About and Contact Us

Brandi Meisner

Chair
bmeisner@skowhegansavings.com

Brandi, a native of Skowhegan, is a community banker at Skowhegan Savings Bank in Skowhegan, where she specializes in personal and commercial lending. After graduating from Skowhegan High School, Brandi went on to study locally at Thomas College, earning her BS in Business Management and MBA. Brandi serves as Vice-President of Main Street Skowhegan’s Board of Directors and is a member of their Community Engagement committee. Brandi also chairs the Annual Awards Ceremony Committee and sits on the Executive Board for Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce.

Michelle Joler-Labbe

hr@thomas.edu
1st Vice Chair

Michelle Joler-Labbe, a Waterville native, attended University of Maine Farmington receiving a B.A. in Psychology. She also went to Springfield College where she obtained a Master’s in counseling. Currently, she is the chief human resource officer at Thomas College. Michelle presently is a member of Kennebec Valley Human Resource Association. She resides in Vassalboro with her husband, daughter and two dogs. In her spare time, she boats, kayaks and spends time at the lake. Michelle is current Chair of Mid-Maine Chamber’s Business Breakfast Series.

Mike Guarino

mike.guarino@snowpond.org
2nd Vice Chair

Mike Guarino owns Maine Wilderness Guide Service and works at Snow Pond Center for the Arts. He currently is on the Boards of Friends of Messalonskee Lake Association, Belgrade Lakes Region Business Group, Kennebec Valley Tourism Council and Sidney, Maine Task Force. He sits on the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce’s Mid-Maine Bass committee, golf committee and the marketing and membership committees.

Bruce Harrington

Treasurer
Bharrington@mainestatecu.org

Bruce is a commercial loan officer at Maine State Credit Union. Bruce is responsible for commercial lending in the greater Waterville and Augusta Areas. He is board treasurer, chairs Business to Business Showcase and Business Expansion & Retention Committees, and serves on the Bass Fishing Subcommittee, and Marketing Committee. Bruce earned his undergraduate finance degree and his MBA at the University of Maine in Orono, and is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Business Administration. Bruce was born and raised in Fairfield, where he now lives with his wife, two daughters, and two sons.

Gary Levesque

Director -At- Large
glevesque@ft.newyorklife.com

Gary Levesque grew up in Jay, Maine and earned his Bachelors L.S. from University of Maine, Orono. He’s a financial service professional with New York Life Insurance Co. and has worked there for 20 years. Gary is a past board member of the Hospice volunteers of Waterville Area, and Past Trustee of Oakland United Baptist Church. He is a Member of Kennebec Valley Elks Club and is a Mason. He’s Past chair of the Mid-Maine Chamber Golf Committee. Gary joined the board to create a better economic environment to attract businesses to the area as well as to help businesses that are already here to prosper and to be able to hire and retain more employees. Gary is married, has two children, and enjoys golfing when he can.

Joy McKenna

Past Chair
joy.mckenna@mainegeneral.org

Growing up in Bangor, Joy developed a passion for volunteering and participated in a wide variety of activities in school and in the community. Her desire to work in all aspects of community improvement and personal empowerment led her to government. She served as a staff person in the U.S. Congress and for two health care-related nonprofits during her 10 years in Washington, D.C. Joy returned to Maine to join the communications office of Governor Baldacci. Since 2011, Joy has served at MaineGeneral Health, the largest private employer in the Kennebec Valley. She became director of Marketing & Communications in 2014. She is currently Board Chair of the Chamber.

Rick Whalen

gwhalen@investorscapital.com

Rick is part of the Choice Wealth Advisors management team. Rick works with individuals, families and small businesses primarily in the central Maine region. He is a Waterville Elks Lodge member, Maine Association of Realtors Foundation board member and Hospice Volunteers of Waterville Area member. Rick serves on the Chamber marketing and membership committee and is chair of the golf committee. Rick resides in Skowhegan, Maine with his longtime companion Deborah Dow and his two stepchildren, Trever and Linsey. He enjoys spending summer weekends with his family at his camp on North Pond located in Mercer, Maine.

Rick Barry

Originally from Cambridge, MA., Rick now lives in Waterville with his wife Sara. He has 2 adult children and a granddaughter. He is Vice President of Nursing and Patient Care Services at Northern Light Inland Hospital. Rick is currently on the Family Violence Project Board , serving as Treasurer.

William Layton

wclayton@colby.edu

Bill is the director of the Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs at Colby College where his team focuses on research administration and developing grant funding partnership with foundations, companies, research labs, and government agencies. He holds a BA and MA from Drew University and an MBA from the University of Navarra IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. Bill has held management positions at Stanford University, Hewlett Packard, Princeton University, and the United Nations Foundation in Washington D.C. where he worked on global collaborations in health and the environment, as well as disaster recovery in hot spots around the world. A resident of downtown Waterville, Bill continues a renovation project of his circa 1850’s home. Bill currently sits on the Board of the Waterville Public Library and is on the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce’s Public Policy committee.

Larissa Larrabee

larissa.larrabee@huhtamaki.com

Larissa Larrabee is the Mill Controller for Huhtamaki, where she has been employed for five years.
Larissa attended Lawrence High School in Fairfield. She later received a master’s degree from Thomas College. Larissa is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. She has participated in the Leadership Dev. Program, Center for Creative Leadership, University of Chicago Graduate School of Business Mergers and Acquisitions program, and the Emerging Leader Dev. Program, Columbia University Graduate School of Business.
Larissa currently serves on the Mid-Maine Chamber Public Policy Committee and has served as Past Board President for the United Way of Tri-Valley. She is a supporter of military families through the Christmas Across Maine program.
Larissa is married to Tony Larrabee and has one son, AJ Larrabee. Larissa’s hobbies include crafting, farming and movies.

Mark Bradford

MBradford@valley-beverage.com

Mark Bradford has served as Area Sales Manager for Valley Beverage Distributors for the past ten years.
Mark was born in the Waterville area and attended Lawrence High School. He then received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern Maine.

Mark has served for seven years as a volunteer coach for P.A.L. football and basketball and is a member of the Augusta Elks. Mark is a member of both the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce Golf Classic Committee and the Taste of Waterville Committee.
Mark and his wife Beth, have a son, Leighton and a daughter, Lyla. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, watching and playing sports, and travelling.

Dr. Melik Peter Khoury

mkhoury@unity.edu

Dr. Melik Peter Khoury is the President and CEO of Unity College. He holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Maine Fort Kent, an MBA from the University of Maine, and a doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

He is an energetic visionary, passionate about the environment, technology, education and sustainability science. Under his leadership Unity College has successfully launched The Enterprise Model, which offers traditional and adult students educational opportunities through UC: Distance Education; UC: Hybrid Learning; and UC: Sustainable Ventures. In the process, Dr. Khoury has begun to break down the traditional barriers associated with higher education – making it more affordable, accessible, flexible and relevant for students locally and around the world.

Linanne Gaunce

lgaunce@cmautogroup.net

Linanne Gaunce has managed special events and donations for ten years for Central Maine Motors Auto Group, a family-owned auto dealership based in Waterville. Linanne was born in the Waterville area and attended Messalonskee High School. She then received an Associates Degree from Thomas College. After having moved away from the area after college, she and her husband returned to Waterville to put down roots in the community and raise their family.Linanne is involved as President of the Waterville High School Boosters Association for the Golf, Baseball, Tennis and Cross-Country Teams. She served as co-President of the Waterville Senior High School Project Graduation Committee for 2020, helping to plan a unique graduation ceremony in light of the pandemic. Linanne has served as a member of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards and Super Raffle Committees.
Linanne and her husband, Chris have two sons, Charles J (CJ) and Daniel and are proud owners of the family dog, Alpine. Linanne enjoys traveling, skiing, yoga, boating and golf.

Ken Walsh

kwalsh@clubaycc.org

Ken Walsh is Chief Executive Officer for the Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCA at the Alfond Youth & Community Center, a position he has held for 29 years. He holds a degree from State University of New York, Cortland BSE Physical Education. Through Ken’s leadership, the Alfond Youth & Community Center has expanded programs to serve multiple constituents, including work with area after-school care and food/nutrition programs.

Ken serves on the YMCA and BGCA State Alliance, Main eSports Legends, and is an assistant baseball coach at Colby College, as well as a planned giving and legacy gifts advisor. He has served on multiple boards including KVCAP, GoodWill Hinckley, Snow Pond Advisory Board.
Ken is a second and third baseman on state and national baseball teams, is a 7th degree black belt, tennis player, marathon and triathlon participant, and enjoys white water kayaking and hiking.

Garvan Donegan

Ex-Officio
gdonegan@centralmaine.org

Garvan manages Central Maine Growth Council’s regional economic development initiatives and networks. This includes city planning and policy analysis, regional projects, grants, business expansion/retention, enterprise growth, and entrepreneurial development. Along with these key roles, Garvan administers the growth and development of the City of Waterville’s federal U.S. Foreign Trade Zone program (FTZ 186), a regional effort to cultivate global trade and outreach in the State of Maine. The Maine native earned his B.A. from Eckerd College in Saint Petersburg, FL in 2008, graduating with a double major in Political Science and Environmental Sciences, earned a M.A. (MCPD) in Community Planning and Development from the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine, and holds a Maritime Port Manager (MPM) certificate from the Loeb-Sullivan Graduate School of International Business & Logistics, at Maine Maritime Academy and the International Association of Maritime and Port Executives (IAMPE).