🔒More than a paycheck: The summer jobs these Mainers will never forget

For several summers in high school, Paula Mahony worked at a small textile mill her father ran in Pepperell, Mass. Looking back, Mahony says her father ran a tight ship — with no special treatment for "the boss's daughter" — and that the experience shaped her work ethic and taught her to value employees at every level of an organization. The lessons have stayed with her to this day. “No matter where I’ve worked since, I have tried hard to show my respect for the folks doing the hard work often in uncomfortable conditions,” says Mahony, president and chief marketing strategist at Words@Work Inc., a Portland-based marketing firm. “I think that has made me a better person as well as a better business leader.” As summer officially gets underway this weekend, we checked in with Maine business and nonprofit leaders for the summer jobs they remember most. Ray Ruby, Maine Cancer Foundation: “My college roommates and I wanted to live and play out in Colorado for a summer, but the only place that would hire the three of us guys was a day care center/summer camp in a ranch town. I still have the greatest respect for teachers to this day.” Michelle Anderson, Junior Achievement of Maine: “One of my favorite summer jobs was scooping ice cream at Beal’s in Scarborough … Working with friends made it even better, and it taught me lasting customer service and multitasking skills. I also built up a strong right arm." Sarah Smith, Startup Maine: “I was an umpire for a recreational youth softball league throughout high school. I love softball, so it was a great way to be on the diamond more. But what made it truly memorable was parents sometimes taking games a little too seriously. I ended up writing my college essay about those moments and what I learned.” Casey Prentice, Prentice Hospitality Group and Portland Foreside Development Co.: “My favorite summer job was bartending at the Black Pearl down in Newport [R.I.]” Quincy Hentzel, Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce: “My most fun summer job was working at a fish market in the midwestern town I grew up in with all of my friends from high school. The sights (and smells!) bring back such great memories when I walk into my local fish market, Harbor Fish.” Chris Philbrook, Philbrook PR: “George Kerr — owner of Surf Six in Old Orchard Beach and a big Portland High basketball fan — hired me to check IDs at the door. A Jimmy Buffett cover band played there daily, and more than a few local celebrities rolled through, including the legendary anchors from the WCSH [Channel 6] news desk. Let's just say a lot of people were down there searching for their lost shaker of salt, salt salt.”

Meredith Strang Burgess, Burgess Advertising & Marketing: “Most all my summers were life-guarding somewhere … mostly at Camden Recreation Camp. But a highlight was going back to my childhood camp, Alford Lake Camp in Union, as a camp counselor, with waterfront duties, of course. But I had six young, smart, fun girls from all over the U.S. as my campers in Tent No. 20 in 1976 for seven weeks. Awesome experience — still in touch with a few of them today.” Mark Violette, Maine Mortgage Solutions LLC: “Working for a local beer and wine distributor, putting in long days beginning at 6 a.m., eventually working up to having my own route and truck during my second summer with them. This typically involved shipments to the local grocery stores in the morning and then the restaurants and bars in the afternoon. It was fun going to different places every day and meeting new people.” John Lewis, Maine Association of Manufacturers: “I originally pursued a job at Chess King in the Auburn Mall because I wanted the employee discount, but I left with something far more valuable: lifelong skills in customer service and responsibility and a mentor and friend named Roxann, who believed in me and continues to encourage me after more than 30 years.” Aaron Anker, Grandy Organics: “At 21, I spent a summer working as a breakfast chef at the Ocean Point Inn near Boothbay Harbor, cooking breakfast for 100 guests a day, living on-site overlooking the ocean and earning $6 an hour. That summer led to lifelong friendships, my first VW camper van — which eventually helped me meet my wife — meeting my future business partner, and ultimately convinced me to make Maine my home. In hindsight, I made far more than $6 an hour.” Susan Ruhlin, Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce: During high school, I worked at Brountas Restaurant in Bangor. One Christmas, my first boss, Soula Brountas, gifted me chocolates, $5 and a beautifully decorated egg. It was a simple gesture, but I never forgot how a small business owner could make an employee feel so valued."