Bar Harbor Chamber's new director touts partnerships

The Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors has named Alf Anderson as the chamber's new executive director.

Courtesy / Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce

Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors named Alf Anderson as the chamber's new executive director. Anderson has served as director of membership sales and marketing since 2015.

Since 2015, Anderson has served as the director of membership sales and marketing for the chamber, and after an extensive search was hired for the executive position, according to a news release.

Anderson starts in his new role Aug. 12.

"We had several strong candidates for the position, but Alf brought an excitement about the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce and our members that was exactly what the search committee and I were looking for," President Bethany Reece said in the release.

Originally from Connecticut, Anderson graduated from Nichols College in Dudley, Mass., and spent the next 15 years on Boston's North Shore, working in the academic publishing industry. There he oversaw a national events program and managed a sales team with annual revenues surpassing $8 million. In 2013, he moved to Bar Harbor, where he has since lived with his wife, Heather.

"Like many people, I fell in love with Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island on my very first visit,” Anderson said in the release. “It has a great foundation with exceptional staff members, including Melanie and Chris Graten, and a strong board of directors.”

Previous executive director Martha Searchfield resigned May 31. In her April 29 resignation letter to members, she wrote, “After a long winter of heart-to-heart talks with my husband and family, I came to the conclusion that I need to return full-time to my business and begin the process of rebuilding our business, the Canterbury Cottage, back to a full service, year-round B&B. I have struggled to make this decision because I believe in the chamber and in serving the Bar Harbor community.”

Building membership

Anderson told Mainebiz the chamber’s accomplishments over the past few years include cultivating membership, implementing a new database, launching a new website, and growing web traffic to the chamber’s site and ultimately to member sites, thus delivering value and business to member businesses.

“One thing Martha worked hard on and delivered is building and maintaining relationships with the town of Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park and other towns and organizations on this island,” he said.

Membership has held steady at 415 members over the last few years.

“Holding steady is a pretty strong statement these days,” he said. “We hope to grow that going forward.”

The new website launched in 2018.

“Our traffic this year is up, so far, 30% over the past year,” Anderson said. “So it’s increased quite a bit. Our site visits peak on July 4, just like town visits do.”

Ultimately the goal of a chamber is to deliver value to members, he noted. For businesses, that often mean helping to get customers through the door. In partnership with Acadia National Park, the goal is also about helping manage visitation and spreading visitation throughout the year, he said.

“We want to make sure we help spread that love,” he said. “It’s not just July and August. We’re trying to get everyone to appreciate Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island and Acadia on a year-round basis.”

Is that need becoming more acute?

“It’s no secret that the park has a plan” to improve visitor experience and traffic flow, Anderson continued. “The chamber has to be involved in helping to get the word out. We’ll be on the front line in greeting customers to let them know about some of those changes. It will take some positive messaging and management on everyone’s part.”

Between Anderson and the Gratens, the chamber’s staff has nearly 20 years of experience at the chamber, he noted. Short-term plans include bringing on a new hire to fill his former position as director of membership sales and marketing.

“We have some events coming up that need attention,” he said, citing the Acadia Night Sky Festival in September as an example.

Long-term goals include helping to expand the season to deliver a sustainable year-round economy, he said.

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