A sense of place | Harold Clossey takes over as executive director of the Sunrise County Economic Council
What to do about Washington County? It's been the subject of several task forces and studies, but none so far has found a solution for a region plagued by economic troubles. Some recent, high-profile ideas have stumbled: A racino proposal took a hit when Gov. John Baldacci vetoed it last year, and the Downeast Heritage Museum, seen as an opportunity to strengthen tourism, has since filed for bankruptcy.
But those woes are not the whole story, says Harold Clossey, the new executive director of the Sunrise County Economic Council, an economic development agency in Machias. Clossey, who last month replaced longtime director Dianne Tilton, says that while the Washington County economy may be lagging, there's hope on the horizon, such as Cooke Aquaculture's recent announcement of a plan to invest $60 million in the region next year. "There are a lot of great things happening in Washington County, but we don't always hear about those as much as the negative things," he says. "We need to celebrate the sense of place that we have here and the sense of community."
Clossey speaks from experience. He was born in Eastport, raised in Calais and now lives in Red Beach, spending most of his life, he says, along Route One. Soon after receiving a degree in small business management from what is now Washington County Community College in Calais, he started work in 2000 as a business counselor at Washington Hancock Community Agency, a social service agency in Milbridge. It was at WHCA that he learned how to help small businesses, focusing primarily on those with five or fewer employees in an education program called Incubator Without Walls.
When the position at the SCEC opened in June, though, friends and colleagues encouraged him to apply, knowing he was committed to the region and familiar with local businesses. Clossey realized the position would allow him to continue helping small businesses by working on a larger scale. "I just thought, 'Wow, I can work with bigger businesses and those bigger businesses have an impact on the smaller businesses.' We all lean on each other," he says.
Clossey admits he has big shoes to fill. Tilton, his predecessor, was a key player in the redevelopment of the former Navy base in Cutler, among other projects. But he says his experience working with micro-enterprises — a large sector of the county's economy — has given him a good sense of issues that local businesses face. His immediate task is to meet with the SCEC's board of directors next month and set a plan for 2007, which he says likely will follow a direction Tilton set that calls for increased funding for roads, telecommunications and education, and supporting proposals for a racino and liquefied natural gas terminals.
Clossey hopes to make his mark, however, not only by bringing in new industries, but also by strengthening existing businesses. Geographic isolation within the county can prevent business owners from knowing about the counseling services available to them, he says. So he hopes to market the SCEC's services more aggressively and spread the word about statewide services like the Maine Made program, which helps artists market their work online.
An even bigger part of his job, though, will be changing how people think of Washington County. He wants to publicize positive developments, such as the new hospital in Calais and the thriving arts scene in Eastport, to draw tourists, investment from state government and business prospects. But touting what's good about his home won't be a problem. "That's a strength I do have," Clossey says. "I believe in Washington County, I'm passionate about it and I'm very optimistic."
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