Communities That Care

Peter started his career as an expediter for Pintoff Productions, a New York based film production company.  During his stay there he apprenticed as a film editor. He then moved on for a short stay with National Recording Studios as a set up man and apprentice engineer. While at National he participated in one of the first 16 track sessions in N.Y.

For the next two years Peter was Stage Manager, Technical Director, or Lighting Designer for various Summer Stock and National Tour productions including STOP THE WORLD I WANT TO GET OFF; THE HOSTAGE; SOUND OF MUSIC; CAROUSEL; GYPSY and many others. During this period he designed the lights for the Off Broadway success NOAH.

Peter joined Staging Techniques in 1967 where he expanded his skills to include slide programming and live audio engineering while continuing as a Technical Director. 

His programming credits include such clients as IBM; PANASONIC; JOHN DEERE; 7UP; and COCA COLA. In addition, he was part of the team that developed multi screen projection for opera and legitimate theater with Ron Chase and Skip Palmer. Among the productions conceived in this technique were TOMMY; A VILLAGE ROMEO AND JULIET; SEAGULL; LULU; TURN OF THE SCREW; KOANGA; and BEATRIX CENCI.

As Technical Director he has supervised shows for BOEING 747-400; NYNEX; AMERICAN EXPRESS; BELL HELICOPTER; HONDA MOTORCYCLES; WEIGHT WATCHERS; MICROSOFT HOME LAUNCH; HBO MOVIES IN BRYANT PARK; AND THE EXPLORASORABUS.

Peter has performed house or monitor mix for Della Reese, Paul Anka, Cleo Laine, The Pointer Sisters, Tony Bennett, Petula Clark, Ella Fitzgerald, Sha Na Na, Stevie Wonder, Crystal Gale and The Four Tops. As engineer for industrial shows he has mixed orchestra and cast for clients such as COCA COLA; BEECHAM; BEATRICE; BOEING; GOODYEAR; GOODRICH; CONTROL DATA; IBM; TOYOTA; BELL SOUTH and HONDA among many others.  Peter is a graduate of the Syn Aud Con Sound System Design school and a member of the Audio Engineering Society.

Dick was born in Rockland, lived in Thomaston in his elementary years, and graduated from Waterville schools and the Univ. of Maine. He retired to Rockport in 1997 after an exciting 35-year career in Washington, DC.

While in the Washington area, Dick was involved for many years in his suburban church’s youth group ministries. This gave him a perspective on well-to-do kids, their aspirations, etc. He also headed up a Friendship Team of members from a collection of suburban churches that met with inner-city leaders (the team’s focus was an inner-city pastor and congregation). Monthly meetings in the inner-city and many activities associated with families and kids who lived in "the projects" and expressed little hope of personal or occupation success gave Dick insights into at-risk families and kids that will last a lifetime.

Dick’s career gave him a good understanding of organizational and personnel management. He retired as a civilian U.S. Government equivalent to a 2-star military general, so brings a high level of managerial experience and exposure to CTC.

Ken began working with Five Town Communities That Care in 2004 and serves on the Funding Workgroup.  Ken is a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Camden where he moved along with his sweet bride, Vera, in 2004 from Memphis, TN.  They are parents of 3 adult children and 2 granddaughters who are expected to eventually follow their parents wisdom to Maine.

Kim was born in Camden and graduated in 1980 from Camden Rockport High School. She has been part of Five Town Communities That Care since the summer of 2006. She is a Board member and the chair of the Program Evaluation Work Group. She is currently pursuing a BA degree through the University of Maine Augusta in the Mental Health and Human Services program. Kim and her husband, whom live in Lincolnville, have homeschooled their children for the duration of their elementary and secondary education.

Lisa has been involved with Five Town Communities That Care since 2004, serving in many roles.  Currently, Lisa is the chair of the Community Data Workgroup.  She lives in Camden with her husband and four children.

Eric Waters is the Chief Operating Office of Penobscot Bay Medical Center where he is responsible for the day to day operations of the hospital.  He is also helps coordinate the strategic planning activities of Pen Bay Health, the parent company of the medical center.

Prior to coming to Pen Bay in June 2006, Eric was the Vice President of Support Service at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.  During his eight years at Mount Sinai he led numerous clinical and support departments as well as a faculty club and hotel.

Eric started his career in the management services industry spending eleven years with ServiceMaster where he traveled extensively providing staffing and financial analysis along with a number of re-engineering efforts.  He also spent two years with Aramark where he led this company’s national entrance into new services within the K-12 education market.

He has a BS in Management from Binghamton University and an MBA in Finance from Rutgers University.

Eric has a thirty-year connection to the mid-coast area and being able to relocate here was a long-term goal.  His wife Clair and two children live in Spruce Head.

Mr. Lesmerises grew up in the Mid-Coast area and is a 1988 graduate of the Camden-Rockport High School. Upon graduation he entered the United States Air Force, where he served for eleven and a half years. His military service culminated in the prestigious assignment to the White House Communications Agency where he provided direct support to the President in Washington DC, Camp David and while traveling. During this time he also taught at several martial arts schools including a non-profit which specialized in keeping kids from joining gangs. After an Honorable Separation from the Air Force, he worked for several years as a Computer Security Engineer for various government agencies including several members of the Intelligence community. He is now the Chief Instructor of Mid-Coast Martial Arts which is dedicated to empower the lives of the Mid-Coast community through innovative martial arts training.

Pat Hopkins was born and raised in Western Maine and relocated to the Mid-Coast region in 1986.  She began working for the Five Town CSD and MSAD #28 in 1999 and was appointed Superintendent of Schools in 2001.  Pat served on the original community committee that worked with the University of Washington to bring the Communities That Care research project to the Five Town Community and remains committed to its mission.

Robert (Robbie) Laite, Jr. has been involved with Five Town Communities That Care since its inception.  He has served the five town community in many different capacities, including as a police officer, an EMT, and a pastor.  He lives in Rockport.

Chris relocated to the midcoast area from Nebraska in January. He graduated from the University of Nebraska in 2003 with a B.A. in Philosophy.Upon graduation, he served with the Urban Revitalization Project, an AmeriCorps*State program in Lincoln, Neb. where he ran a tutoring and mentoring program for at-risk youth. After his service in Lincoln, Chris joined AmeriCorps*NCCC and served in the Northeast Region of the USA. During NCCC, he got his first taste of the midcoast and CTC when his team was assigned to help out with collecting research data and coordinating volunteer work days in each of the five towns. While in NCCC, Chris also served on an organic farm, aided with hurricane relief and recovery, painted schools in inner-city Baltimore, fought wildland fires and served at Camp Sunshine in Casco. Chris currently works as the Assisstant Director at the Teen Center in Camden, and recently got married.

Ed is a local boy, graduating from Camden Rockport High School in 1993. He is employed as a social worker with the Department of Health and Human Services and lives with his family in Lincolnville.

Breanna lives in Camden with her parents and younger brother.  She enjoys spending time with her friends, attending Martial Arts classes in hopes of becoming a black belt and volunteering wherever she can.  She participated in the STAR program since its beginning and is overjoyed to be able to continue working with the program.