WATERVILLE — If you walk through the doors of Waterville Main Street or give its office a phone call, June L’Heureux will likely be the first person to greet you.
In her role as office manager, L’Heureux runs daily operations and manages logistics at the downtown association.
As a lifelong Waterville resident, L’Heureux’s knowledge of and passion for her community pushes her to go “over and above” her duties, said Waterville Main Street Executive Director Jen Olsen.
“Working with June has been a joy,” Olsen said. “She just has a wonderful sense of community and community pride.”
L’Heureux is the 2014 recipient of the Customer Service Stardom Award from the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce.
Born and raised in Waterville, L’Heureux attended Thomas College and worked as a clerk in Waterville District Court for more than a decade starting in 1972. She’s married to Daniel L’Heureux, town manager in China. After having her third child she decided to stay at home, dedicating herself to raising the children and volunteering in the community.
When she decided to re-enter the workforce in the mid-1990s, L’Heureux learned how to design websites. With her new skills, L’Heureux landed a job as assistant librarian at the James Bean School in Sidney. She quickly moved up to a position as development director and technology coordinator at Mount Merici Academy in Waterville, which she held for six years.
After leaving that position, L’Heureux still wanted to work, but didn’t want to go full time. She applied with a staffing center and landed a job with Waterville Main Street.
“June was invaluable to the day-to-day operations of Waterville Main Street. Her genuine interest in people and community is just one of the things that make her excellent at her job,” said former director Shannon Haines, who hired her.
That was more than a decade ago, and L’Heureux is still at it.
“I never expected to be here this long,” she said. One of her favorite things about working at Waterville Main Street is how connected she has become with what’s going on within the community, L’Heureux said. “It’s really nice to go downtown and just know everybody,” she said.
She is also the engineer behind Waterville Main Street events such as Harvest Fest, the holiday parade, downtown awards and her favorite, the annual Maine Open Juried Art Show. She was responsible for organizing the event when the downtown group took it over, and she loves the detailed organizing that’s involved and meeting all the artists.
“I just love that event,” L’Heureux said.
But it isn’t just answering calls and organizing festivals that makes L’Heureux stand out — she also goes out of her way to improve downtown, said Olsen, the Main Street director.
Just one example is L’Heureux’s social media outreach to downtown businesses, Olsen said. In some cases in which business owners might be unfamiliar with social media sites like Facebook, L’Heureux has taken the initiative to set up an online presence for their business and to help them learn to manage and use their accounts.
“It’s something small, but it’s meaningful for those small businesses,” Olsen said. “That’s how June shines.”
Peter McGuire — 861-9239
pmcguire@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @PeteL_McGuire
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