Hello, Class of ’89!
Sports
Track and field record holder, Michael Viani (education) was inducted into the UMaine Sports Hall of Fame. Michael earned 11 UMaine track and field records at the time of his graduation and remains part of the school record 4 x 200-meter indoor relay team. Four of his times remain on the University of Maine’s top-10 list.
Business
Dirk Lesko (business administration) resigned as president of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW), which builds warships for the US Navy. Dirk became president of BIW, one of Maine’s largest employers, in 2016. He has moved north to oversee Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding, a Canadian-based shipyard.
Christopher H. Paradis (business administration) joined the Procurement Technical Assistance Center team at Eastern Maine Development Corp. Chris will work with businesses across Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford counties to help promote and sell their goods and services to local, state, and federal governments.
Education
Susan Madson Smith ‘99G, ’09 CAS (education), served as an educator in RSU 63 (Holden, Clifton, and Eddington) for 10 years, including the last six as superintendent. She also served as the district’s director of instruction and curriculum.
Jack Shaw sent an update from Florida:
“I enrolled in graduate school 25 years after leaving the University of Maine, earning a master’s degree in counseling and a doctorate in education. For the past eight years I have worked at Westcare Gulfcoast Florida. In the fall of 2021, I was named director of residential services, overseeing a 200-bed treatment center for those with a co-occurring substance abuse and mental health diagnosis.”
Please send your news to me or use the Alumni Association’s online form. We’d love to hear from you!