Sutherland joins MMA Executive Committee
CHAPMAN — Patricia Sutherland, who recently was elected to a fourth term on the town of Chapman’s Select Board, has been named to the Executive Committee of the Maine Municipal Association.
Patricia Sutherland, a native of Chapman, officially joined MMA’s 12-member Executive Committee in May. She is uniquely positioned to help guide MMA, given her municipal experience, career as a college administrator and public school teacher, and having served for four years in the Maine Legislature, including two years as House chair of the legislative Education Committee. Sutherland also served as a school committee member in SAD 1 from 1976-83.
Sutherland noted that her hometown (population 475) works closely with the neighboring towns of Castle Hill and Mapleton, sharing a municipal manager, town office space, road maintenance, fire protection and other duties.
“I am fortunate that I have firsthand experience in working together,” said Sutherland. “The municipalities of Chapman, Castle Hill and Mapleton have received state, regional and national attention focused on our inter-local agreement and how these three small towns have addressed similar needs, while each still retains its hometown pride and its unique characteristics. It does work!”
In addition to the aforementioned roles, Sutherland serves on the Executive Board of the Northern Maine Development Commission, the board of the United Way of Aroostook, is on the University of Maine Foundation and the Aroostook-Washington Workforce Investment Board.
“I’ve always been an advocate for effective and balanced economic development policies and strategies for rural Maine and, in particular, at home in Aroostook County,” she said. “My experience in the state Legislature reinforced for me that the economies of Maine’s rural, rim counties are similar and in critical need.”
