The Gorham Times started in 1995 through the inspiration and ideas of Maynard Charron and a team of local volunteers and community leaders. The vision of the non-profit newspaper has always included a Board of Directors overseeing the running of the paper, reviewing the financial commitments and offering feedback and support for the volunteer organization. Recently the Gorham Times Board of Directors has undergone some changes and we would like to update the public of these.
At a meeting in February, Michael Lortie was elected president of the Board of Directors, replacing Aaron Chadbourne. Chadbourne had been president for the past two years doing a wonderful job assisting the board in continuing the success of the Gorham Times. Lortie is a retired school counselor who has been the School News Editor of the Times for five years “I love the Gorham Times and having a role in reporting local news is very important to me. I get to share the good news of the school system and to recognize hard-working students and educators.” Lortie will continue his role as School News Editor. His daughter, Molly, is a GHS grad and currently layout designer for the paper..
KG Wentworth has been on the board for the last three years. She is currently the vice president of the board but will soon be leaving as her term is expiring. A former Gorham resident, KG is currently the manager of Sullivan’s Bakery in Gorham.
Kate Thomas is the secretary of the board. She has been on the board since 2020. She has lived in Gorham for many years and raised her sons, Wyatt and Gavin here. A former teacher, she cares for her mother and grows and sells pumpkins, Christmas trees and soon, flowers/vegetables at Red Barn Farm on Route 202 in Gorham.
Erica Roberts is the treasurer of the board. She joined the board in 2024 and works with the managing editor, Lori Arsenault, on reviewing financials. Roberts has lived in Gorham since 2020 and is originally from South Portland. She joined the board as a way to volunteer in the community and has always enjoyed reading the local newspaper.
Debbie Stirling has been a member of the board for a year and a half. She is a retired school department employee, a quilter, a wife, Mom, and Nana, and a good friend to many. She said she joined the Gorham Times Board “to give back to the town that has been my home now for almost 40 years. I love Gorham and want to see our local paper thrive. So much good is going on. Let’s help the paper report on those great things.”
Mary Snell has been on the board for about a year. She is a writer and poet, retired from a 25-year stint as promotions director for the School of Music at USM in Gorham. Before that she was a staff writer and theater critic at the Maine Sunday Telegram/ Portland Press Herald. She lives in North Gorham. Snell wants to be a part of keeping alive and healthy this small but important source of news and information for Gorham.
James Hager was recently elected to the board, having served for only a few months. He is a retired project manager in the pulp and paper industry. Hager believes that the Gorham Times gives readers a sense of what is happening in the town. It is a valuable community resource that offers something for all ages. His goals are to help maintain and strengthen the mission of the paper.
Paul McDonough is new to the board and has only 4 months with the Gorham Times. He is first and foremost a husband and father of 3 children who works in Gorham for Moody’s Collision. He has worked for Moody’s for 22 years, and coaches Gorham football and other sports. “I’m involved in the Gorham Times to just try and help connect our town. I take great pride in how tight-knit Gorham is and remains to be a small, blue-collar working town in Maine. I am always willing to try and assist in areas I can, regardless of the task.”
Al Bean, long-time director of athletics at USM, now retired, has recently joined the board. We have just learned that USM has named a street after him on the University of Southern Maine Gorham campus in recognition of his years of service spanning nearly 50 years. He first arrived at USM as a student-athlete, then went on to have an award-winning 45-year professional relationship with USM, the last 31 years as Director of Athletics.
Bob Caswell has been named an honorary board member. Caswell retired from USM in 2014 after 34 years, the first three as a staff member in public affairs working for the communications director, Roger Snow, who had founded the Westbrook American, forerunner of the American Journal. Then in 1983, Caswell began his 31-year career as USM’s executive director of public affairs. Before USM, he freelanced for the Kennebec Journal, and worked full-time for the Courier-Gazette in Rockland.
Lori Arsenault, managing editor of the Gorham Times, is an ex-officio member of the board, connecting the board with the activities of the volunteers who create and deliver the Gorham Times every two weeks. She started with the Gorham Times in 2018 in the Of Interest section when Leslie Dupuis was editor.
Arsenault earned a bachelor’s degree in music performance at USM as a non-traditional student, graduating in 1999. Not wanting to leave Gorham after graduation, she purchased a house and moved to town 25 years ago.
As a work-study student, Arsenault’s employer/mentor was Mary Snell, now on the board. She remained connected to USM as a volunteer, then accepted the position of administrative manager for the dean of the School of Applied Science, Engineering, and Technology for nine years, then another nine years as operations and concert manager for the School of Music, including two years also with the Department of Theatre.
Through those 18 years, she had several opportunities to work with Al Bean and Bob Caswell, both board members now. From 2003 to 2009 as co-coach of FIRST Robotics Team 172, her main contact at Gorham High School was Debbie Sterling, now on the board. She retired from USM in 2020, and in 2022 completed a master’s degree in leadership studies at USM.
“I am honored to now be working with such an amazing group of volunteers and professionals in service to this town that we all love. Thank you to everyone who helps make the Gorham Times possible.”