WMEDC welcomes two new board members

SOUTH PARIS — Steve Wight of Newry and Jolan Ippolito of Andover have joined the Western Maine Economic Development Council (WMEDC) Policy Board of Directors.

Steve Wight is the former owner and innkeeper of Sunday River Inn & Cross Country Ski Center in Newry. He also owns and operates Wight Enterprises, LLC, a property management company, and is a registered Maine guide. Steve serves on numerous local, regional and statewide boards. He is a Newry selectman, having served in this capacity for 24 years, a former Commissioner of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission for 23 years as well as former Chair of LURC, and a Board Member and President of the Mahoosuc Land Trust, President of Friends of Forest Lodge, Board Member of the University of Maine 4-H Camp and Learning Center in Bryant Pond and Androscoggin River Watershed Council, and Founder of the Friends of the Androscoggin. Steve resides in Newry with his wife Peggy.

Jolan Ippolito currently works as the Development Officer at the Mahoosuc Land Trust. While raising her family and operating a gentleman’s farm in Rumford Point with her husband, Jim, she played a key role in the growth and development of Sunday River Ski Resort as Vice President of Corporate Affairs. She transferred to American Skiing Company, where she was Vice President of Risk Management for eight major ski resorts across the US. Jolan also stays involved in her first career as an educator, teaching the WorkReady program offered by Region 9.

Jolan serves on the Board of Maine Employers Mutual Insurance Company, MEMIC, and was its first Chairperson from 1993 - 2003. She is the Chair of the Rumford Hospital Board of Trustees and served two terms as a Trustee Member of the Maine Hospital Association. Jolan completed 20 years as a member of the Rumford Finance Committee with most of those years as the Chair.

WMEDC’s mission is to create economic opportunity and improve the quality of life in Western Central Maine. To achieve this mission, WMEDC believes in promoting a regional economic development approach that ensures:

• Communities are prepared for growth by seeking their input and building productive partnerships with municipal, county and state government, businesses and other regional economic development partners.

• Job growth and investment with resources that make a difference. The key areas of emphasis for regional development include business growth and retention, job creation, business lending, workforce development, transportation infrastructure and effective advocacy for and marketing of Oxford County.

WMEDC was founded November 13, 2007 as a department of Community Concepts, Inc., to facilitate regional economic development throughout Oxford County and bordering towns. Unlike most other counties, Oxford County had never before focused on county-wide economic development until its inception.

The founders of WMEDC realized it was imperative to have a solidified presence in order to compete with other regions for scarce resources. With all this in mind, the Oxford County business community and Community Concepts decided to start the WMEDC.