The Mission recently welcomed Dean Lunt and Jaime Weir as new members of our Board of Directors. Lunt and Weir are Maine natives dedicated to the communities that the Mission serves.
“We are happy to welcome Jaime and Dean to the Board of Directors,” says Dan McKay, Board Chair. “They both bring with them deep connections to our coastal and island communities. We look forward to having them help plot the course of the Mission.”
Dean is an eighth-generation islander who grew up in Frenchboro on Long Island, which has been visited regularly by the Mission’s Sunbeam over the past century. He attended Frenchboro’s one-room schoolhouse and remembers how the Mission made school trips to Boston as well as other expeditions possible. Dean, who now lives in Yarmouth, founded Islandport Press in 2000. Islandport Press is an award-winning publisher dedicated to stories rooted in the essence and sensibilities of New England. A former journalist, Dean is the author of two books, Hauling by Hand, a first-hand look at life on a Maine Island, and Speakin’ Maine about the language and stories of Maine.
Jaime is general manager of the John Williams Boat Company in Mount Desert. He has co-led the Mission’s EdGE Tennis Tournament, which supports the Mission’s education programs in Washington County, for 11 years. Originally from Camden, Jaime graduated from Maine Maritime Academy and was chief mate on a tug and barge unit that sailed from Canada to the Caribbean. He also served as a captain of a 464-passenger vessel on Lake Champlain. Jaime has served on the board of the Maine Marine Trades Association and is a member of Bar Harbor’s Harbor Committee.
Mission President John Zavodny says, “Dean and Jaime bring experience and knowledge to an already amazing group of board members. The Mission is lucky to have such smart, compassionate, and committed people at the helm.”