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V O L . X X I N O. X X I S E P T E M B E R 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 20 O n June 3, Chip Morrison retired after 20 years as president and CEO of the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce. ree days later, he started as interim executive director for Make-A-Wish Maine. In late August, he started a part- time position as business development offi cer at Androscoggin Bank, in the bank's business- and government-services division, based in Lewiston and covering the region from Augusta to York County. On the side, he works with a small strategic talent management fi rm and does a lot of volunteering: He currently serves on the Lewiston Auburn College Advisory Board, the USM Board of Visitors, and the Central Maine Community College Foundation Board, and on the advisory committee the Maine Employers Initiative. He's also secretary of the Lewiston/Auburn Charter Commission, which is look- ing into consolidating Lewiston and Auburn into one municipality. For recreation, Morrison plays in the Auburn Community Concert Band and puts in time on the golf course. And he and his wife, Jane, who recently retired as executive director from Safe Voices, the Lewiston-based domestic violence resource center, recently participated in the L/A Community Little eatre's celebration of its 75th anniversary. Does he do retirement? "Not very well," he says. "I like to work." Morrison was born in Omaha, Neb., and grew up in Waukegan, Ill. He graduated from Carleton College, where he studied government and education, then earned a master's degree in public administration from the University of Michigan. He worked as assistant to the city manager in Des Moines, Iowa, then city manager in Benton Harbor, Mich. His move to Maine came in 1978, when he took the job of city manager in Auburn, Maine's fourth largest city, a position he held until 1987. Highlights of his career there included negotiation of a tax-sharing agreement with Lewiston, which led to the joint development of the industrial air park; development of three new industrial parks in Auburn and creation of the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council. From 1987–90, he was the Maine Department of Administration's fi rst full-time commissioner, overseeing internal support services to the rest of state government. He remained in state government until 1994, serv- ing as commissioner for the Maine Department of Labor. Soon after, he took the job with the chamber, having served on its board from 1980–87. at turned out to be his longest term in any job, and he loved every moment. "It was a great run," he says. "It was a perfect fi t." A self-described people person, Morrison is at his best when he's putting people together to do community work. " e people here are wonderful," he says. "If somebody's in need, they help. is is a community like none other." Over two decades, the chamber evolved in a way that refl ected the evolution of the area, which has seen considerable transformation and development since the demise of the historical shoe and textile industry. "Twenty years ago, the economy was struggling a little," Morrison said. "Today, it's a very diversifi ed economy. I wouldn't dare to say the chamber had anything do with that, but we stood on the side and cheered and called atten- tion to the transformation." Under his leadership, the chamber was an enthusiastic cheerleader, dou- bling its membership from 620 to 1,370, thus becoming the single largest organi- zation in the Lewiston/Auburn area. His accomplishments included doubling support programs, including P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Second act A former chamber CEO "retires" but keeps on working B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r F O C U S " " " Sometimes You Need to Break the Mold IT Solutions Designed for Your Business Managed Services Cloud/Virtualization Data Management Networking Security IT Consulting n n n n n n www.WGTECH.com 207.856.5300 " Need to Break the Mold Chip Morrison, pictured here in Portland, retired as president and CEO of the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce, but he's taken on a part- time position as business development offi cer at Androscoggin Bank.

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