Page 10. MAINE COASTAL NEWS November 2017


Waterfront News Stacey Keefer, a marine industry veter-


an will replace Susan Swanton the current Executive Director of the Maine Marine Trades Association when Swanton retires in early December after 20 years of service. “I can’t imagine a more amazing career than the one I am about to leave. I have loved this industry and its many wonderful people for nearly 40 years. But for the good of the Association I felt it was time for a fresher set of eyes, a diff erent perspective and someone with more energy than I can muster - and we will certainly have that with Stacey! It is a real pleasure for me to turn the tiller over to Stacey who I have known, respected, and been delighted to work with for years!” Swanton said recently. Keefer is no stranger to the marine in-


dustry having spent several years working in a midcoast boatyard, as an employee of MMTA and more recently as boat show manager for Maine Boats Homes & Harbors. Stacey has also served on the MMTA Board of Directors and in her most recent position has been gaining experience in the larger


Successor Named as MMTA Exec Prepares to Retire


world or non-profi ts. She notes that “I like to say that ‘Maine is lucky to have an incred- ible amount of incredible’ - much of that is due to our waters, boats, marine businesses and working waterfront. Over many years I have had the privilege to serve as a volunteer member, on the Board of Directors, and as an employee of MMTA. I am honored to be able to take all my combined experience working in the “trenches” of the marine industry to help move this long-standing organization forward.” Swanton began her career at Rumery’s


Boat Yard in Biddeford in 1979. She spent the next 18 years managing service depart- ments in boatyards, doing inside sales at a marine wholesaler and managing a well- known chandlery in Portland before making the move to MMTA. During her tenure, she has played a signifi cant role in creating the Maine Marine Trades Apprenticeship Pro- gram, the Maine Clean Boatyards & Marinas Program, and many other environmental initiatives in partnership with EPA Region 1 and Maine Dept. of Environmental Pro-


Maine Sailors Dominate J/24 World Championships


tection. In addition, she was instrumental in the creation of the Marine Systems Training Center, a program of the MMTA which focused on providing high quality, high demand training for incumbent workers and co-chaired Maine’s North Star Alliance Initiative, a $14.4M federal grant. Her work has been recognized regionally by US EPA Region 1 and nationally by the American Boat Builders and Repairers Association which honored her most recently with the Dennis Snow President’s Award in 2016. MMTA Board President Joan Fetsko


of Pemaquid Marine noted that “We are so grateful to Susan for her unwavering dedi- cation to our members, our association and the industry as a whole. We are sad to see her go, but understand her reasons and wish her all the best in any future endeavors. The Board is equally grateful that Stacey is will- ing to step into this new role and have every confi dence that she will do a great job for us! We look forward to a smooth transition and a great future for MMTA”. Founded in 1966, the Maine Marine


place overall and also won the top youth team and skipper award for the event. Finn


with Michael McAllister also of Portland Maine. Carter is currently the Greely High School Sailing Coach and Molly is a 5th Grade Teacher at Greely Middle School and both graduated from Greely High School. Michael McAllister is the executive director of SailMaine a non-profi t organization that provides community sailing in Portland and also facilitates High School sailing for 7 High Schools in the Greater Portland area. Finn Hadlock of South Freeport Maine skippered his J/24 Boreas with an all youth team of sailors under 25 years of age to a 28th


Stacey Keefer, incoming Executive Director of the Maine Marine Trades Association


Trades Association promotes the growth and prosperity of the marine industry in Maine through its commitment to education and training and the promotion of best manage- ment practices focused on the environment and worker safety and health. Its member- ship includes boat builders, boat yards, ma- rinas, servicing dealers, marine retailers and wholesalers and the companies that support them.


sailed with local sailors Anna Parker and Griffi n Primeau who all grew up sailing at the Harraseeket Yacht Club in South Free- port, Maine. Dr. Andrew Carey of Falmouth, Maine skippered his J/24 Mr. Hankey to a 31st


place


overall. Andrew’s team consisted of an all Maine team of sailors Stephanie Helms from Freeport, Scott Thomas of South Portland, Sam Lloyd of Boothbay Harbor and Spencer Howe of Saco. Erica Beck Spencer skip- pered her team to a 39th


place fi nish with


an All Women’s Team that included Jess Harris of Falmouth and Charlotte Kinkade of Kennebunk.


Hamilton Marine Appoints Marketing Manager Renee Kitchen of Northport has been


5 Teams from Maine place highly in the J/24 World Championships in Port Credit, ON Canada


PORT CREDIT ON, CANADA: 4 Maine J/24 Sailing Teams and 1 skipper originally from Maine recently participated in the J/24 World Championship in Port Credit Ontario Canada, which is near Toronto on Lake Ontario. In all 63 teams who had to qualify for the championship competed from over 10 countries and multiple US state over 5 days in mostly light winds and challenging


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conditions against the best sailors in the world. The J/24 is 24 feet long, is sailed with 5 total crew members and is the world’s largest fl eet of keelboat one-design racing boats with over 5000 boats racing in all regions of the world. Tony Parker, originally from South


Freeport, Maine and an original local J/24 Fleet 43 member from 1979, who currently resides in Washington D.C. skippered his J/24 Bangor Packet to a second place overall fi nish in the championship. Local team You Regatta owned by Carter & Molly White of Portland, Maine fi nished in 5th


place overall


promoted to the position of Marketing Manager at Hamilton Marine. Ms. Kitchen joined the well-known Maine chandlery in 2002 after earning a Graphic Arts degree from Plymouth State College in New Hamp- shire. “We serve various marine markets, and sub-markets, each of which has its own character, language and needs,” says Kitchen. “But whether we’re addressing a Downeast lobsterman, a world-renowned boatbuilder, or a family that loves to sail, our message is pretty much the same: we know and love boats and how to care for them and can help you care for yours too.” Hamilton Marine was founded by


Wayne and Loraine Hamilton in their garage in 1977.


Passed Over the Bar: John Holmes, Jr. John Porter Holmes Jr., 66


YARMOUTH - John Porter Holmes Jr., 66, of Yarmouth, died Oct. 1, 2017, with his family at his side, in the Bettsanne Holmes wing (named in honor of his late aunt), at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough, following complications from cardiac arrest while fi shing with friends the previous week. He was born June 18, 1951, in Portland,


and prepared for college at Waynfl ete High School and Hebron Academy. He attend- ed Babson College, where he majored in business administration, preparing himself to join the family business, Commercial Distributors, a longtime fi xture in Portland founded by his grandfather, Herbert S. Holmes, working there with his father John senior and uncle Herbert junior. When that fi rm closed, he went on to


open a couple of successful businesses of his own, fi nally settling on the one he truly


loved, in Gulf of Maine Yacht Sales. This combined two of his true passions: time spent on the water and extensive boating knowledge. Another passion was exploring the


many lesser-known historical or just-plain- unique Maine attractions: to experience them, speak to the people attending, and, most importantly, to photograph and pho- to-journal (with comment) such experiences for sending to his family and many friends. If one was fortunate enough to be on


his distribution list, there would be a prime viewing for annual lobster boat races; record Down East snowfalls; scenic harbing ers of spring; endless boat shows; behind-the- scenes in boat builders’ workshops; boats for sale to include both splendid yachts and cringe-inducing crafts of questionable sea-worthiness; and, yes -- many fi shing


Continued on Page 18.


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