When: Thursday, October 9 th , 5:30 pm (doors open at 5:00 pm)

Where: Black Mountain Ski Lodge, Rumford

What: Hear from Maine residents who are living in communities with or working on wind power projects.

Format: Panel discussion with four to six speakers from Mars Hill, Lincoln, and Franklin County, and an introduction from NRCM, and the host Andy Shepard. The presentations will be followed by a facilitated question and answer session.

Sponsor: Natural Resources Council of Maine

Hosted by: Maine Winter Sports Center     

Confirmed Speakers:

Travis Kearney: Travis is the General Manager of Big Rock Ski Area in Mars Hill. Established in the 1960's, Big Rock Ski Area was purchased in 2000 by the Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSC). Big Rock and MWSC are committed to keeping winter sports within the reach of Aroostook County communities and their families. Travis is a resident of Mars Hill and lives with his wife, Michelle, and their two children on the Mountain Road where they have a view of the Mars Hill Wind Power Project.

Gary McGrane: Gary is a Franklin County Commissioner from the town of Jay and a board member of the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments. Gary attended Central Maine Technical College, U. Maine Augusta, and U. Maine Orono. He is currently a Project Associate in the Bureau of Labor Education at UMO and President of the United Steelworkers International Union, Local 1-014.   He worked for almost twenty years at International Paper Company and served on the board of Maine Rural Partners.

Jim Shaw: Jim is a life-long resident of Mars Hill and owns a local real estate company. Jim lives on a 100-acre Christmas tree farm just west of Mars Hill Mountain. He and his wife, Debbie Shaw, own My Sunset Cabins located on the tree farm with a view of the mountain and the Mars Hill turbines. They built these four-season luxury cabins in anticipation of wind turbine tourism generated by the Mars Hill wind project, introducing people to the many outdoor activities that the Mars Hill area has to offer.

Greg Shelton: Greg was born in Ellsworth, raised in Hancock County, and received an engineering degree from Maine Maritime Academy. Until recently, he worked as an engineer for the oil/gas/chemical industry, traveling for long periods of time. The opportunity to work for General Electric Wind arose in April 2008, allowing him to stay in Maine to raise his family in the Lincoln area. He is the project site manager of the Stetson Mountain wind farm, and is responsible for the installation and commissioning of the 38 turbines. He has a permanent position overseeing operations and maintenance of the turbines.

This event is FREE and open to the public, but please RSVP your attendance to slovitz@nrcm.org or 800-287-2345 ext. 205 so we know how many people to plan for!