portland-based Shipyard V O L . X X X I I N O. X I V J U N E 2 9 , 2 0 2 6 18 H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N / P RO F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T F O C U S W e had fun checking in with a handful of Maine business leaders about their early job experiences — and learned that while their first jobs may have appeared to have had no connection to their eventual career paths, there were lessons that served them well later on. We asked, "What was one of your first jobs, and what did you learn from it?" FIRST JOBS, enduring lessons Maine leaders talk about their early business lessons B Y T i N a F i S C h E R Michael Bourque Kelly Flagg Fred Forsley P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY P ROV I D E D P H O T O F I L E P H O T O

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