Founding Voices — Maine Thrive Voices Podcast

Maine Thrive Voices Podcast — Penobscot Valley

The Founding Voices
of Maine Thrive Voices

Maine Thrive Voices is a podcast built for the Penobscot Valley — one conversation at a time. Produced in Bangor by Smith Digital Solutions, every guest on this list was here before it was a sure thing.

These are the Founding Voices. Local business owners, community leaders, and advocates who said yes early, showed up, and helped establish this podcast as part of the community fabric of the Penobscot Valley. Their names will stay on this page as long as this podcast runs.

We are grateful for every one of them.

Founding Voice seal — First Twelve Guests

Founding Voice — Est. 2026

Founding Voices Roster

Meet the Founding Voices

Twelve local business owners, community leaders, and advocates. Twelve conversations about what it takes to show up for the Penobscot Valley. All twelve Founding Voice episodes are live now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms. New Maine Thrive Voices episodes are in production.

Brad Libby

Performance Physical Therapy and Sports Rehab, Inc.

Bangor / Brewer

Brad built one of the Penobscot Valley’s most respected physical therapy practices from the ground up. His episode covers what it takes to build a reputation in a relationship-driven field, why he stayed in Maine, and how performance and community intersect in his work.

Episode 1 — Live Listen on Spotify

Website • Insight • Community Profile

Anik Derphilibossian

Dreamer Food

Bangor

Anik’s story is one of vision and persistence — building a food business rooted in flavor, culture, and community in downtown Bangor. Her episode is a conversation about what it means to dream big in a small city and why that is exactly the right place to do it.

Episode 2 — Live Listen on Spotify

Website • Insight • Community Profile

Amber Willey

207 Wellness

Veazie

Amber built 207 Wellness around a simple belief: that people deserve access to real, grounded wellness support close to home. Her episode covers the work of showing up for a community every day and what it means to run a business that is also a place of trust.

Episode 3 — Live Listen on Spotify

Website • Insight • Community Profile

Flori Davis

NextHome Experience

Hermon

Flori Davis is a real estate professional and the 2025 Bangor Marathon women’s course record holder. Her episode covers the overlap between the discipline of endurance sport and the discipline of building a real estate business — and what both teach you about showing up.

Episode 4 — Live Listen on Spotify

Website • Insight • Community Profile

Laura McIntyre

MESA-Maine

Maine

Laura McIntyre leads MESA — the Maine Endurance Sports Alliance — connecting athletes and communities across the state through endurance sport. Her episode covers what it takes to build a statewide athletic community from the ground up.

Episode 5 — Live Listen on Spotify

Website • Insight • Community Profile

Peter Richmond

Woof LLC

Glenburn

Peter Richmond runs Woof LLC, a dog daycare, boarding, and grooming operation in Glenburn built on genuine care for animals and the people who love them. His episode covers what it means to build a business where trust is the whole product.

Episode 6 — Live Listen on Spotify

Website • Insight • Community Profile

Tony LaPrino

North Star Property Solutions

Bangor

Tony LaPrino is a Property Preparation Specialist based in Bangor. His episode covers what it takes to prepare a property and a business for long-term success in the Penobscot Valley.

Episode 7 — Live Listen on Spotify

Website • Insight • Community Profile

Britney Ellis

The Animal Orphanage

Old Town

Britney Ellis is the Public Relations Specialist at The Animal Orphanage in Old Town, one of the region’s most trusted rescue organizations. Her episode covers the work of caring for animals and community at the same time.

Episode 8 — Live Listen on Spotify

Website • Insight • Community Profile

Chris Mendoza

The Appliance Doctor

Bangor Region

Chris Mendoza carries The Appliance Doctor into its next generation — a family business his grandfather Jack built over 36 years. His episode covers the hand-written letter that brought him from Long Island to Bangor, learning the trade at Jack’s side, and what honest, in-home appliance repair means today.

Episode 9 — Live Listen on Spotify

Website • Insight • Community Profile

Suzan Prendergast

Bangor Humane Society

Bangor

Suzan Prendergast has led the Bangor Humane Society for eighteen years — forty-two kennels serving thirty-five towns. Her episode covers her Red Cross disaster-relief roots, the honest truth about no-kill, and why she’d love a community that no longer needed a shelter at all.

Episode 10 — Live Listen on Spotify

Website • Insight • Community Profile

Adam Barker-Hoyt

MAC Heat Pumps

Bangor

Adam Barker-Hoyt founded MAC Heat Pumps in 2011 to help Mainers cut energy costs and carbon emissions with mini-split heat pumps. His episode covers the math that took him from university teaching to refrigeration, surviving the boom years that nearly broke him, and why he stands against the throwaway culture.

Episode 11 — Live Listen on Spotify

Website • Insight • Community Profile

Episode 12 artwork — Dr. Meaghan Staples

Dr. Meaghan Staples, DPT

Refine Physical Therapy

Hermon

Dr. Meaghan Staples founded Refine Physical Therapy after a path that took her from gymnast and college pole vaulter to orthopedic and pelvic floor physical therapist. Her episode covers opening with exactly one client, the remarkable sign that pointed her toward women’s pelvic health, and why it is never too late to get stronger and move without restriction.

Episode 12 — Live Listen on Spotify

Website • Insight • Community Profile

Search Maine Thrive Voices on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

The Founding Chapter

The Founding Chapter Is Now Complete

Maine Thrive Voices launched with a commitment: the first twelve guests who appeared on this podcast would be Founding Voices — recognized permanently on this page.

All twelve spots are filled. The founding chapter is closed.

Maine Thrive Voices will continue to grow — welcoming new guests from across the region. Future episodes will operate on a standard guest arrangement. But this page, and the names on it, will not change.

The Founding Voices helped make this podcast real. That is not something we take lightly.

The Founding Voices of Maine Thrive Voices

Meet the Founding Voices

The Founding Chapter Is Now Complete

The Founding Voices
of Maine Thrive Voices