In the public eye: Raymond’s new Parks Foreman a trusted neighbor

Longtime Raymond resident Eric Richmond is the town's new
Parks Foreman and will split his time between working for the
Raymond Public Works Department in the winter and Raymond's
Parks and Recreation Department in the summer.
PHOTO BY JOE CROCKER

Editor’s note: This is another in an ongoing series of Windham and Raymond town employee profiles .

By Briana Bizier

This coming winter, Raymond’s roads will be in the hands of a longtime local resident. Eric Richmond, who has lived in the town of Raymond for 25 years, is the town’s new Parks Foreman. 

“It’s a split position between Public Works and Parks and Recreation,” explained Joe Crocker, Raymond’s Recreation Director. “Eric works for Parks and Recreation during the summer and then transitions fully to Public Works in the winter for plowing and whatever else they may need.”

This is a new position for both the Town of Raymond and for Richmond himself. 

“I’ll be basically taking care of the athletic fields, the soccer fields, the baseball field, Sheri Gagnon Memorial Park, Tassel Top park, and anything and everything in between,” Richmond said. “And I’ll be plowing the roads of Raymond during the winter months.”

As a longtime Maine resident, Richmond is familiar with the importance of plowing and the demands our long winters make on our rural roads. 

“I’ve had a plowing business for the last seven years,” he explained. “I’ve plowed residential driveways, and we were subcontracted to plow some of the roads in Gray.” Richmond, however, laughed when I asked if he was a plowing expert. “I just know how to run a plow,” he said.

Even before opening his plowing business, Richmond was familiar with heavy machinery. His previous career was operating a log forwarder in the forestry industry. 

"It basically carries wood out of the woods,” Richmond said. “I’d make eight to 15 trips a day back and forth, carrying wood to the landing.” It’s a job that took him all over southern Maine, from Jay, Eliot, and Kittery to as far away as Newcastle.

However, the 2020 explosion in the Androscoggin Mill in Jay caused Richmond’s employer to rethink his entire operation. 

“We produced a lot of 8-foot pine pulp, and that was primarily our profit for the year,” Richmond said. “When you can’t make your profit for the year due to that explosion, well, my boss decided to pursue a different track.”

This different track ultimately led Richmond back to his own backyard and to the places where he had raised his three children. 

“This is a great place to raise your family,” Richmond said. “Our kids were all raised on Raymond Rec sports from the time they could dribble a soccer ball or throw a softball.”

One of his children is now a teacher in Oxford, one is a CNA for Maine Medical, and his youngest is currently attending Gray-New Gloucester High School.

“We were hugely invested in the community with our kids,” Richmond said. “My wife was in charge of the soccer program and I coached baseball and softball, so I’m very familiar with the soccer fields we use and Sheri Gagnon Memorial Park. I’ve coached or been involved with the recreations part of Raymond for probably 20 years.”

Richmond admits that his long history with Raymond’s recreation programs did give him an edge during the hiring process. 

“It’s the only job interview I ever went to and I knew all the answers,” he said. 

He also has long-standing relationships with many of his current coworkers. 

“It’s a pretty tight knit community,” Richmond said. “So if your kids go to school and they’re around the same age, you know a lot of the people. And for a couple of them, I even plow their driveways.”

With his long history in the town of Raymond and his ability to navigate logging equipment, you might be forgiven for thinking Richmond must be a native Mainer. 

“No, I’m originally from South Jersey,” Richmond said. “I went to UMaine in Orono and studied wildlife management and criminal justice. That career path didn’t come to fruition,” he said. “I met my wife in Orono, and she’s a registered nurse at Maine Medical. We settled in Raymond and raised our family.”

It was the beginning of a strong connection to a small town that has anchored Richmond for most of his adult life. Now, as a year-round caretaker for Raymond’s athletic fields, parks, beaches, and roads, it’s a connection that will help maintain the town’s facilities for all residents, including the next generation of young Raymond Recreation athletes. <