A Testimonial From Drew Sigfridson

Drew Sigfridson is the Designated Broker for CB Richard Ellis/The Boulos Company in Portland ME. He has worked as a broker in the commercial real estate industry since graduating from Bowdoin College in 1998. He can be reached at 207-772-1333 or dsigfridson@boulos.com.

I moved to Brunswick, Maine in 1994 to go to college. I am originally from Brooklyn, CT, a rural community in the northeast corner of the state. When I moved here at 18 years old, I didn't know anyone and I had only been to Maine twice before. Both visits were for college tours. I knew very little about the state. In fact, when I packed up my car and drove to college, I missed the Brunswick exit on I-95 and didn't realize it until Waterville! During my first few years of being in Maine, there was an attraction to the people, the communities, and the geography of place that left little doubt I had found my home and was committed to living and working in Maine.

After several years of living and working at The Boulos Company in Portland ME, it was interesting to see that many of college classmates had left the State after graduation, but continually lamented that fact and sought ways to return. Why leave in the first place? In my opinion, there is a real and perceived lack of traditional job opportunities. Many college students seek security and a decent income in their first job with a large company and these jobs are more readily available in larger urban settings. In Maine, you may need to be a bit more creative in your job search and rely on a network of contacts to tap into the smaller, more entrepreneurial opportunities which do exist, but may be more challenging to find. I was always surprised that out of my class of 540 people, less than 10 of us remained in the state! More have come back over the years, but our community loses a tremendous opportunity each year to tap into and retain the thousands of young people attending our great colleges and universities.

For these reasons, I joined Governor Baldacci's Task Force in 2004 to develop ways of attracting and retaining Maine's young people. This evolved into a Youth Summit in 2004 which attracted 300 young leaders from around the state, eventually leading to the Realize!Maine organization now run by the Maine Development Foundation. My interest and primary goal out of this event was to provide networking outlets for people in their 20s and 30s to get together and discuss their social interests, work opportunities, personal values, and a place to meet other like-minded individuals who want Maine to be the best in can be.

These monthly networking events became a huge success and began sprouting up around the state. PROPEL developed over time through the Chamber of Commerce with similar goals in mind, coupled with the support of the local business community. The two groups joined forces in 2007 and PROPEL has succeeded in taking the original concept to the next level. Providing a venue in Greater Portland for young people to become connected to each other and to businesses will build a better sense of community, promote Portland as a good place for young people to build their careers and social network, and continue to be a vehicle for making Portland ME the best it can be.