Blueprints for Success
Bar Harbor Recognizes CEO Angela Chamberlain for 25 Years of Service
BAR HARBOR—She’s been an interim planning director.
She’s been an office manager, an executive secretary, an administrative assistant. She’s been an electrical inspector, a plumbing inspector, a building inspector.
In a lot of ways, Angela Chamberlain has been it all, which might be why she has an encyclopedic knowledge of the town’s land use ordinance, a set of rules about how Bar Harbor’s land can and can’t be used, which is often decried for its cumbersome and lengthy nature.
Just Tuesday night while discussing the composition of the Planning Board, Vice Chair Ruth Eveland spoke to the difficulty new members have learning the quirks and twists and turns of the land use ordinance. Those Planning Board members depend on staff members’ institutional knowledge.
And later on Tuesday, Chamberlain was honored by the Town Council, which presented a resolution to a surprised Chamberlain during its meeting. The resolution commended her and her 25 years of service to the town, which began in June 1999.
“Twenty-five years is a long time and the Town of Bar Harbor is extremely lucky to have someone like Angie to represent and support it,” Deputy Code Enforcement Officer Mike Gurtler said.
The resolution spoke to Chamberlain’s steadfast service, “good humor while being questioned and second-guessed,” and how she also has the “steely resolve of a seasoned adjudicator, the interpersonal skills of a diplomat, and the wisdom of a philosopher.”
“It’s especially great to read this resolution to you,” Councilor Earl Brechlin said to Chamberlain during the presentation.
Brechlin said that Chamberlain has been an exemplary employee in each role she’s had in the town. The praise wasn’t just from Brechlin and the Council. It also came from her co-workers.
“Code Enforcement is a difficult job and it takes someone that is patient, consistent, fair and professional. Angie exudes those qualities. She is also experienced, knowledgeable, and strives to serve the Town at the highest level. She is a ROCK STAR!” Gurtler said.
Only a rock star could be the sole player in the planning department multiple times, Gurtler said.
“Angie is a team player; always willing to support others and listen. She is a role model to others, especially women. It would be wrong to not comment on how difficult it is for a woman to be successful in a field that is mostly male dominated. It is a testament to Angie’s professionalism, fairness, consistency, and knowledge that is well respected in the community and among contractors,” Gurtler said. “I consider Angie a friend, a mentor, and an especially good co-worker that I can always count on”
Planning Director Michele Gagnon also commended Chamberlain.
“I think that Angie is simply amazing. She is an exemplary employee. Her depth of knowledge, memory, judgement, common sense, organization, work ethics, fairness, and consistency sets her apart. Angie commands respect, she is a grounding force and pillar. I feel extremely fortunate to have her as a co-worker and I am proud to be able to call her a friend,” Gagnon said.
There’s something deeper about what a code enforcement officer does. Yes, they uphold the rules. Yes, they know all about the rules. But what CEOs like Chamberlain do is make sure that the people of a town are safe. It’s not the same way a police officer or firefighter does it, but code enforcement officers are all about making sure that people follow rules for homes and zoning that are meant to keep people safe and healthy and help protect the environment.
“Many in our profession never hear children say, ‘When I grow up, I want to be a code enforcement officer!’ Most of the population is unaware that this important profession exists. Code enforcement is a vital tool for communities that makes sure neighborhoods are properly maintained and residents have a safe place to live.” – Peter Roque, code enforcement expert and author.
Maybe they should.
Planning Board Chair MIllard Dority said, “I've known and worked with Angie in several different capacities during her time as CEO, and for a while as CEO and interim town planner for the TOBH. My work at College of the Atlantic, and now the Jesup Library requires frequent visits to her bright, and always a little too warm office, for advice on a subject, clarification of a building code, or for a sound scolding when I screw up. She is also invaluable to my role as chair of the Planning Board, the history of BH land use and the knowledge of the ordinances that woman stores in her brain is amazing. She doesn't get the credit she deserves for her dedication both to her position and the Town; her greatest assets are her intelligence and her sense of fairness, invaluable in her position as CEO.”
This article was generously sponsored by The Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund.
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