The First Graduating Class of the Alfond Grant

The First Graduating Class of the Alfond Grant governor-sam Fri, 10/16/2026 - 11:26 October 16, 2026 Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening. We all hear about the Alfond Foundation—the Alfond generosity—but Harold Alfond was an uncommon man. He was a product of the Great Depression, and in 1939, he was a 25 year old when he was on his way to the Skowhegan Fair, and he picked up a hitchhiker who told him about an abandoned shoe factory for sale in Norridgewock. Harold sold his car for $1,000, and he bought the factory and turned it into a thriving business. Within four years, he sold Norrwock Shoe Company for $1.1 million, and later, he and his wife, Bibby, used their newfound wealth to establish the first private charity in Maine. Then he bought Dexter Shoe Company and turned that into a highly successful business. Well, Harold Alfond knew the value of a dollar bill. He also knew the value of education. From high school athlete to the odd shoe boy in a Kennebunk factory, to a factory superintendent, to the founder of an internationally branded shoe line with Log Cabin-style outlets, Harold Alfond's creative marketing and business practices defined the term

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