In a recent article in the Boothbay Register titled “Stone Workers Symposium Seeks Use of Boothbay Common,” Maine Coast Stone Symposium Treasurer and Event Chairman Dick Alden and Margaret Hoffman appeared before the Boothbay Selectman to request use of the Boothbay Common for the region’s second Maine Coast Stone Symposium (MCSS). Dick Alden stated that “Unfortunately, there has been significant staff changes at the railway village. And the guild, not knowing when key management and education positions would be filled made the difficult decision to move forward and locate a new site in the Boothbay region for the 2019 event.”

As the current board president, I find it necessary to respond to Dick’s comments as to dispel any concerns that our loyal supporters or the community may have – and to know the Village was able and ready to host the Maine Coast Stone Symposium this coming year with our key staff still in place with each having over twenty years of experience at the Village.

In September 2018, the board of directors finalized a reorganization plan we believe will support the needs of the Village now and into the future. The board had decided that having two managerial positions would best meet our organizational needs – a manager of operations and a manager of communications. It was our intent to continue to work on the restructuring with key staff through the implementation of an improved structure. We were very disappointed when our executive director chose to resign and leave abruptly and late in the fall, our newly hired educational assistant also resigned to pursue another passion of hers.

The board of directors was supportive, willing, capable and had the desire to continue to host the Maine Coast Stone Symposium at the Village as we had previously partnered with the Maine Stone Workers Guild in 2017 to organize the inaugural event. The Village expedited funds and countless staff hours in organizing and supporting the first Maine Coast Stone Symposium as well as helping to maintain the event with our key grounds crew while the event took place in 2017, our website promoting the event and donating the utilities for the artists’ use. The Village, as many of you know, is a very special place with the old Boothbay Town Hall on the property, having a “common” of our own with over two acres of open space which hosts various events each year, and parking on the grounds for upwards to three hundred vehicles – a safe, secured venue that was most desirable for the artists previously, where we were able to manage and remove the stone dust off our Common and provide areas to unload or store the stone.

As you can imagine, the board was very disappointed to learn from the Maine Stone Workers Guild and MCSS they were no longer interested in collaborating or partnering with the Boothbay Railway Village -- nor using our venue. We were in talks with the MCSS starting in October after the loss of our executive director. We did assure Dick Alden of the MCSS of the board’s commitment and desire to continue hosting the event – having several meetings, going over possible budgets, the need for more involvement by the Guild in 2019, and to understand better their needs for 2019.

We do have many exciting things happening at the Boothbay Railway Village. The board of directors is soliciting applications to fill the two new positions in the first quarter of the 2019. Once those are in place, we will be hiring both an education coordinator and development coordinator. We have acquired in the last three months new pieces for our collections which include a 1927 Chevy, 1931 Chrysler and an 1860’s square grand piano with mother of pearl keys. We have our signature holiday events ongoing now with the North Pole Express and Candlelight, Cocktails & Rails with a very strong volunteer participation. During the winter hiatus, we will be busy upgrading and attending to the maintenance of our buildings and grounds as well as completing the restoration of the Bridgton & Saco River Railroad Car No. 11. We have a calendar filled with exciting summer events that we will be rolling out throughout the winter. We are forming new collaborations with other nonprofits and finding creative ways to support more shared events. We are looking forward to the new year with renewed energy and commitment to our mission.

On behalf of the board of directors, the staff and our volunteers, we would like to thank our community for your continued support. It is reassuring to know we have the support of the community throughout the years. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any board member as we move forward.

We wish the Maine Stone Workers Guild the very best in their efforts to keep the biannual Maine Coast Stone Symposium in the region. To all, we wish you the very best this holiday season and upcoming new year.