Friends of Acadia Annual Meeting – July 10

The Friends of Acadia held their annual meeting on Wednesday, July 10th at the Bar Harbor Club.

Bill Eacho, the Chairman of the Board of Directors welcomed everyone.

Eric Stiles, the President and CEO of the Friends of Acadia then spoke.

Eric Stiles then introduced Kevin Schneider the Superintendent of Acadia National Park

Superintendent Schneider spoke about the State of the Park. Some of the areas he highlighted were that this is the 25th Anniversary of the Island Explorer and they are expected to carry their 10 millionth passenger sometime in 2024.

A area of continued concern is staffing and particularly staff housing. In a recent survey, two-third of the staff cannot find affordable housing within 60 minutes of Park Headquarters.

The Acadia Youth Conversation Corps celebrated their 50th year last year.

He also spoke about the Friendship the new boat that was funded by the Friends of Acadia. The boat appeared in the 4th of July Parade in Bar Harbor and was named in honor of the long standing relationship with the Park and the Friends of Acadia.

Superintendent Schneider asked all personnel in attendance to rise to be acknowledged by everyone in attendance.

Stephanie Clement the Vice President of Conservation then spoke, highlighting the Friends of Acadia Program Highlights.

She mentioned that the Acadia Gateway Center in Trenton is scheduled to officially open in May of 2025.

It was then time to present the Annual Awards!

The Acadia Preservation Award was given to  Lili Pew

Lili Pew, who has served on the Friends of Acadia Board of Directors for 19 years received the Acadia Preservation Award. Lili’s depth and breadth of service to Friends of Acadia since 2005 was recognized, including serving four years as Chair of the Board of Directors, and terms on about every board committee. Lili was acknowledged as a natural “connector” who has invited people of all ages to develop a relationship with Acadia. Her positive energy and dedication to ensuring that visitors understand how to enjoy Acadia safely and for rescuing them when accidents happen was also honored. In presenting the award, Bill Eacho Friends of Acadia’s current Chairman of the Board said, “Lili, your tireless energy, strategic leadership, and dedication to Acadia National Park are inspirational to all of us. Thank you.”

The President's "Darn Good Work" Award was given to Mike Staggs.

Staggs received the award for more than 23 years of dedicated service as a Friends of Acadia staff member, holding roles from Administrative Assistant to Operations Manager and Systems Administrator. Mike has worn many hats/roles and seen lots of change at Friends of Acadia over two decades. He helped the organization launch its first website, progress to cloud-based computing, and more recently helped develop robust cybersecurity practices. Mike also helped organize and champion Friends of Acadia events such as the Annual Meeting, Annual Benefit, and Earth Day Roadside Cleanup. “Mike’s work has been excellent, dependable, and a gift to all of us,” said President and CEO Eric Stiles in presenting the award.

Finally the Marianne Edwards Award was given to David Edson. This award is named for the Friends of Acadia Founder and has been presented since 1991.

Edson received this award for his steadfast leadership on the Board of Directors for 10 years. Dave has filled multiple roles including Vice Chair of the board, Acadia Winter Trails Association winter groomer, Strategic Planning committee member, Finance Committee member, Acadia Experience Task Force contributor, and Chair of the Housing Task Force and Raise the Roof Campaign leader. At the Annual Meeting, Dave was recognized for his sage advice and calm demeanor under pressure, and for sharing his expertise, management and knowledge of conservation and construction as Friends of Acadia invests in important seasonal workforce housing initiatives. In presenting the award, Friends of Acadia’s Vice President of Development Lisa Horsch Clark said, “Dave’s selfless leadership of Friends of Acadia has advanced our seasonal workforce housing initiatives, fostered great teamwork, and served as the best kind of sticky glue holding our organization’s building blocks together.

Finally it was announced that the Friends of Acadia have embarked on a $10 million campaign to help build seasonal workforce housing for Acadia National Park.

7.5 million has already been raised to date. The National Park Service and Friends of Acadia have identified 2 suitable sites that could provide housing for 60-plus seasonal employees: the Harden Farm property in Bar Harbor and the Dane Farm property in Seal Harbor.

Both sites are conveniently located near Village centers, near Island Explorer routes and have access to public utilities. And because only the National Park Service can build on park land, these projects are not competing for building lots for other workforce housing efforts.

The Friends of Acadia's Raise the Roof donation of $10 million will unlock another $10+ million in matching funds through federal and other funding.

To learn more about the campaign and create the housing for Acadia's season workforce, visit https://friendsofacadia.org/raisetheroof/