Erich Reed will join the Southwest Harbor Public Library as its new Director

The Library’s Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that Erich Reed will begin work as our new Director on June 18. Reed has been the Librarian at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill for twelve years. Prior to that, he was Assistant Director at the Blue Hill Public Library. He holds a Masters in Library Science from Dalhousie University and a B.A. in American Studies from Brandeis University. He moved to Mount Desert Island with his family several years ago.  

Reed says, “In the past few years since my family moved to MDI, I've loved getting to know the Southwest Harbor Public Library as a vibrant community hub. I look forward to engaging with the community and staff to continue the Library's role as a cultural center and a public resource for life-long learning.”

 Please come to the Library to meet Erich and welcome him to the community!

Welcome new Chamber member Island Housing Trust

Welcome to new Chamber member, Island Housing Trust!

Island Housing Trust, formerly known as the Mount Desert Community Trust, was founded in 1989 as the Mount Desert Development Trust, based in the Town of Mount Desert.  As the Mount Desert Community Trust, the organization completed one workforce housing project through a 99-year lease on a town-owned piece of land off Route 198 in Mount Desert in 1994 and then was inactive for a number of years.  In 2003, following the second MDI Tomorrow initiative, the Mount Desert Community Trust’s Board of Directors was reconstituted and the organization’s mission expanded to include all four towns on MDI.  In 2005, the organization’s name was changed to Island Housing Trust to reflect that expanded mission.

Through January 2018, Island Housing Trust had completed 36 homeownership projects for 111 adults and children on Mount Desert Island since 2008.  Among these are 9 new, energy-efficient houses at IHT's Ripples Hill workforce housing development in Somesville, 15 Homeownership Assistance Program (HOAP) projects in which IHT provided bridge grants to enable qualified applicants to purchase year-round houses on MDI, four houses in the Sabah Woods workforce housing development in the Thomas Bay area of Bar Harbor, a donated 2.4 parcel of land in Somesville that became the site of a single-family residence, and a partnership project with Maine Coast Heritage Trust that enabled a couple qualified by IHT to purchase a three-bedroom home on Route 3 in Bar Harbor as their year-round home.  Including among the 36 homeownership projects completed by IHT over the past eight-plus years are six successful re-sales of residential properties that carried IHT’s affordability covenants and thus were resold at below market-rate to qualified working families and individuals.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust Announces Beneficiary for Annual Charity Golf Tournament

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust’s 25^th Annual David R. Harding Memorial Golf Tournament will benefit Island Housing Trust.  The golf tournament will be played on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at Kebo Valley Golf Club in Bar Harbor.  For more information, call Nataleigh Flint at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust 667-0660 x11022.

Island Housing Trust (IHT) promotes viable, year-round island communities by advancing permanent workforce housing on Mount Desert Island.  They support efforts by public and private individuals and organizations to create housing that is affordable to the year-round working population of MDI.  IHT promotes and seeks to establish partnerships that result in the creation of both rental and home ownership opportunities, enabling the year-round workforce to live in MDI's four communities.  IHT envisions a future where MDI has a significant percentage of affordable year-round housing available to the workforce and works to ensure that it remains affordable into the future. The dwelling units are protected by covenants, enforced in perpetuity. For more information, you can go to:www.islandhousingtrust.org

“IHT is so pleased to have been chosen as the beneficiary of Bar Harbor Bank and Trust's annual Harding Memorial Golf Tournament fundraiser. The honor is a special measure of community support for our mission. We look forward to using the proceeds to provide another housing opportunity for a year-round working individual or family on MDI,” said Alison Beane, Executive Director at Island Housing Trust.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust invites the community to help raise funds for Island Housing Trust by participating in the tournament as a sponsor, golfer, or donor.  Those who have already made a commitment to this year’s tourney include hole-in-one sponsors Stanley Scooters and Darling’s Auto Mall.  For more information about how you can participate in the event, go to www.bhbt.com or contact Nataleigh Flint at 667-0660 x11022.

Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE American: BHB) is the parent company of its wholly owned subsidiary, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. Operating 49 branch locations across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust is headquartered in Bar Harbor, Maine and has more than $3 billion in assets.  As a leading Northern New England community bank, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust offers a full range of personal and business banking services, as well as wealth management services through its subsidiaries Bar Harbor Trust Services and Charter Trust Company.  Bar Harbor Bank & Trust was named one of the 2017 Top 200 Publicly Traded Community Banks in the nation by American Banker magazine. For more information about Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, visit www.bhbt.com or call 1-888-853-7100.  Member FDIC.

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Photo cutline: (left to right) Mark Politte, Owner of Stanley Scooters, Lisa Parsons of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, Alison Beane, Executive Director of Island Housing Trust, Debbie Mitchell-Dow of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, and Tom Wheeler, Sales Manager at Darling’s Auto Mall gather at Kebo Valley Golf Club in Bar Harbor.  Bar Harbor Bank & Trust’s 25^th Annual David R. Harding Memorial Golf Tournament is being played at Kebo on June 5, 2018 to benefit the Island Housing Trust.  There will be two hole-in-one contests where the prizes are a new Vespa Scooter from Stanley Scooters and a 2018 Buick Encore from Darling’s!  For more information and to register call 667-7100.