Second act: A former chamber CEO “retires” but keeps on working
Photo / Tim Greenway
Chip Morrison, pictured here in Portland, retired as president and CEO of the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce, but he's taken on a part-time position as business development officer at Androscoggin Bank.
On June 3, Chip Morrison retired after 20 years as president and CEO of the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce.
Three days later, he started as interim executive director for Make-A-Wish Maine. In late August, he started a part-time position as business development officer at Androscoggin Bank, in the bank's business- and government-services division, based in Lewiston and covering the region from Augusta to York County.
On the side, he works with a small strategic talent management firm and does a lot of volunteering: He currently serves on the Lewiston Auburn College Advisory Board, the USM Board of Visitors, and the Central Maine Community College Foundation Board, and on the advisory committee the Maine Employers Initiative. He's also secretary of the Lewiston/Auburn Charter Commission, which is looking into consolidating Lewiston and Auburn into one municipality.
For recreation, Morrison plays in the Auburn Community Concert Band and puts in time on the golf course. And he and his wife, Jane, who recently retired as executive director from Safe Voices, the Lewiston-based domestic violence resource center, recently participated in the L/A Community Little Theatre's celebration of its 75th anniversary.
Does he do retirement? “Not very well,” he says. “I like to work.”
Morrison was born in Omaha, Neb., and grew up in Waukegan, Ill. He graduated from Carleton College, where he studied government and education, then earned a master's degree in public administration from the University of Michigan. He worked as assistant to the city manager in Des Moines, Iowa, then city manager in Benton Harbor, Mich. His move to Maine came in 1978, when he took the job of city manager in Auburn, Maine's fourth largest city, a position he held until 1987. Highlights of his career there included negotiation of a tax-sharing agreement with Lewiston, which led to the joint development of the industrial air park; development of three new industrial parks in Auburn and creation of the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council.
From 1987–90, he was the Maine Department of Administration's first full-time commissioner, overseeing internal support services to the rest of state government. He remained in state government until 1994, serving as commissioner for the Maine Department of Labor.
Soon after, he took the job with the chamber, having served on its board from 1980–87. That turned out to be his longest term in any job, and he loved every moment.
“It was a great run,” he says. “It was a perfect fit.”
A self-described people person, Morrison is at his best when he's putting people together to do community work. “The people here are wonderful,” he says. “If somebody's in need, they help. This is a community like none other.”
Over two decades, the chamber evolved in a way that reflected the evolution of the area, which has seen considerable transformation and development since the demise of the historical shoe and textile industry.
“Twenty years ago, the economy was struggling a little,” Morrison said. “Today, it's a very diversified economy. I wouldn't dare to say the chamber had anything do with that, but we stood on the side and cheered and called attention to the transformation.”
Under his leadership, the chamber was an enthusiastic cheerleader, doubling its membership from 620 to 1,370, thus becoming the single largest organization in the Lewiston/Auburn area.
His accomplishments included doubling support programs, including seminars, lectures and discussions; improving the chamber's financial position without increasing membership dues; creating a debt-free Business Service Center as a permanent home for the chamber; developing new connections between local businesses and area school systems; starting Young Professionals of the Lewiston Auburn Area to promote career, social, and community development; bringing in record attendance at most functions; and raising more than $50,000 annually for scholarships for local youth.
“It's all about building community,” he says. “If someone were to ask me, 'What's the major thing the chamber does?' it makes connections for individuals and for members. They have something they need, and the trick is to figure out how to get it for them.”
As he was getting along in his 60s, Morrison knew he'd be ready to move on.
“I think in everybody's lives there comes a time to make a change,” he says. “I'm fond of saying, I don't know what I'm going to be when I grow up, but I'm going to have fun doing it.”
It was a well-planned retirement: Morrison let his board know well in advance he planned to leave by his 70th birthday.
“The board went through an exhaustive national search and found a very energetic, much younger person,” Morrison says of Matt Leonard, who started in the position on May 11. Leonard is a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Navy who has been involved with several service organizations over the years, including 20 years with Boys & Girls Club of Southern Maine. “He's doing a great job.”
Androscoggin Bank's offer was unexpected.
“They asked me if I'd consider it. I said, 'Sure,'” he says. “Once you've hung around for a long time, you get the fun of having people say, 'Can you help us with this?'”
The bank has tasked Morrison with developing business in the public sector and among small and medium-size business. The position is a great combination of all his prior experience. Plus, he says, he's having fun.
“Life is a gift,” he says. “The ability to contribute to this community that I love is an incredible honor. And I'll continue doing it until somebody tells me, 'You can't remember anything anymore. Maybe you shouldn't be doing this.'”
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