BETHEL — “A lot of good things are happening in Bethel, I’m so delighted… I like to see the economy reviving in Western Maine. I love to see small businesses like the theatre, the Gem Museum, and the Bethel Inn. Who wouldn’t want to come here? It’s a four-season area. I want to make sure the state of Maine markets this area as robustly as it has in the past … Maine is not just a pretty lighthouse on the ocean,” said Governor Janet Mills on Monday when she visited Bethel as part of a summer-long tour visiting small businesses across Maine.

At lunch time at a long table in The Gem lobby, Governor Mills chatted with Bethel Chamber of Commerce members, Jessie Perkins, Wade Kavanaugh, Beth Weisberger, and John Walker. Three staffers from Mills’ office: Heather Johnson head of the Department of Economic Community Development; Press secretary, Lindsay Crete; and aide, Joe Maro shared the table. Amy Landry from Adroscoggin Valley Council of Governments joined, too. They ate a variety of take-out sandwiches from The Good Food Store and munched on Gem popcorn.

Gem Co-owners, Wade Kavanaugh and Beth Weisberger received funding from the State of Maine to launch their co-working space and led Mills upstairs to see it. Discussion centered on flex environments that keep start-up workers in these more rural areas, extending their stays and not returning to cities intermittently. Kavanaugh introduced Mills to Jewon Wee, whose business has grown from a single desk at The Gem to seven desks. Wee and his staff are ISP advisors that manage human resource transitions for companies that are going public. Mills learned from the group that internet service could be spotty despite their best efforts. Wee had recently purchased a hot spot to make up for the Spectrum gaps that they were experiencing.

Next the entourage headed to the Gemini Café on Main Street, where owners Anna Sysko and Nicole Pellerin talked about their café, slated to open next month. Sysko talked about the pledges she received from her Kickstarter campaign and the great community support they had received. She showed off some of the new equipment, specifically their new oven.

As Mills was about to cross Main Street to the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum, she saw several young faces pressed against the front window of the museum smiling and waving. She enthusiastically returned the waves then headed into the museum. The faces belonged to campers visiting from the Bryant Pond 4-H club. They were impressed and excited to see the governor up close although a few were bashful. One pressed the governor with questions.

Founder and Board Chair of the museum, Larry Stifler, showed Mills many of the exhibits which she found impressive. Mills was somewhat overwhelmed and sat down when Stifler pointed out a Murchison meteorite from outer space that was found in Australia in 1969. “Welcome Home” she said to the rock. “Even as governor, it’s humbling, right?” said Stifler handing Mills a piece of the 7-billion-year-old Murchison rock to hold. Before she left, she posed for photos in front of a video of the moon while holding a piece of the moon.

Finally, Mills’ driver motored her up Main to Church Street, where they went into the Bethel Inn. While there, she talked with Director of Sales and Marketing, Brad Jerome and Managing partner, Allen Connors. Mills marveled at the dining room and pulled out her cell phone to get a photo of the veranda. She asked about shoulder seasons and renting the condominiums on the Fairway.  Connors lamented about his biggest challenge, “the uneven playing field,” Airbnb has created for his industry.

After her tour, while sitting in the living room of the Bethel Inn, Mills discussed small business grants to businesses that may have been impacted by the pandemic. Applications will open in September. Part of this visit was to outreach to businesses in Bethel.

She also discussed the workforce. National immigration policies have created a backlog of people, currently living in hotels and motels in Maine, people that are skilled and want to work, she said. Her office is helping a second group of people, too, women mostly, get back into the workforce after dropping out during COVID. Entry level workers are especially needed, often in the service industry. Incentives are apprenticeship programs that use navigators to help people get off unemployment and help those that need training or childcare.

Earlier in the day, Mills declared her love for this part of the state. The Farmington native said, “You won’t see any lighthouses in my office. It’s all Western Maine mountains and lakes.”

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