SKOWHEGAN — The Skowhegan Regional Chamber of Commerce has a new executive director, its third in the past two years.
Maygan Dunlap is the new executive director of the Skowhegan Regional Chamber of Commerce. Photo courtesy of Keith Lind
Maygan Dunlap started in the position at the end of September, filling a vacancy that was open for several months.
A longtime resident of the Skowhegan area, Dunlap has seen firsthand the region’s recent economic growth.
“I can tell you that since I have moved here – and not being involved in the chamber or other activities – the growth in the community is visible,” Dunlap said. “As a resident of Skowhegan, this is an incredibly exciting time because there’s so much growth, not just in our downtown, but in the entire community, the entire region.”
Dunlap grew up in the Ellsworth area and worked for the Maine State Employees Association for 11 years. She earned her bachelor’s degree as well as a master’s degree in international business from Maine Maritime Academy.
The chamber is led by an 11-member board of directors and has more than 200 member businesses, according to Dunlap. She and one part-time staff member are its only employees.
Dunlap is working with the chamber’s member businesses and board to develop new strategies and hopes to share more information about those plans soon.
So far, though, Dunlap said she has been impressed with the collaboration among business owners in the region. “More so than I expected, it feels like a group effort,” she said.
Dunlap’s position has seen some turnover in the past couple of years.
The chamber hired Hailey Howard, a Skowhegan native with a background in vocational rehabilitation, as executive director in January, but she left the position in June to return to a previous public sector job, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Before that, the chamber went nearly a year without a director, after previous leader Jason Gayne resigned in January 2022. Gayne was later charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the chamber and from Hospice Volunteers of Somerset County, which he also led.
Gayne pleaded not guilty and his case is ongoing, according to court records.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.