ROCKLAND — The Sail, Power, and Steam Museum, of Rockland, announced that its board has expanded in recent months – first with the addition of a new member of the board, and secondly with the creation of an Emeritus Board position.

Chip Holmes, of Camden, joined the board this month.

“We are so happy to have Chip join us. Museum Founder and Board Chair,” said Capt. Jim Sharp, in a news release. “He brings with him a divers set of skills developed through his career and personal interests as well as his extensive history of non-profit involvement. We’re all confident that he’ll be a great addition to the organization!”

Additionally, Tom Goettel of Bar Harbor (formerly of South Thomaston), has joined in the recently created Emeritus Board position.

“This new position is meant as a position of honor for someone who has served the organization with distinction,” said Board Vice Chair, Dick Crossman. “Tom served on our board before moving to Bar Harbor, but he was also a dedicated volunteer, working on boat restoration projects like Blackjack and Persistence. Both vessels are integral to the story that we tell of Maine’s maritime history.”

The museum recently completed a new strategic plan, restating their organizational vision and mission. Sharp noted that Maine’s maritime heritage helped to shape our nation.

“It is our vision that it will continue to influence and inspire our future,” said Sharp. “Our mission statement simply tells the world what we have and continue to do, which is to celebrate, honor, experience, and share the story of Maine’s maritime heritage.”

The museum’s programs include sailing instruction and a free youth sailing program (“SKFF” – Sail Kids For Free), as well as Sunday music jams, boat restoration projects, and traditional museum and educational programs. The doors will open for the season on Wednesday, May 3.

More information can be found on the museum’s website, www.sailpowerandsteammuseum.org.

Brief Bios:

A native of Belfast, Maine, Clyde B. “Chip” Holmes III and his wife, Mena, now reside in Camden. After a post college stint in the army, he returned to Belfast and his family’s business, Eastern Maine Towage Co. Upon the company’s sale, he worked in marine construction in Florida, then returned to UMass for a BA in economics. His diverse career continued in the Boston real estate market and then to manufacturing as he began Prime Vinyl in Woburn, a window manufacturer and building products distribution company. From there he worked for Michel Assoc, a Boston based national affordable housing equity provider. In 2017, he moved back to Maine and established Marshall Wharf, LLC, in Belfast while continuing a consulting relationship with Michel Associates. Active in local nonprofits and a member of numerous Yacht Clubs over the years, Chip and Mena are avid boaters with a keen interest in the restoration and maintenance of classic boats.

Tom Goettel, of Bar Harbor is originally from Rochester, New York. After graduating from Cornell University with a degree in wildlife biology, he started his career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He worked at several national wildlife refuges in the northeast and in 1984, he became the first refuge manager of what is now the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge, where he initiated many of the seabird management and habitat protection and management programs that form the core of the Refuge’s mission today. After serving as refuge manager at Eastern Neck NWR in Maryland, he transferred to the Regional Office in Hadley, Massachusetts and became the first Regional Chief of the Office of Refuge Law Enforcement. He then retired from that position in 2008 when his wife, Beth, became the refuge manager of the Maine Coastal Islands NWR. Tom was a volunteer at the Sail Power and Steam Museum for 10 years, working on both Persistence and Blackjack. He was also treasurer of the Friends of Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge for nine years. Tom lives in Bar Harbor, Maine.