Transcription of Susan Grisanti for the show Inspiring Maine People #147
Dr. Lisa: This is Dr. Lisa Belisle, and you are listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, show #147, “Inspiring Maine People”, airing for the first time on Sunday, July 6th, 2014.
Maine is home to many inspiring people; artists, attorneys, philanthropists and countless others from diverse fields who are doing great things for our state. Today, we speak with Katy Kelleher and Susan Grisanti of Maine magazine, who describe the history of our “50 people” list, in the July issue, and how the individuals who make up this list came to be chosen.
We are also joined by Greg Powell, chairman of the Harold Alfond Foundation, and one of Maine magazine’s 50 people, who is making a difference by championing health education and youth development across the Pine Tree State, through programs such as the Alfond Challenge.
Join our conversations, and find inspiration for your life. Thank you for joining us. Today it is my great fortune to have in the studio, 2 individuals that I work really rather closely with, both of whom I have a great deal of respect for. We have Susan Grisanti, who is the editor-in-chief of Maine magazine, Maine Home+Design and Old Port magazine, and also Katy Kelleher, the managing editor of Maine magazine, to talk to us today about their “50 people” list, which is in the July edition of Maine magazine. Thanks so much for coming in and being part of the show.
Susan: Thank you for having us. Thanks, Lisa, for your nice words.
Dr. Lisa: Susan, you’ve been on the show before. You’re a bit of a veteran here. Katy, you have not, because you’ve been the managing editor since what, January?
Katy: Yeah. I’ve listened to a lot of the shows, but I haven’t had a chance to actually be on the show, so this is very exciting.
Dr. Lisa: You actually used to work as our online person for the show. You’ve been a big part of all this. I love the overlap between the show and the “50 people” list and Maine magazine in general. We’re able to look at things from slightly different angles. Let’s talk about “50 people”. Susan, why did you think that “50 people” … I guess it was 4 years in with Maine magazine, and you decided you wanted a list about Maine’s influential and inspiring people.
Susan: Yeah, you really just inspired a part of my answer with what you were saying before. I think we’re in the business of revealing and introducing people to information. I think that there are so many remarkable people here. Just like we always use a line about Maine Home+Design. There are these houses down these crooked dirt roads, and I really would liken the “50 people” to that as well.
There are people doing really remarkable things. We know this, and yet we’re still even surprised. I sat down to review the list and work on the piece, and it slayed me, even; the written word and the real facts of what they’ve done.
One thing I will say is, this is our second year doing it. Again, I’m going to say there’s just no shortage of people. It’s not like it’s the next 50 people. I feel like it’s really an unending pool that we’re going to continue to be introduced to, and be able to introduce those folks to our readers.
Dr. Lisa: This is a very different list from a “best of” list. It’s not a readers’ vote. It’s not a “we think you’re the best at what you do”. It’s just, here are 50 people doing really great things within the state. What types of people have you been talking to, Katy, and how did you decide who was going to be on this list?
Katy: The decision process took a while, actually. It’s something that we put a lot of thought into. What we did for that is, first of all, we know a lot of people who are doing this great work. We know that there are people beyond this. There are people down these crooked roads. There are people that we haven’t quite dug up yet or found yet.
We went to some of the people that we respect, and that we think are doing fantastic work out there. We sat down with them, and we had these really great conversations. It started with one idea, and that fed into another idea. It ended up being like a game of verbal ping-pong, where you keep going back and forth and each name you get, you get another 3 names.
From there, we had to whittle it down and craft the list and try to make sense of it in a way that it would flow well together; that it would have enough people who were lawyers, enough people who were in the medical fields, enough people who were doing something artistic, so it didn’t feel like it was heavy in one subject. It felt like it really represented the whole of what people are doing in our state.
Dr. Lisa: Susan, what inspired you and Kevin Thomas, the publisher of the magazines … what inspired you to have this list? What was the “A-ha, we have to do this” kind of moment?
Susan: I think that I would say we really want to know what makes Maine, Maine. I think when you look at us examining place, and examining … we have recreation, we have location stories, we have our profiles. There’s just not enough time to really cover all of these people, when you think of us having 12 issues a year; 12 profiles, maybe even if we do 2 profiles, that gives us 24. To be able to go to 50 in one issue, and touch on the holistic look of people who are making things happen here; it gives us a totally different perspective.
Dr. Lisa: You did draw upon people from various fields. You did have artists and politicians and attorneys … maybe not politicians. Maybe you had former politicians.
Susan: That’s right. We made the decision not to have politicians on the list, in office, because it just would fill the list, basically. We really feel like it’s politicians’ jobs, to be doing this. This is to recognize people going above and beyond, that have really made a difference in our state; that have … the generosity, the brain power, the things that are happening. We really tried to think about people doing this for different reasons than politics.
We did have the retired Olympia Snowe this year, which is an amazing story. I happened to have a really wonderful conversation at the festival with Ann Raphaeli, who is a former lobbyist in D.C. She really explained to me, from the Washington perspective. She said, “Susan, it is not one of these ‘the sky is falling’ panic attacks about partisanship. Partisanship is to a place now where it’s really difficult to get anything done.” Olympia has removed herself from that, and is coming around it from another angle, and really doing work to try and diffuse that partisanship, and really working at ways to mend the system from the way that she can. That was why she made the list this year, along with a lot of other working women in the state. I could go on and on about Olympia Snowe herself. She’s really a remarkable woman.
Katy: I think also, just to build on what Susan was saying, the list is 50 people. We could just as easily call it “1,000 projects”. Every single person you read about is working on all of these different amazing projects. They’re on different boards. They’re working with different charities. They’re working to build ski trails for high schools. All over the state, these things are happening.
As we discover their stories, as we go into each person, we also discover a million things we never knew about that are happening in the state. It gives not only a look at the people who are doing things, but what is going on? What is this huge over-arching picture of Maine as a vibrant place, that is building itself up, and that people are working in a dedicated way to create new and interesting ideas and innovations in every field, from medical to artistic?
Dr. Lisa: Give me some of your favorites.
Katy: It’s hard to pick a favorite. I’m sure it’s … I would hate to pick a favorite and have someone else … I’d forget someone. I had some really great conversations. A good example of that, what I was just talking about, sort of building on building, is when I was speaking with Jamie Wyeth, I expected to sit down and talk to him about art. I expected that to be about his art, and his artistic output, because that’s what we know Jamie Wyeth for.
The conversation ended up going in so many different directions. I ended up learning about his work with the islands, trying to keep the housing at a lower cost so that people … lobstermen … could continue to live on those islands, and Maine’s islands can continue to be working islands.
I learned about the Herring Gut Learning Center, which his wife, Phyllis, founded; which is a learning center for children, and how Monhegan Island was originally named Herring Gut Island. Apparently that wasn’t very pretty, so they changed it. He was amazing.
Andy Shepard was amazing. Bill Ryan was amazing. Doug Welch had an amazing line about the islands off Maine’s coast being like a Milky Way; a little tiny constellation of jewel-like islands. I thought that was just beautiful.
Dr. Lisa: It does end up being somewhat like a tapestry, all of the different people and their photos, and the quotes. You went beyond just talking to the individuals themselves. You asked other people about those individuals, so that they weren’t put in the place of, “I need to make myself sound good.” Susan, how did you decide that that was the process that you were going to use?
Susan: We knew … as Katy described, the way that we find even stories is, a lot of our 50 people remain in our family and become sources for us. Remarkable people tend to know more remarkable people, and we really become a community. I knew from the anecdotes that I was hearing from people, I wanted those words to give that perspective about the others that were named. That was part of the process.
Dr. Lisa: As we’ve worked on our radio show … and I know that both of you work on the radio show with me, so we’re all part of this team that does this, along with “Maine” magazine, “Maine Home Design”, “Old Port”; we’re all working together in this. What I’ve been interested by is that you can talk to a business person who knows a doctor, who knows an artist, who knows a lawyer, who knows a welder, and there doesn’t seem to be any sort of hierarchical thing going on. Everybody is very respectful of other people’s talents and their educational background. I think that’s unique to Maine, and to places like Maine.
Susan: I definitely agree. I grew up in Los Angeles, and I cannot say that that would be the case. It is absolutely true what you’ve said, Lisa. I had the absolute same impression, of this feeling like it wasn’t “these are the 50 people, and our readers are separate from that.” It really became about the connection of community; the sheer size of Maine alone, the number of people that we have here probably has something to do with that, but I think it goes well beyond that.
I think that there’s something … when Katy was talking about building ski trails for high schools, what the listener may not understand is, this is a man really just doing this on his own. This isn’t someone who works in this capacity. He’s donating his land. He’s wanting kids in his community to be able to ski without having to get on the bus, up in … is it Presque Isle or Fort Kent … that area.
These stories, from the very well known, like Stephen King, who also is incredibly generous and does amazing things in our state, Greg Powell, who I know you have on this show, literally has given out hundreds of millions of dollars in grants for people who … children and people who live in the state, down to, like I said, this citizen who takes it upon himself to really reach out to his community.
Katy: When I first moved to Maine 2 years ago, I remember someone saying to me that this is one of the most self-educated states that he’s ever been in. I have found that to be true, over and over. I think there’s such a deep intellectual curiosity across every quarter. It doesn’t matter what their job is, or what their official title is. I meet people constantly, who are trying to … I wouldn’t even say trying to improve themselves, who are just … have that natural sense of wanting to know more, and wanting to build more and wanting to nourish their mind.
I think that really does create a kind of respect that exists between professions and between people, which is really lovely to see.
Susan: I’ve also enjoyed seeing how enthusiastic everybody is about doing the “48 hours” pieces, and about being part of the Kennebunkport Festival, and all of the various non-profit festivities that “Maine” magazine and “Maine Home Design” support. The people that you’re finding for the “50 people” list, often times they start with a story that was told in the general store in Jackman.
Katy: You were having the same vision, when she was saying that, that I was. I was thinking about “48 hours”, and how in each of these towns, you go to the coffee shop or the gas station, and you see this group of locals discussing current events and what’s going on.
I’ve seen that time and again, where there’s a real discourse among the communities across the state. I had the exact same vision. It’s really funny that you say that.
Dr. Lisa: I think that that’s part of what makes it great to work in this organization, is that really what we’re trying to do is create a network that goes beyond the walls of the office. It’s really important to us. We really all love this state, and we love the people that are in the state. That is quite reflected in the “50 people” list.
I’m sure that we’ve whetted the appetites of people who are listening, and this is going to be in the July issue of “Maine” magazine. In fact, all of last year’s “50 people” are on line, or you can look at a back issue to find those people.
We’ve also been making every effort to bring the 50 people into the studio, and actually have conversations with them. I encourage people to spend some time looking at this list, and thinking about who, in their own communities, really represents a 50 people person, and maybe reach out to one of you.
Susan: Absolutely, yes.
Katy: Yeah, we love that.
Dr. Lisa: Any final thoughts?
Susan: A thought that I had was, these write-ups have to be, by necessity, quite short, just to barely whet the appetite. It’s so great that the radio show, and the stories that we follow up on, give a little bit more. I’m really thrilled that we are able to talk to people like Greg Powell, and give a little more information that we can in that short write-up, in the 50 people.
Dr. Lisa: I know that Katy has worked really hard, bringing this “50 people” list together. Part of what she’s needed to do is to pare down from these very …
Katy: It’s so frustrating.
Dr. Lisa: You do … Every time you’ve come off of a conversation, I love the energy. I love that you come like, “There’s this person, and I’ve talked to them, and I’ve talked to this other person.” I can’t help but believe people who are reading the pieces that you’ve written, will come away with that same idea and hopefully feel like they’re inspired to learn more about them anyway.
Katy: I hope so. I think one of the central sort of tenets to what we do here is that we put positivity out into the world. We speak about positive people. We create positive messages. We highlight the good things that are out there. I think the more we do that, the more, hopefully, it feeds itself and it becomes this feedback loop, and this sort of nourishing ecosystem where we just keep being … we keep showing what we like to see and what we like to read. What we like to read is stories about people who are making a difference; people who are changing the world. I hope that our readers feel the same way, and I think they do.
Dr. Lisa: I think they do, too, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that …
Katy: … So do your listeners.
Dr. Lisa: I’m hoping that is true. Yes, I believe that it’s true. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that my sister, Dr. Amy Belisle, made it on the “50 people” list, and it had nothing to do with me. I want anybody who’s listening; I love Amy. I have so much respect for what she does. I did not nominate her, and I was not the reason that she made it onto the list. The fact that she’s doing work with immunizations and children in the state of Maine, and having that be an important contribution; it was very touching to me and to my family, I know as well, to know that this was something that was recognized.
Susan: Absolutely. Amy’s accomplishments speak for themselves. She came to us from a whole different route, so that is a very cool connection.
Dr. Lisa: I am fortunate to work with the 2 of you on a regular basis. I know that you spend a lot of time working on the pieces that I write for “Maine” magazine, and also the pieces that all of our other writers contribute to “Maine” magazine. You do a great job. We’ve been speaking with Susan Grisanti, who is the editor-in-chief with “Maine” magazine, “Maine Home Design”, “Old Port”, also the principle of “Art Collector Maine”, Brand Company, Kennebunkport Festival … we could just keep going on with all the things.
Susan: I think you covered it, actually.
Dr. Lisa: Any other thing that probably hasn’t happened yet, but probably will at some point in the future. I’m also with my good friend and colleague, Katy Kelleher, managing editor with “Maine” magazine. Thanks so much for coming in today.
Katy: Thank you, Lisa.
Susan: Thank you for having us.