Lewiston native Marc Gosselin, 44, has led Auburn’s Recreation and Sports Tourism Department since late 2018. Submitted photo

Marc Gosselin has been able to turn a lifelong love of sports into a career. Since joining the Auburn Recreation and Sports Tourism Department as executive director in late 2018, he has led the charge to expand the city’s recreational programming and worked to make Auburn a sports tourism destination.

But for Gosselin, who grew up in Lewiston, it’s more than a job; it’s personal. He sees it as serving a community he loves and building connections through new ways to “live, work and play in our part of the state.”

NAME: Marc Gosselin

AGE: 44

LIVES: Lewiston

You’ve been in the business of sports and recreational programming for most of your career. What drew you to this field, and how did you get started? My career in sports and recreation started back in 2004 when I worked with the Lewiston MAINEiacs. It revolved around sport business and recreation from working in the American Hockey League with the Portland Pirates, the Maine Red Claws in the NBA G-League and, most recently, the National Hockey League with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Of course, (I am) now working for the city of Auburn handling community partnership and sports tourism initiatives.

Most of my background has been in corporate and community relationships. Sports have always impacted my life in a positive way, and I have found different avenues to make a career out of it. Not only is it fun, but very rewarding to work on possible projects that could have a positive impact on your community for years to come. I believe your own passions for what you do and enjoy is pivotal to success, and I am extremely passionate and proud to continue to move in the direction that my career has taken me.

How has Auburn’s Recreation and Sports Tourism Department changed (or not) with COVID? What are some of the programs that you’re working on now? Our department’s mission and vision has not changed but it more has adapted. We still offer in-person programming, but it coexists with virtual programming. Even as in-person programs restarted, there are opportunities to continue virtual offerings to serve audiences that may be unwilling or unable to participate in person due to health, transportation, bad weather or any reason.

Public sanitation requirements increased by significant levels and customer interaction experiences became less in-person and more touchless. With that said, we made conscious efforts to keep our facilities open for recreation access.

During COVID we adapted and created new programs, such as our “Grab-N-Go” food program, which is still running currently. We were determined as a city to continue to provide access, even if it was limited, during COVID. Proud to say our city and staff stepped up to the challenge and was successful and experienced little disruption but continued growth during a pandemic.

What are your department’s goals for 2022? In early 2020, Auburn officials said they were aiming to host a major regional or state sports tournament or event at the Norway Savings Bank Arena by 2022. Is that still in the works? Has COVID shifted those plans? COVID has not shifted our priorities. We have several goals, but below are a couple to highlight.

Yes, we are still working on bringing major regional and possibly national events to Auburn. These events/projects are designed to be specific (and) unique and enhance Auburn’s attractiveness and competitiveness as a sport tourism destination. This in turn can build sociocultural leverage, support and positive resident sentiment about Auburn and its sport tourism projects.

We are continuing to elevate and strategize ways to improve our recreational infrastructure projects. The purpose is aimed at improving or enhancing our infrastructure for the purpose of accessibility, sustainability and revenue-generating areas, fields or complexes.

Has running a sports and recreation department during this pandemic changed how you approach the job? I believe our mission and vision has not changed one bit. We continue to adapt and find new ways to provide access to recreation. A prime example is our new futsal courts in Auburn. There is a lot of comfort in just performing the status quo, but in Auburn we strive to be different and innovative. We have a lot of confidence and belief in what we are doing and in what the community deserves. Our community believes in our department. We have great leadership that allows us to continue to be creative in programming and events, like New Year’s Eve in Auburn.

We don’t look at our current climate as a challenge but (rather as) a unique opportunity to establish what youth, adult and senior recreation programming should be moving forward. We will continue to find ways to be one of the greatest resources for our community.

What do you love most about being a part of the L-A community? What about it is key to its success or revitalization? Even though I have experienced things outside of Auburn and Lewiston, it is still home. It is full of my family and my favorite people in my life, who are honest, hardworking and friendly. Our community is enthusiastic and has a strong sense of pride. What I enjoy the most is how our community appreciates the little things in life and all that Auburn, Lewiston and Maine have to offer them as we all live, work and play here. We certainly have a unique culture, and I am proud to have grown up here.

The pandemic has impacted our communities in dramatic and unforeseen ways. The human and economic effects have been challenging. The key from my viewpoint to continuing to revitalize and prosper as a community is to continue efforts to reengage with our community members, support our local businesses and proactively search for new businesses and people to live, work and play in our part of the state. We all need to be advocates for positive change that includes all facets of our community, especially now post-pandemic. Most importantly, we need to continue to be resilient and should all seriously take a role in becoming “change makers” in preparing the future generations of our community.