The June meeting of the board of The Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund marks the beginning of another year dedicated to raising funds for graduates of Boothbay Region High School who move on to continue their education.Traditionally the board welcomes its new members at this time. This year, six new members are joining this vital community organization. Interestingly, common threads among all of these new members are strong connections to education, to our local schools, to the community, as well as to the Student Aid Fund itself.

Kathryn Sullivan, who is a Boothbay Harbor native and a 1985 graduate of Boothbay Region High School, returned to Boothbay Harbor from the Boston area in 2001. While in Boston, she attended Bentley College in Waltham. After college she was employed in the Boston region of FDIC as a senior bank examiner. When she and her husband Peter returned to Boothbay Harbor, they purchased the Bayside Inn B&B. This was her childhood home and the business her parents had established. Kathryn and Peter have two children, Riley a sophomore at Boothbay Region High School and Matthew a seventh grader at Boothbay Region Elementary School. Kathryn has been active on other boards locally, including Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library, CLICK, Great Explorations, Meals on Wheels and Boothbay Region District Nurse Association. She also brings to the BRSAF board the perspective of someone who received financial help from the fund.

Bill Pearson is a working journalist with a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono. He began writing for the Boothbay Register in 2014 after working for weekly newspapers in Ellsworth, Dover-Foxcroft, Newport and Calais. The Corinna, Maine native has received several awards from the Maine Press Association for his education, sports and feature writing. Bill has also served on the SAD 48 school board as well as the Tri-County Technical Center Board.

Chris Stevens has several ties to our region’s schools; she graduated from BRHS in 1980, has served as PTA treasurer, worked on Project Graduation, and she and her husband Chuck have a son, Evan, who was a BRHS graduate. He is entering his senior year at Bowdoin. Evan is a recipient of a grant from the BRSAF. After Chris graduated from BRHS, she attended Nason College and the University of Southern Maine. Following college, she has had a career in banking for over a 30 years; currently serving as the assistant branch manager at First National Bank in Boothbay Harbor.

Kerrin Erhard is a native of and resident of Boothbay, a graduate of BRHS, the mother of two Boothbay region school students (Blake a sophomore and Mason 8th grade), and the college access counselor at the high school. She is certainly connected to education and to our schools. Following BRHS she attended the University of New Hampshire and the University of Southern Maine. Kerrin also received support from the BRSAF to further her education and is pleased to be able to help others do the same. She also is very active in the community as a board member of the Boothbay Region Community Resources Council and is a steward for the Boothbay Region Land Trust. Somehow she finds time for riding and caring for her horses and sailing with her husband Lincoln and their boys.

Steve O’Brien recently retired to spend summers on Southport with his wife Cindy, following a 36-year career as an institutional investor. He grew up in Manchester, Connecticut. and graduated from Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts and received an MBA from the University of Pittsburg. In addition to the BRSAF board, Steve has served also on two boards of directors which are concerned with education; his alma mater, Assumption College and Nativity School of Worcester, in Worcester, Massachussetts. His involvement in education is complimented by other interests including volunteering at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Steve is also an avid gardener and enjoys boating and cooking.

Fred Levin and his wife Caren and their son and daughter have recently moved permanently to Boothbay. Their son Sam is a junior at Bates College in Lewiston, and daughter Miranda is a freshman at American University in Washington, D.C. Fred brings to the BRSAF board the experience of a long and varied career in law, finance and development. He has been active in the community and in education through board memberships; such as Germantown Academy and the Philadelphia chapter of the Anti-defamation League. Fred is actively engaged in many sports, mostly tennis, golf, skiing and boating.