Inspiring Maine People #147

Katy Kelleher:

We put positivity out into the world that we speak about positive people, we create positive messages, we highlight the things, the good things that are out there. And I think the more we do that, the more hopefully it feeds itself and it becomes this feedback loop and this like sort of nourishing ecosystem where we just keep being, you know, we keep showing what we like to see and what we like to read. And what we like to read is stories about people who are making a difference, people who are changing the world. And I hope that our readers feel the same way, and I think they do.

Susan Grisanti:

These write ups have to be by necessity quite short just to barely whet the appetite. And so it's so great that the radio show and the stories that we follow up on give a little bit more. So I'm really thrilled that we are able to talk to people like Greg Powell and kind of give a little more information than we can in that short write up in the 50 people.

Greg Powell:

The important part though is that what we are doing is really enabling the best of people to Do More and Mr. Alphonse view of teamwork and getting people to work together. Sometimes it seems like a rarity in today's society to have people actually all agreeing on something and all working on something together. But it does happen. It happens every day in Maine and it's a real honor to be part of it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This is Dr. Lisa Belisle and you are listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast show number 147, Inspiring Maine People, airing for the first time on Sunday, July 6, 2014. Maine is home to many inspiring people, artists, attorneys, philanthropists and countless others from diverse fields who are doing great things for our state. Today we speak with Katie Kelleher and Susan Grisonti of Maine Magazine who describe the history of our 50 people list in the July issue and how the individuals who make up this list came to be chosen. We are also joined by Greg Powell, chairman of the Harold Alphond foundation and one of Maine magazine's 50 people, who is making a difference by championing health, education and youth development across the Pine Tree State through programs such as the Alfon Challenge. Join our conversations and find inspiration for your life. Thank you for joining us

Katy Kelleher:

today.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It is my great fortune to have in the studio two individuals that I

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

work really rather closely with, both of whom I have a great deal of respect for. We have Susan Grisanti, who is the editor in chief of Maine Magazine, Maine Home Design, and Old Port magazine, and

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

also Katie Kelleher, the managing editor of

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Maine Magazine, to talk to us today about their 50 people list, which is

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

in the July edition of Maine Magazine. Thanks so much for coming in and being part of the show.

Susan Grisanti:

Thank you.

Katy Kelleher:

Thank you for having us.

Susan Grisanti:

Yeah, thanks, Lisa. And for your nice words.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, Susan, you've been on the show before. You're a bit of a veteran here. Oh, yes, Katie, you have not, because you've been the managing editor since, what, January?

Susan Grisanti:

Yeah.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah.

Katy Kelleher:

So I've listened to a lot of the shows, but I haven't had a chance to actually be on the show, so this is very exciting.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah. And you actually used to work as our online person for the show, and you've been a big part of all this.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And I love the overlap between the

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

show and the 50 people list and, you know, Maine Magazine in general, because we're able to just look at things from slightly different angles. So let's talk about 50 people. Susan, why did you think that 50 people?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I guess it was four years in

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

with Maine magazine and you decided you wanted a list about Maine's influential and inspiring people.

Susan Grisanti:

Yeah. You really just inspired part of my answer with what you were saying before. I think we're in the business of revealing and introducing people to information, and I think that there are so many remarkable people here that. That just like we always use the line about Maine Home + Design, there are these houses down these crooked dirt roads, and I really would liken the 50 people to that as well. There are people doing really remarkable things. We know this. And yet we're still even surprised. I sat down to really review the list and work on the piece, and it slayed me even as the written word and the real facts of what they've done. So. So one thing I will say is this is our second year doing it, and again, I'm going to say there's Just no shortage of people. It's not like it's the next 50 people. It's just, I feel like it's really an unending pool that we're going to continue to be introduced to and being able to introduce those folks to our readers.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This is a very different list from

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

a best of list. It's not a reader's vote. It's not a we think you're the best at what you do. It's just here are 50 people doing really great things within the state. What types of people have you been talking to, Katie? And how did you decide who was going to be on this list?

Katy Kelleher:

Well, the decision process took a while, actually. I mean, it's something that we put a lot of thought into. What we did for that is, first of all, we know a lot of people. We know a lot of people who are doing this great work, but we know that there are people beyond us, there are people down these crooked roads, there are people that we haven't quite dug up yet or found yet.

Susan Grisanti:

So.

Katy Kelleher:

So what we did is we went to some of the people that we respect and that we think are doing fantastic work out there and we sat down with them and we just had these really great conversations. And it started with one idea, and that fed into another idea, and it ended up being like a game of verbal ping pong, where you just keep going back and forth and just each name you get, you get another three names. And then from there we had to whittle it down and craft the list and try to make sense of it in a way that it would flow well together, that it would have enough people who were lawyers, enough people who were in the medical field, enough people who were doing something artistic. So it didn't feel like it was heavy in one subject, and it felt like it really represented the whole of what people are doing in our state.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Susan, what inspired you and Kevin Thomas, the publisher of the magazines, what inspired you to have this list? You know, what was the aha, we have to do this kind of moment.

Susan Grisanti:

I think that I would say we really want to know what makes Maine, Maine. And I think when you look at us kind of examining place and examining, because we have, you know, recreation, we have location stories, we have our profiles. There's just not enough time to really cover all of these people. When you think of us having 12 issues a year, 12 profiles, maybe even if we do two profiles, that gives us 24 to be able to go to 50 in one issue and kind of touch on the holistic look of people who are making things happen here. It gives us just a totally different perspective.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And you did draw upon people from various fields. So you did have artists and politicians and attorneys. Well, maybe not politicians. Maybe you had past former politicians.

Susan Grisanti:

That's right. We made the decision not to have politicians on the list office because it just would fill the list, basically. And we really feel like it's politicians job to be doing this. This is to recognize people kind of going above and beyond that have really made a difference in our state that have kind of the generosity, the brain power, the things that are happening. We really tried to think about people doing this for different reasons than politics. But we did have the retired Olympia Snow this year, which is an amazing story. And I happen to have a really wonderful conversation at the festival with Anne Raffaelli, who's a former lobbyist in D.C. and she just really explained to me from the Washington perspective, she said, Susan, it is not one of these the sky is falling panic attacks about partisanship. She said, partisanship is to a place now where it's really difficult to get anything done. And Olympia has removed herself from that and is kind of coming around it from another angle and really doing work to try and diffuse that partisanship and really working at ways to kind of mend the system from the way that she can. And that was why she made the list this year, along with a lot of other work empowering young women in the state. I could go on and on about Olympia Snow herself. She's really a remarkable woman.

Katy Kelleher:

I think also just to build on what Susan was saying, that the list is 50 people, we could just as easily call it a thousand projects because every single person you read about is working on all of these different amazing projects. They're on different boards, they're working with different charities, they're working to build ski trails for high schools all over the state. These things are happening. So as we discover their stories as we go into each person, we also discover a million things we never knew about that are happening in the state. So it gives not only a look at the people who are doing things, but just what is going on. Like, what is this huge overarching picture of Maine as a vibrant place that is building itself up and that people are working in a dedicated way to create new and interesting ideas and innovations in every field, from medical to artistic.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, give me some of your favorites.

Katy Kelleher:

It's so hard.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Okay.

Katy Kelleher:

It's hard to pick a favorite.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I'm sure.

Katy Kelleher:

You know, it's. And I would hate to pick A favorite and have someone else forget someone. But I had some really great conversations. A good example of that. What I was just talking about, sort of building on building, is when I was speaking with Jamie Wyeth, I expected to sit down and talk to him about art. And I expected that to be about his art and his artistic output, because that's what we know Jamie Wyeth for. But the conversation ended up going in so many different directions. I ended up learning about his work with the islands, trying to keep things, the housing at a lower cost so that people, lobstermen, could continue to live on those islands. Maine's islands can continue to be working islands. I learned about the Herringut Learning center, which is why Phyllis founded, which is a learning center for children, and how Monaghan island was originally named Herringut island, but apparently that wasn't very pretty, so they changed it. So he was amazing. Andy Shepard was amazing. Bill Ryan was amazing. Doug Welch had an amazing line about the islands off Maine coast being like a Milky Way, a little tiny constellation of jewel like islands. I thought that was just beautiful.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And it does end up being somewhat like a tapestry, all of the different people and their photos and the quotes, because you went beyond just talking to the individuals themselves. You asked other people about those individuals so that they weren't put in the place of, oh, I need to make myself sound good. Susan, how did you decide that that was the process that you were going to use?

Susan Grisanti:

We knew. Well, as Katie described, the way that we find even stories is a lot of our 50 people kind of remain in our family and become sources for us. Remarkable people tend to know more remarkable people. And we really become a community. And I knew from the anecdotes that I was hearing from people, I wanted those words to give that perspective about the others that were named. And that was part of that process.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

As we've worked on the radio show, and I know that both of you work on the radio show with me. So we're all part of this team that does this, along with Maine Magazine, Maine Home Design, Old Port. We're all kind of working together in this. What I've been interested by is that you can talk to a business person who knows a doctor who knows an artist, who knows a lawyer who knows a welder. And there doesn't seem to be any sort of hierarchical thing going on. Everybody is very respectful of other people's talents and their educational background. And I think that's unique to Maine and to places like Maine.

Susan Grisanti:

I definitely agree. I grew up in Los Angeles and I cannot say that that would be the case, but it is absolutely true what you've said. Lisa. I had the absolute same impression of this feeling like it wasn't, These are the 50 people, and our readers are separate from that. It really became about the connection of community. The sheer size of Maine alone, the number of people that we have here, probably has something to do with that, but I think it goes well beyond that. I think that there's something. When Katie was talking about building ski trails for high schools, what the listener may not understand is this is a man really just doing this on his own. This isn't someone who works in that capacity. He's donating his land. He's wanting kids in his community to be able to ski without having to get on a bus up in. Is it Presque Isle or Fort Kent, that area? And so it's just these stories from the very well known, like Stephen King, who also is incredibly generous and does amazing things in our state. Greg Powell, who I knew on this show, literally has given out hundreds of millions of dollars in grants for people who. Children and people who live in the state down to, like I said, this kind of citizen who takes it upon himself to really reach out to his community.

Katy Kelleher:

When I first moved to Maine two years ago, I remember someone saying to me that this is one of the most self educated states that he's ever been in. And I have found that to be true just over and over. I think there's such a deep intellectual curiosity across every border. You know, it doesn't matter what their job is or what their official title is. I meet people constantly who are trying to. I wouldn't even say trying to improve themselves, who are just like, have that natural sense of wanting to know more and wanting to build more and wanting to nourish their mind. And I think that really does create a kind of respect that exists between professions and between people, which is really lovely to see.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I've also enjoyed seeing how enthusiastic everybody is about doing the 48 hours pieces and about being part of the Kennebunkport Festival and all of the various nonprofit festivities that Maine Magazine and Maine Home Design support. The people that you're finding for the festival, for the 50 people list, oftentimes they start with a story that was told in the general store in Jackman.

Susan Grisanti:

You were having the same vision when she was saying that, that I was. I was thinking about 48 hours and how in each of these towns you go to the coffee shop or the gas station and you see these group of Locals discussing current events and what's going on. And I have seen that time and again where there's a real discourse among the communities across the state. And I had the exact same vision. That's really funny that you say that.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I think that that's part of what makes it great to work in this organization is that really what we're trying to do is kind of create a network that goes beyond the walls of the office. And it's really important to us because we really all love this state and we love the people that are in this state. And that is quite reflected in the 50 people list. So I'm sure that we've whetted the appetites of the people who are listening. And this is going to be in the July issue of Maine Magazine. And in fact, all of last year's 50 people are online or you can look at a back issue to find those people. And we've also been making every effort to bring the 50 people into the studio and actually have conversations with them. So I encourage people to spend some time looking at this list and thinking about who in their own communities really represents a 50 people person and maybe reach out to one of you.

Susan Grisanti:

Absolutely, yeah, we love that.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Any final thoughts?

Susan Grisanti:

A thought that I had was these write ups have to be by necessity quite short, just to barely whet the appetite. And so it's so great that the radio show and the stories that we follow up on give a little bit more. So I'm really thrilled that we are able to talk to people like Greg Powell and kind of give a little more information than we can in that short write up in the 50 people.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, and I know that Katie has worked really hard bringing this 50 people list together. And part of what she's needed to do is to pare down from these very.

Katy Kelleher:

It's so frustrating, but you do it

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

is every time you've come off of a conversation. I love the energy, I love what you come you like. There's this person and I talk to him and I talk to this other person. And so I can't help but believe people who are reading the pieces that you've written will come away with that same idea and then be hopefully feel like they're inspired to learn more about them.

Katy Kelleher:

Anyway, I hope so. I think one of the central sort of tenants to what we do here is that we put positivity out into the world that we, you know, we speak about positive people, we create positive messages, we highlight the things, the good things that are out there and I think the more we do that, the more hopefully it feeds itself and it becomes this. This feedback loop and this, like, sort of nourishing ecosystem where we just keep being, you know, we keep showing what we like to see and what we like to read. And what we like to read is stories about people who are making a difference, people who are changing the world. And I hope that our readers feel the same way. And I think they do.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I think they do, too. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that, and so do your listeners. I'm hoping that is true. Yes, I believe that it's true. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that my sister, Dr. Amy Belisle, made it on the 50 people list. And it had nothing to do with me. I just want anybody who's listening. I love Amy. I have so much respect for what she did, and I did not nominate her. And I was not the reason that she made it onto the list. But just the fact that she's doing work with immunization and children in the state of Maine and making. And having that be an important contribution, it was very, very touching to me and to my family. I know as well to know that this was something that was recognized as, oh, absolutely.

Susan Grisanti:

Amy's accomplishments speak for themselves. She came to us from a whole different route. So that is a very cool connection.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I am fortunate to work with the two of you on a regular basis. I know that you spend a lot of time working on the pieces that I write for Maine magazine and also the pieces that all of our other writers contribute to Maine Magazine. You do a great job. We've been speaking with Susan Grisanti, who is the editor in chief with Maine Magazine, Maine Home Design Old Port, also the principal of art collector Main Brand Company, Kenny Bungpore Festival. We could just keep going on with all of that.

Susan Grisanti:

I think you covered it, actually.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

All right. Any other thing that probably hasn't happened yet, but probably will at some point in the future. And also with my good friend and colleague, Katie Kelleher, managing editor with Maine Magazine. Thanks so much for coming in today.

Susan Grisanti:

Thank you, Lisa.

Katy Kelleher:

Thank you for having us here on

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast. We've long recognized the link between health and wealth. Here to speak more on the topic is Tom shepherd of Shepherd Financial.

[Unidentified voice]:

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Dr. Lisa Belisle:

we're often fortunate in the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour to have people's names on our list of who we want to

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

get in and then somehow happen across

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

them in real life. And our next guest, Greg Powell, is

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

just such an individual.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I happened to see him out and about and I said we really need to get this guy on the radio show because he's doing great things for the state of Maine.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And he happens to be in Maine's

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

50 people list for Maine Magazine, which

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

is coming out in July.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Craig Powell is the chairman of the Harold Alphon Foundation, a private foundation organized to fund charitable causes in the state of Maine. He is also the CEO and president of Dexter Enterprises. Greg worked with Harold alphon for over 13 years to build Dexter Enterprises, the

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

family wealth management firm.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

He took the reins at the Harold

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

alphon foundation in 2007 after Mr. Alphon passed away. So thanks so much for coming in and you were pretty great about we see you in a restaurant, we say you need to come on the show and you almost immediately said yes and when can I come in? And that means a lot to us. So thank you.

Greg Powell:

Well, my pleasure. I love your magazine and I love what you do.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, we love what you do. You've been working with The Harold Alphon foundation for quite a while. And there you can't, I cannot turn around without seeing the Alphon name in

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

some really great places, really important places.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Places that, you know, our college students are utilizing, our community members are utilizing. You didn't start out with such a high and mighty background and job title. You grew up in Waterville.

Greg Powell:

I grew up in Waterville. But the neat thing about Waterville was a wonderful community. And Harold Alphon and his family also were residents of Waterville. So had the privilege and pleasure of knowing the family for a long, long time.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well. And I'm not trying to disparage Waterville in any way whatsoever when I say you didn't, you know, start out in a where you are now. Having worked around the Waterville area before, I've noticed that it's a very close knit community. I've noticed that, you know, people seem to. Families seem to go back many generations and really enjoy living in that area.

Greg Powell:

Yeah, I think that's true. The town, however, like so many Maine towns, has suffered as there's been a decline in manufacturing in the state of Maine as well as nationally. So one of the things that we are very interested in doing is promoting Waterville and allowing it to grow from an economic standpoint and others. So we feel a real affinity to the town and like it quite a bit.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I spent some time last summer working

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

as a family doctor up near Sangerville, Newport, Dexter and all the way up

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

into the Lakes region.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And what I noticed was there, there really was a significant issue with employment that people who used to have manufacturing jobs that were based in some of those areas no longer had those jobs and sometimes didn't have any jobs at all. So that really does contribute negatively to the good fortune of a family.

Greg Powell:

Well, it's a concern all over the state and there are multiple towns that used to rely for their livelihood on major manufacturing businesses. And as those have receded, then the economic fortunes of those towns have suffered. So it's a problem that the state has to address overall. It's not just Waterville. And obviously, since this is kind of a show about health, having a strong economic backbone of towns and cities is pretty important to the state, something our foundation is very interested in and Mr. Alphon was interested in as well.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Education must have been an important thing in your family.

Greg Powell:

It was very important. Both my parents were graduates of colleges and they encouraged me and my sisters to attend school. And so we all did that. Today I see it as an incredibly important area to focus on for public Health and well being. The idea that education is important just to growth of the soul has certainly always been something I've believed in. But as importantly, if not more importantly, education is critical to putting food on the table and having income and stability and family life. And in today's competitive world, having higher education. Access to higher education is more important than ever. It used to be a luxury, now it's a necessity. So again, back to the business of the foundation. We feel very strongly that education is an important part of every community and we try to promote it where we can.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

The Alphon foundation has also been very, I'll use the word ecumenical in the way that they have made funds available to the state university system, to private colleges within the state, and also at not just the collegiate level. So it seems to be that you're in favor of education in general.

Greg Powell:

Yes, we are. And I think for Many, many years, Mr. Alphonse Personal philanthropy and interest was in athletics. So he often made grants to provide colleges and universities with first class athletic facilities, knowing that physical activity was very important to health and education and to being well. Today we not only continue to fund athletic facilities, but we also fund many other aspects of education, higher education, everything from classroom buildings to programs to scholarships and whatnot.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You also make $500 available to every single baby born in the state of Maine.

Greg Powell:

Right. I think it's the Foundation's signature program, one we are quite proud of and one we hope holds great promise for the state of Maine. We look at education and aspirations of parents as being critical to growth not only of individuals, but to the state's economy as a whole. We see a relationship between the quality of education given and received, the extent of education, meaning higher education, being linked to providing high quality workforce. That in turn leads to better business opportunity and economic growth. So our College Challenge program is designed really to serve the better economic interests of the state and really has three key parts. One is just to get the $500 started and growing for every baby born in the state. The second is to communicate with parents at a very early age about things they can do to keep their child on track toward a good future and ultimately toward higher education. And then third, to encourage them to save what they can toward their child's future. There have been a bunch of interesting studies done since we launched the program because we didn't know about these studies when we started up that show that the mere presence of a college savings account and even low income families changes the way the families feel about their child's future. In Other words, it gives them optimism, hope, aspirations that are higher than families that don't have this piece of the rock, if you will. So we're trying to make sure that every baby born in the state has high aspirations and that their family does for their future by this grant program.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

When you make the $500 available to families, you're not saying we expect that your child will go to a specific university, you're just supporting their education in general.

Greg Powell:

We are, and that's a very important point. We're also not saying that higher education has to mean Colby, Bates, Bowdoin or Harvard. Higher education in the future is going to change dramatically in form. And relatively modest amounts of money will be able to get students access to what I'll call competency based higher education at a fairly affordable rate through the Internet and otherwise. And our program is designed to allow families to use that $500 from everything from a welding certificate to a Harvard education. So it's very broad based. It's simply to encourage people to improve themselves and to develop a skill and knowledge that will help them live a better life, have a better job, et cetera.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I really like hearing that because I think that for some families, I mean, I grew up in Yarmouth, so obviously there are many families in Yarmouth who just assume that college is the next step. But college isn't the next step. And for some people, even if you're going to a college, it may be a different sort of college, you may be going to a trade school, you may have very different aspirations than your classmates. So to just be encouraged, to just

Greg Powell:

go

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

with what you feel passionate about, you know, I think that's important.

Greg Powell:

Yeah, I agree. I think in some ways the term college is inartful because it's not broad enough to describe what we're trying to do. Basically we are saying that in a world connected, hyper competitive economy, America's leadership role in the world will depend upon our ability to have an educated workforce. Right now, well over 60% of Americans do not have the benefit of any higher education. And yet well over 60% of the jobs of the future all will require higher education in one form or another. So we see planting the seed for higher education at a very early age to be critical to developing the mindset and aspiration of every citizen. To be better, to be good, to have skills that make them valuable to the economy and proud of themselves and able to be successful in life. And starting as early as possible is absolutely critical because you just can't, at the age of 17, suddenly decide okay, I think I'm going to do this or I'm going to do that. You have to be thinking about it and your parents have to be thinking about it to do it well.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And there are some families for whom work has always been the most important thing, and it's still a very legitimate thing after high school. But if you have the availability of funds, then there at least is. There is an opening there so that you can send a child on if you want to.

Greg Powell:

Well, work and having a good job, Mr. Alphon used to say, is first because you have to have enough to survive and to have a decent life. And after that, a lot of other things are easier to do. So to the extent education helps people find good work and good jobs that are paying jobs, we are all for it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And there have been many studies that have shown a positive association between education levels and health. So within the medical field, it's always good for us to know that there are people out there promoting education because we know that it's going to kind of loop back around and enable people to be healthier longer in their lives.

Greg Powell:

Absolutely. So, I mean, those. There are connections everywhere on that front.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

There really are some of the athletic

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

facilities that the Alphon foundation has funded, they've become used by people who are members of the community in addition to the students who are going to school in these places.

Greg Powell:

That's always been a key feature for the Alphon family, giving. And Mr. Alphon started it back in the 1950s when he made a grant to Colby College to build its ICE arena, which still stands today. The idea was, you know, when the students weren't using it, the community should be. We didn't want assets and he didn't want assets not being used fully by people in the community. And educational institutions are usually better when they are closely related, supported by the communities in which they reside. So having athletic facilities available for the community is a big deal, and we support it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

As a physician and small business owner,

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I rely on Marcie Booth from Booth, Maine to help me with my own

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

business and to help me live my own life fully. Here are a few thoughts from Marcy.

[Unidentified voice]:

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Dr. Lisa Belisle:

well, it's a kind of an interesting, larger metaphor. I mean, this is the Alphon foundation

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

came out of the Dexter Shoe Company,

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

and the Dexter Shoe Company made something that was very practical, so something to put on your feet so you could hit the ground and go out there and move about in the world. And now the foundation is doing things that carry on his legacy, enable people to do things that are very foundational, very fundamental.

Greg Powell:

Yeah, I think that's nice of you to say that. I think the sports metaphor goes beyond that, to say that in order to win, you have to have teamwork and bringing people together to move in the same direction toward a common goal, especially in a state that has limited resources, which we have to frankly admit and candidly say we have. Okay. The way you get something really good is by bringing people together. So a key part of Mr. Alphonse giving and the foundation's giving today has always been to forge partnerships, collaborations, teamwork amongst differing parts of small communities and the state as a whole. So that's what we try to do. And we feel that by doing that, we can build something that is far better than if each constituency is sort of out doing its own thing.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

An article that I just wrote about Bill Karen of Maine Health is coming out in the same July issue that you are in as a member of the 50 people list. And he said the same thing, that, you know, we're in this really interesting place right now with healthcare, that there are only so many resources. We have a lot of people out there who are aging, and you need to be more practical about the way that you're doing this. And. And it requires collaboration. The collaboration, I think, has been. It's been very challenging within the healthcare field. So to be able to create a new hospital that is state of the art for that part of the Maine is.

Greg Powell:

Well, I think it's fair to look at a problem and say, what are our choices here? And it's not good Enough. And it's not acceptable to say we're simply going to cut back on what we are doing. We're going to have less for less. I think what people want to do is they want to see a vision of something that's better and bigger and will serve them better in the future. And when you have that vision, together with some sacrifice and change, it makes the effort more palatable. And I think it can actually engage people and energize a community in a positive way. So you need to have the vision that you're going to be building something bigger and better for everyone, coupled with austerity measures and efficiencies and collaborations. That's the way the world needs to be moving because we don't have endless supplies of money and we're actually coming out of a very difficult financial time and there's still a lot of work to be done. There's a lot of young people who don't have jobs. There's still a lot of debt. So we've got a lot of work to do. But I think it helps in doing that work to have a vision that at the end of your hard labor, you're going to have something bigger and better than you had when you started out.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And having good educational facilities and having good hospitals and healthcare facilities is really critical to. In addition to having good jobs, it's really critical to bringing our young people back to the state of Maine or keeping them in the state of Maine to live and work. I mean, this is what people are looking for, is they need a place to. They need a place to live. They need a place to educate their kids. They need a place to get good health care. I mean, so having all of these things in place is really the only way that we're actually going to get people back here or keep them here.

Greg Powell:

Right? Well, I think that's a very interesting observation. And people say, well, what is the problem? Is the problem that we don't have jobs or is it possible problem that we don't have as educated a workforce as we have? I'm not sure which one it is, but I can tell you that having a better educated workforce and a better quality of life is attractive to people and makes them want to be here and stay here. And we will be working in the future on ways to try to encourage more young people to stay in Maine help support those of us who are getting older.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, that's important. And I can tell you, I'm sure you've seen the same thing in people that you have worked with. But I can tell you that I'm very happy to meet the generation coming along behind me because they seem genuinely enthusiastic and really adaptive and flexible, and they have the same sense that most of us who live in Maine have, which is that you may come in with one job, but you're more than likely going to have a different job by the time you've leave this planet. And in fact, many of us have many jobs all at the same time. So I'm encouraged by that.

Greg Powell:

Yeah, I think the mobility in the workforce is greater than ever. The model has changed. When our parents were growing up, it would be often the case that you'd go to work for Scott Paper Co. And that would be your career. I think today moving from one kind of work opportunity to the other will be more common. I've heard and read many things about this, including projections that you'll change jobs as many as 15 or 30 times. And that would make sense. An economy that is built around a worldwide access through the Internet, the ability to start new companies and new ventures with. With less capital, because the computer power of the cloud now is available to entrepreneurs of all sorts. There's going to be a lot of opportunities to contribute to the economy. It's just. It's different. And when things change, they can be difficult and it can be painful at times. So we're going through one of those periods.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, and it sounds as though you've been through this as an individual. You didn't start out thinking you were going to be the CEO of the Alphond Foundation. I mean, many moons ago, when you were going through law school, I suspect you weren't thinking, oh, my ultimate job is going to be working with Alphond.

Greg Powell:

You're so right. I had no clue. I really enjoyed very much debate and public speaking when I was in school. And so I always thought that a trial lawyer would be the right place for me. So that's where I started out. But as I've said publicly recently in another format, you can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards. And so it was on a golf cart in 1995 with Mr. Alphon that he asked me if I would be interested in setting up a wealth management firm and helping him with his philanthropy. It just changed my dots.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And did you at the time feel intimidated in any way, or did you feel like you were fully capable of moving forward?

Greg Powell:

Well, I think whenever you make a dramatic career change, there is a sense that there's challenge and there are things you don't know there's risk. Will I be able to be up for the challenge? But I felt that it was a very interesting opportunity, and he was pretty clear with me. He thought that a litigator's background and attributes was perfect for the job he had in mind. I'm not sure I've ever quite understood that fully, but that was his view, and it didn't bother him, and so we went for it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And you have children of your own now who are. I believe one of them is at school at Colby.

Greg Powell:

That's right. I have my younger daughters at Colby, and I have an older daughter who's just graduated from college. So I'm just about to get relief from college debt payments.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, congratulations on that. I'm still sort of in the middle of it myself, but how has your work with the Alphon foundation and your work in the areas of philanthropy and education and health care, how has this shaped the words of wisdom that you've had for your own daughters?

Greg Powell:

Well, I think I've always tried to be a good dad and giving them advice about what I'm seeing in the world. So whether I was practicing law or working where I am right now, my morals and my messages, I think, have been the same. Same. The difference has been that they watched what I'm doing, and I think they probably find that having the privilege and the opportunity to shape grants that will benefit Maine in significant ways is something they find maybe a little more inspiring than if I were to win a case and a trial somewhere. So that's changed a little bit. And having them watch what I do and see how it's done, and seeing me work with the wonderful board of trustees that I have with, you know, and for us to get together as a group and do the things that we do, I think that's been a good example more than anything. But my messages have tended to be the same.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And you've also provided an example as one who, as a young adult, made the choice to live and raise your children in Maine.

Greg Powell:

Yes, I often say that that was my best decision and my worst the same. Because making a lifestyle choice to be in Maine probably means that you are accepting a little less on the economic ladder of success. But you've traded in for that, a quality of life, which means, you know, a half an hour commute instead of an hour and a half. You've traded in lots of travel and money and whatnot for being able to take a short drive and be on a state park, beach, or be in a town like Portland, as wonderful it is with all the restaurants and not have to put up with the traffic and the hassle. So everybody has to sort of face that where do they want to be and there are certain things that you get and certain things that you give

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

up and do you feel unbalanced that you are in the right place doing the right thing?

Greg Powell:

I do. As I said earlier, I feel privileged and honored to have the job that I have. It gives me great sense of satisfaction to try to help Maine be a better place. I only wish I could do more.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

what's next for the Alphon Foundation?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You give out. You've budgeted $35 million in 2014.

Greg Powell:

That's right. So we have a huge responsibility to spend that money responsibly and in a way that I like to think of as investing money. I think about it. What is my return on investment? Investment? What do I and my board of trustees and the Alphon family who care deeply about how Mr. Alphon's money is spent. We want to see a high return on our investments. So we are looking at opportunities to improve the economy of central Maine because we have a special sweet spot there. That's where Mr. Alphon raised his family. It's where I'm from. We also recognize that central Maine is a place that maybe doesn't have as much commercial activity, needs a little more help. But we're also interested in the state as a whole and so things that we can do to improve the education of Maine people that can improve their health care, that can improve the economy are all Things that we're focused on. And we have a number of very interesting opportunities we're studying right now.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

How do people find out about applying for a grant and what types of criteria you have for making these grants?

Greg Powell:

Well, we have a website. Doesn't everybody? It's haroldalphonfoundation.org and on the website there's fairly detailed descriptions of what sorts of things, things we are looking for in organizations applying for grants. There's also an online application process which we require every entity looking for funds to follow in order to receive grants. But the key part of our mission is that we try to fund things in education and healthcare and youth development. And we are looking for opportunities to bring constituencies together to provide services and improvement in healthcare, education and youth development in an efficient way and doing it in a way that achieves a level of excellence that people can be proud of. So we want the community or communities to come together, to really work hard together to prove something really, really great. In the case of the College Challenge, there is no other state in the country that is doing what we do. Nobody else does this. And we have now been. We're now being studied and followed by all kinds of groups. There are other states in the country and cities that are trying to do the same thing. But we did it first and we do it well, we hope. And every single day we try to do it even better. So stay tuned on that. But we've got some major work to do. Now that we're enrolling automatically all kids. We're going to be ramping up the efforts to get parents more involved in savings and having the community contribute to savings and also to have our messages to parents accompanying the money be more helpful and enlightening and hopefully leading them to have higher aspirations for the their children and hopefully keeping them, allowing them to keep their child on track to be a good student and a good citizen.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

When I was thinking about the Alfon Challenge, I was remembering an individual that we used to call Governor Angus King, who now is in a different role and how much of a proponent he was of the laptop program and how much flack he got and how crazy he was called and have now my third child in this laptop program. And I'm sure your daughters also had access to this. I can't imagine Maine not having it. But it seems like everybody has to go through this if you want to do something new and different. Everybody has to go through being called crazy before they get to do something which really makes a difference.

Greg Powell:

Yeah, I mean, but it's appropriate that people call into question the wisdom of ventures because otherwise they get built wrong. You need to know what the problems and risks are that you undertake, and you can't be irresponsible in the way you spend money or start an initiative. It just so happens that Senator King's initiative was a wonderful one, and it was ahead of its time. And Maine led the country in terms of getting these powerful tools in the hands of all teenagers. Now we've got to deal with the fact that maybe they have them in their hands too much. I don't know about you, but if I watch my daughters in social media settings, they could have four or five peers all around them, and they're all looking at their iPhones instead of engaging in personal communications. But be that as it may, the truth of the matter is everything is moving in that direction, and Senator King saw it, and it was a wonderful initiative. Did he take some flak? Sure.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, and I think it also says something about people within people who live in the state of Maine who are willing to take those risks, who are willing to have some vision. And even though they're called into question, and rightfully so, they're able to kind of keep moving forward with something that they really believe in. And I believe that's what the Alphon foundation is encouraging people to do as well.

Greg Powell:

Well, yeah. And the other nice thing about Maine is we're not that big, so we can do some things that other people couldn't do, and we can bring partners together in a way that's a little easier to do. Now, counterbalancing that, I suppose, is the Yankee independence that you spoke about earlier. But if you have a smaller population base, it's easier to do some of the things that we do so we can test them out. We can be the leader and figure out how to do it, and then the rest of the country can follow. So what is the old phrase, as Maine goes, so goes the nation? That was a phrase of Senator Smith years and years ago. So, anyway, that's who we are, so we have a lot to be proud of. So sometimes being small helps.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I appreciate your taking the time to sit with me today. I can tell that you have a

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

lot of enthusiasm for the work that

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

you do, and it feels like. Feels very gratifying. I wonder if I was you and I was sitting in an arena that had the Alphon name on it, or if I was meeting a child who had benefited from the Alphon foundation money. I think that would give me a sense of pride. And I would assume that the same is true in your case.

Greg Powell:

Oh yeah, it's really neat. And I think other Alphon family members, myself, members of the staff and the board, we get these notes from parents who have received their $500 at the moment of highest aspiration and hope. And it's a wonderful feeling and we receive that kind of input from folks on other things that are done. The important part though is that what we are doing is really enabling the best of people to do more. And Mr. Alphonse view of teamwork and getting people to work together. Sometimes it seems like a rarity in today's society to have people actually all agreeing on something and all working on something together. But it does happen. It happens every day in Maine and it's a real honor to be part of it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We've been speaking with Greg Powell, who

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

is the Chairman of the Harold Alphon

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

foundation and also the President of Dexter Enterprises.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Greg, I know you're a very busy person and I appreciate your coming in and talking to me today and talking to our listeners. I encourage our listeners to read also

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

the 50 people list of which you

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

are a part in the July Maine Magazine and keep doing the good work you're doing.

Greg Powell:

Thank you. It's been a pleasure.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You have been listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast show number 147 inspiring Maine people. Our guests have included Katie Kelleher, Susan Grisonti and Greg Powell. For more information on our guests and extended interviews, visit Dr. Lisa.org also see our 50 people list in Maine magazine. The Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast is downloadable for free on itunes. For a preview of each week's show, sign up for our E Newsletter and like our Dr. Lisa Facebook page. See my running photos taken every morning along the coast of Maine on my morning runs through Twitter and as bountiful1 on Instagram. We love to hear from you, so please let us know what you think of the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour. We welcome your suggestions for future shows. Also let our sponsors know that you have heard about them here. We are privileged that they enable us to bring the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour to you each week. This is Dr. Lisa Belisle. I hope that you have enjoyed our Inspiring Maine People show. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day. May you have a bountiful life.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Sa.