Classification Talk – Dean Cashman
Early History: Dean was born in 1978, the first native baby boy born in Eastman. Deans’ parents were concerned that there were very few children at Eastman. They decided to move to Etna so Dean could be part of the Hanover School District and be closer to more kids, but his family always maintained ties to Eastman.
Sports: Dean has always focused on two sports, hockey and golf. He talked about the importance of the coaches in his life, in particular Jack Turco and Dick Dodds. Dean decided a great way for him to give back would be to become a coach. He coached for Hanover High School for a number of years, but this year he is coaching his son's 14 U team
Education: He went to school in Hanover, graduating in 1996. He spent another year at a prep school. He earned a B.S. in Business Management from Providence College and received his MBA from Plymouth State University. In addition, he is a graduate of The New England School of Financial Studies and the Advanced School of Commercial Lending by the Massachusetts Bankers Association.
Career: He started his working career with a equipment finance company. While there he got to know bakers who worked at Lake Sunapee Bank. He was recruited by the bank. He accepted a job with the bank in 2005. He enjoys the relationships you can build through banking. He was with Lake Sunapee for 15 years. When Lake Sunapee merged with Bar Harbor, he decided to take a job as a commercial lender at Mascoma Bank. He has been very happy being a part of Mascoma Bank. His title at the bank is Vice President, Commercial Loan Officer.
Family: Dean is married to Meredith and has a 14-year-old son, Benjamin. His birthday was today, December 1st. Again, Dean is coaching his hockey team. Dean didn’t mention this, but his father, Len, has been a golfer at our our golf tournament every year.
Rotary: Dean shared that he was recruited to Rotary by Lebanon-Riverside charter member, Bill Sahlman. He met with Bill at Bill’s office only once, and Bill told him that if he wanted to meet with him again, he could find him at his Rotary meeting every Tuesday morning at 7:30 AM. Dean started to come to Rotary and decided to join. He then shared some observations about Rotary:
- He reflected on the message shared by our current District Governor, Caroline Earl. (See bulletin from November 17, 2022). He challenged us to think about ways we might make the role of president easier. Some of the “administrative work” can feel overwhelming. Can the role be focused more on engagement of members vs. doing administrative work (bylaws)? Lives of our members are filled with many passions and commitments…how can we make Rotary leadership doable and fun.
- He worries about past president burnout and reflects on the number of club presidents who left the club shortly after they completed their presidential year.
- He talked about the importance of service to our community.
Q & A
Dean was asked about his golf handicap – Currently 3
He was asked about the 5-million-dollar renovations being done at Campion Rink – Renovations will make locker rooms space larger and provide for more defined space girl vs boy teams; the lobby will be improved; ice improvements planned too. Dean went on to acknowledge all Steve Whitman did to get he rink built originally. Steve was named “Man of the Year” in Hanover for this work. Fund raising for the rink is ongoing.