RUMFORD — George O’Keefe Jr. of Winthrop is in his second week as full-time economic developer and focused on making this mill town a welcoming place for small businesses.

“I’ve already seen so many people trying to run a small business, and trying to be successful on their own,” he said.

“Where the local economy is really going to rise or fall is the ability to provide meaningful economic opportunity to everybody who’s not working directly at the mill, or not working directly at Poland Spring (Water Co.).

“It’s so important for people to believe that they can make it up here. Because they can, but it also takes action by government to facilitate opportunity. When government does its job well, it often times either gets out of the way or provides the foundation for broad-based success by multiple parties.

“So we are doing our best to make sure that there’s really great infrastructure, that there’s good access to transportation, and to help facilitate access to financing or any other resources that small business is looking to use. Those three (things) are keys to economic development as far as this office is concerned.”

In December, O’Keefe expects to receive a master’s degree in public policy.

“It’s a good fit in economic development because it’s all about public service,” Town Manager Linda-Jean Briggs said.

O’Keefe replaces part-time economic developer Jim Rinaldo, who retired after serving several years.

The full-time position, requested by Briggs, was approved by voters in June. The article included an initial salary of $65,020, plus benefits, which brings the total to $95,000.

Briggs said O’Keefe’s salary is $48,000.

“He’s not taking benefits because he has benefits from the military,” she said. “But he has the standard additional benefits of vacation and sick time, according to the personnel policy.”

O’Keefe has 11 years of military service, providing intelligence support to engineer operations. He has served as a firefighter with the Winthrop Fire Department, completing Firefighter I and II training. He was also director of the nonprofit TrainRiders Northeast.

Married and the father of four young children, O’Keefe said he is thankful for the opportunity to serve Rumford.

“The timing in my life right now is great, but, more importantly, I would say I’m bringing as much to the table as I can to help the town deal with a lot going on all at once,” he said.

“I have served Maine and my own community for many years, and I’ve always felt that helping to make our communities better and stronger is one of the best ways to provide for my family and for the future. This is what I believe in. My mother and father both worked for the federal government. In my family, public service is just part of what we do.”

O’Keefe said he was familiar with Rumford before he applied because of the presence of the railroad. He also had a close friend in Winthrop who had done contract work with the Rumford paper mill and would ask his friend what was going on there.

“I had a general interest in economic development anyways,” he said.

“Honestly, how the economy is doing in Rumford affects a much wider area, even beyond Oxford County. And that affects my hometown, in terms of property values, in terms of employment and in terms of people finding a way to make a living.”

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George O’Keefe Jr. of Winthrop began his duties as Rumford’s full-time economic developer Oct. 9. (Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times)