Maas presented with Warren ‘Pete’ Myrick Community Service Award

DOVER-FOXCROFT — In 2007 Chris Maas retired to Dover-Foxcroft from Washington, D.C. In the decade and half since Maas has given back to his new home in numerous ways including serving on various town committees, being involved with the Dover-Foxcroft Historical Society, working on economic development such as broadband initiatives, and more.

All of Maas’ volunteer efforts helped earn him the 2023 Warren “Pete” Myrick Community Service Award from the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council, which was presented on Monday evening, Jan. 8 at the Mill Cafe.

Every year the PCEDC recognizes a Piscataquis County resident, business, or organization that exemplifies Myrick’s concern for and commitment to education, economic development and/or civic leadership in the region. Myrick, a Guilford resident who died in 2002, was a long-time educator in SAD 4 and one of the founders of the PCEDC.

Dover-Foxcroft Town Manager Jack Clukey, who nominated Maas, said Maas and his wife Karen originally planned to move to Dexter from Washington, D.C. Before doing so they visited Dover-Foxcroft and changed their plans.

“If you want to get to know Chris, you really need to look at how he spends his time,” Clukey said. “I think Chris started taking on projects in the community before he unpacked his suitcase. He immediately joined the historical society and began learning the history of the town. He knew the town in 1900 better than a lot of people today.”

Clukey said during his first meeting with Maas, the town manager was told about a project of Maas’ enabling small community libraries to make collections searchable online and accessible to other libraries.

Soon after moving to Dover-Foxcroft Maas began volunteering for town projects. Clukey said a first was digitizing cemetery information for easier searches. 

“Chris’ early projects were only the beginning,” Clukey said. “Chris has served on almost every board and committee that you could think of including the school board, town’s budget advisory committee, county budget committee, the redevelopment of Central Hall, the planning board, land use subcommittee, climate action advisory committee, and more. He continues to serve on a lot of these boards and committees.”

“Chris has a passion for finding ways to use technology to improve peoples’ lives,” the town manager said as Maas has utilized his information technology and computer networking expertise. “As a member of the town’s climate action advisory committee it’s even more clear,” Clukey said, saying the need for high-speed internet in the region is vital.

“Chris spends his time trying to make our town and region a better place by promoting literacy and making libraries accessible, by trying to improve infrastructure and advocating for fixing our roads, on the budget committee, by doing the kind of planning we need on the planning board so we can grow and attract businesses and workforce,” Clukey said.

“Whenever I see Chris to this day he asks me the same three things, ‘what’s new in town, got a project for me, and how can I help? Well what’s going on Chris in town we at the PCEDC are saying thank you to you for your passion and commitment to education and economic development and for the betterment of our region and we are here to honor you.”

After being presented with a Myrick Award plaque, Maas said he wanted to talk about volunteering and has an idea for a project tabulating the number of people who give of their time and how many hours they spend doing so. 

“I want to know how many hours in a year makes a little town like this work,”  Maas said. “My prediction is that in a town like this, the total number of volunteer hours is probably north of 150,000 hours. Without volunteers a town like this doesn’t work.”

Maas said he has lived in large cities with a mayor and various departments to make the municipality run. He said in a small town the citizens take the lead on various projects, such as Central Hall and the Center Theatre, and in Dover-Foxcroft the town and residents have worked great in partnership.

The Myrick Award recipient said one of the things he is most proud of is a region-wide partnership of over a dozen towns working together to bring broadband to the area.

“It’s an honor but it’s also a pleasure because this is one of the coolest places I’ve ever lived,” Maas said. “I love being here and the biggest part of it is all these wonderful people and all the friends I’ve made.”

Dover-Foxcroft Select Board Vice Chairperson Cindy Freeman Cyr thanked Maas by saying, “I just feel so grateful because you have changed our community, you made things happen here.”

Previous Myrick Award recipients are Owen Pratt, retired Dover-Foxcroft town manager (2003); Merlene Sanborn, director of the Penquis Higher Education Center (2004); Roger Merchant, Piscataquis County Cooperative Extension Service (2005); Edwin Treworgy, retired educator, long-term member of the SAD 41 school board and member of the Three Rivers Kiwanis in Milo/Brownville (2006); Tracy Michaud Stutzman, executive director of the Maine Crafts Association (2007); Sherry French, office manager for WDME Radio (2008); Rhonda Taylor of Maine Highlands Federal Credit Union (2009); John Simko, former town manager of Greenville and former president of PCEDC (2010); Thelma Regan, executive director of Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative (2011); Bob and Barbara Moore, owners of Bob’s Sugarhouse (2012); Dennis Green, former select board member Brownville (2013); Richard “Dick” Brown, CEO Charlotte White Center (2014); Eddie Lewis, volunteerism and community and the Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis Club (2015); Norman E. Higgins, retired SAD 4 superintendent and state representative (2016); Sue Mackey Andrews, Solutions Consulting Group, LLC, Dover-Foxcroft (2017); Nancy and Tom Harrigan of Milo (2018); Tom Lizotte, retired Piscataquis County manager and PCEDC board member (2019); Tom Goulette, retired Guilford town manager (2020); Paul Stearns, retired SAD 4 superintendent and state representative (2021); and Bill Thompson, retired educator and longtime Guilford select board member (2022).