A countywide effort led by the Aroostook Partnership aims not just to attract more workers and families to the region, but keep them.
The program, called Aroostook Rising, intends to address regional population decline by attracting a wide cross section of new workers to The County, including tradespeople, healthcare workers, entrepreneurs and remote employees.
It will then work with towns, chambers of commerce and other groups to create a sense of community to help newcomers feel more at home.
Maine’s rural communities have faced a dilemma for decades: to grow industry and business, you need workers, but attracting people to isolated places is tough. Workers need support such as affordable housing, education, amenities — and a place where they feel like they belong. Similar workforce efforts, such as the Northern Maine Growth Initiative through Northern Maine Community College, have started and ebbed over the years, but officials say the marketing push behind Aroostook Rising will help.
Jennifer Buckingham, CEO of TEMPO Employment Services in Presque Isle and a member of the Aroostook Partnership board of directors, said Aroostook Rising will help people put down roots in Aroostook towns.
“By connecting newcomers with local ambassadors, employers and community resources, we can create a stronger sense of belonging and improve retention across Aroostook County,” Buckingham said.
Population decline has hit Aroostook County harder than any of Maine’s other counties. Aroostook has seen a 4% decrease in its population from 2013 to 2023. Washington and Somerset counties each lost a smaller percentage, while numbers increased in Maine’s southern counties during that time, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
When Aroostook Partnership President and CEO Kiersten Purington joined the organization last year, the board of directors stressed the importance of attraction and retention. The organization itself was formed partly as a response to the economic and population decline that occurred after the 1994 closure of the Loring Air Force Base in Limestone.
The partnership’s goals include advocacy, childcare and housing in the region, but also workforce development and attracting new people to the region. As a couple of examples, Purington said the partnership advocated to keep the federal Defense Finance and Accounting Service office open after the federal government discussed relocating it, and advocated to keep the Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Aroostook County.
The Aroostook Partnership received a $360,210 Catalyst-USDA Partnership grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission for the program. The entire budget is $550,000, with the remainder covered by both the Aroostook Partnership and the Northern Maine Development Commission.
The funding will be used for the salaries of a marketing specialist who will lead the talent attraction and retention efforts, and a workforce strategist. Money will also be used for marketing expenses and Aroostook branding materials.
A similar program across the country that Purington cited as an inspiration is Tulsa Remote, a one-year program that offers $10,000 and other benefits to remote workers who decide to move to Tulsa. Purington was surprised to learn that it has a retention rate of more than 70%. She also cited Houlton’s Gateway Ambassadors program, which helps to connect newcomers with the local community.
Part of the program’s vision is to have ambassadors in the central and northern regions of Aroostook County in collaboration with their respective chambers of commerce.
“That’s really crucial so that people, when they get here or even during the interview process, have a friendly face and know that they’ve got somebody that they can connect with,” Purington said.
Central Aroostook Chamber Executive Director LaNiece Sirois shared similar sentiments about the program.
“People don’t just choose a job,” Sirois said. “They choose a community. Aroostook Rising is helping communities across Aroostook County work together to ensure every newcomer feels welcomed, connected, and encouraged to build a life here.”
Purington and her husband recently moved to Aroostook County from Kittery. She has a Ph.D. in behavioral and neural science from Rutgers University, and most recently worked in the pharmaceutical industry.
She decided she wanted a career change, obtained an MBA from Boston University, and moved up when the opportunity at the partnership presented itself. Her husband has family in Houlton, and she fell in love with the region while visiting the area and snowmobiling.
“I’ve moved many times in my life, and all of the places that I considered home were the places where I felt a sense of community, where people said ‘hello’ in the grocery store, or when you went to the local coffee shop and they remembered your name,” she said. “Just feeling like you’re a valued part of the community, and I have that here.”