Hello, this message is for all of our AdCare partners, collaborators, supporters, and AdCare event participants. I wanted to share with you all that after nearly nine years as the Associate Executive Director for AdCare Educational Institute of Maine, Inc., and six years as the Director of the New England Prevention Technology Transfer Center, I will be leaving the organizationfor a new role in June. My last day with AdCare Maine will be June 14th. Beginning June 17th, I will assume my new role as the SAMHSA Regional Director for Region 1 (New England).
It has been a tremendous experience working here at AdCare Maine with such an amazing staff. AdCare Maine may be a “behind the scenes” organization, but each and every member of our team are stars, bringing a high level of excellence to planning and implementing top-notch, high-quality trainings, conferences, and technical assistance services. The skill, innovation, and commitment was probably best demonstrated when the team seamlessly adapted our largely in-person training delivery model to a virtual model without missing a beat or sacrificing an ounce of quality when the world shut down in 2020. It really was impressive to witness and I still think about it often.
As I get ready to transition from AdCare Maine to SAMHSA, there are so many people I need to thank:
Thank you to AdCare Executive Director, James Gorske and my predecessor, the late Neill Miner, and the AdCare Educational Institute, Inc. Board of Directors for hiring me. Thank you for taking a chance on a prevention guy who didn’t have a ton of experience in other parts of the behavioral health spectrum and who wasn’t exactly a budgeting guru.
Thank you to all of the current and past state and federal contract officers on all of the programs we host and run at AdCare Maine. Your partnerships and support have been invaluable and instrumental in facilitating the growing success of the programs we coordinate.
Thank you to the many, many, many amazing and talented content experts who’ve led our, literally, thousands of AdCare trainings, conferences, and events over the last nine years.
A very big thank you to all of the participants and attendees of all of our AdCare trainings and conferences across our public health, behavioral health, and prevention training and technical assistance programs. We always have wonderful, engaged groups of participants and your feedback has been integral in the continued development of how AdCare delivers its programming.
Last, and absolutely not least, I need to thank the AdCare Maine team. I owe this team so much. As the team knows, I’m not a big fan of the “Boss” title, although I have come to accept it as a term of endearment. But technically it is part of the job, and this team has absolutely helped me grow as a professional, as a supervisor, and as a leader, to where I could even be considered for my new position at SAMHSA. Of course, this team is very easy to lead. I’ve always seen my Associate Executive Director role as more of a facilitator. Each and every member of the AdCare Maine staff excels in their roles. The quality of AdCare Maine’s programs and technical assistance services is 100% driven by our amazing team. I’ve just done what I need to do to make sure nothing gets in their way, and then get the benefit of sitting back and watching them do AMAZING things. As a “boss”, seeing the members of your team grow and succeed is just the best. I am so proud of each and every one of them.
This isn’t goodbye, it’s “see you later”. As the next SAMHSA Regional Director for New England, I look forward to the opportunities ahead to partner with the AdCare Maine team and the opportunities to support and partner with the top-notch behavioral health field we have here in Maine.
Thank you for everything you do for Mainers everywhere!
Thank you all again for your support of me and AdCare over the years!
Sincerely,
Scott M. Gagnon, MPP, PS-C