I am writing this letter in support of Matt Mattingly, who is running for a seat on Gorham’s Town Council. I urge you to vote for him. His integrity, hard work ethic and willingness to volunteer his services, are assets we need representing our town.

I met Matt three years ago when he and his family first moved to Gorham and took over operating the PineCrest Bed & Breakfast Inn, which back then was a struggling enterprise. Since that time, they have added much to the community as a family and as a business, developing the inn into a fine dining establishment here in Gorham – a place to bring your guests for gourmet food, wine tasting, stimulating conversation and warm hospitality.

Matt was instrumental in helping start up a Gorham High School Key Club, not only by offering his facility for their meetings, but also by becoming involved himself. The Key Club is now an integral part of Gorham High School and its members mentor and volunteer at many community events, including The Gorham Marketplace.

Seeing a need for an outdoor community event last summer, he looked at what Gorham’s restaurant scene had to offer, and organized the Gorham Taste Walk, which turned into a fun and successful stroll around town sampling nine of the area’s restaurants, voting for the Golden Spoon award winner and culminating with an outdoor music fest on his lawn.

As a speaker for The Gorham Business & Civic Exchange’s annual meeting last year, Matt gave a talk entitled “How to Use Economic Indicators to Grow your Business.” This timely topic drew a large crowd and everyone there was very impressed with Matt’s articulate, yet casual, speaking style (he didn’t even use notes) and wealth of valuable, well-researched, information he shared.

We see Matt and his wife Amy involved in the community in many ways, serving on committees, volunteering at their children’s schools and attending their daughter’s sports games. We are fortunate to have Matt and his family here in Gorham and I can’t think of a better person to sit on our Town Council. Please join me in voting for Matt Mattingly.

Dana Redmond

Gorham