The first career people think about in the field of aviation is pilot, but young people can explore many other possibilities, too, at Maine ACE Camp, to be offered Aug. 5-8 at Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport. Children ages 12 to 16 can apply now.
“Maine ACE Camp specializes in showing our youth that you can do anything you want for a career and find a role for you in the aviation industry,” said Director Tim LeSiege.
Maine ACE (Aviation Career Education) Camp was started by the Federal Aviation Administration. It works with local companies and agencies to bring in aviation professionals who can act as mentors to campers. Participants get hands-on experience using flight simulators, take field trips to airports, and learn about such subjects as drones and life-flight helicopters.
“Many who attend Maine ACE Camp go on to become accomplished pilots and leaders in the aviation community, getting their first real taste of the world of aviation through their summer Maine ACE Camp experiences,” LeSiege said.
He shared some of their stories:
Parker Montano attended ACE Camp as a young man at the ACE day camp in Portland (now based in Brunswick) for a few years, then attended North Camp. He came back to work as a counselor after graduating high school. Now he’s owner/operator of Pine Tree Helicopters at the Sanford airport. He helped bring the camp to Sanford in 2023.
Adam Cutler is a professional engineer who works for Hoyle, Tanner & Associates doing aviation engineering. His role as an engineer is to provide project management, design and construction oversight of projects including runway reconstruction design, airport pavement rehabilitation, hangar construction, easement acquisition, and tree clearing projects.
Other former students include David Fernald and Alexander Keely (also a former counselor), both of whom are now pilots with Southwest Airlines, and Connor Vail, who is currently working as a line service technician. McKenzie Lagerson, who took his first ride in a general aviation aircraft with Maine ACE Camp Midcoast, is now a flight instructor working at Maine Instrument Flight out of Augusta.
Former camper Alex Mitchell (2018-2019) joined the Maine Army National Guard in 2021, where he now serves as an Army aviator flying helicopters. He is preparing to transition to the C-12 Huron (King Air). “ACE Camp played a pivotal role in developing both my passion for aviation and the foundation of the career I have today,” he says. “I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities it provided and the lasting impact it has had on my journey.”
James Lorian attended North Camp in 2016 and 2019 and was commissioned in March 2025 as a 2nd lieutenant in the US Air Force, pursuing a career in military aviation. Jeremy Harmon, a former camper in both the former Portland Camp and North Camp, as well as a counselor, and is now flying with the US Forest Service.
Lt. Col. Chris Rodway with the Maine Air National Guard was one of Maine ACE Camp’s first campers back in 1998, shortly after the camp started. Chris attended camp for many years, became a counselor and then served as Maine ACE Camps director for several years. Chris has taken his ACE Camp experience and parlayed it into a career of not only flying the KC-135, but becoming one of Maine Air National Guard trainers. He is also a commercial pilot for American Airlines.
Other campers have become air traffic controllers, flight planners, flight instructors, aircraft mechanics, business owners, airport managers, and engineers.
LeSiege said the camp’s staff are all aviation professionals. Pete Marucci owns and operates Mast Cove Seaplane Base, a scenic flight company on Long Lake in Naples. He is also a certified A&P mechanic. LeSiege is a professional engineer currently doing project management for aviation projects for Jacobs Engineering after a 35-year career at MaineDOT.
Maine ACE Camp offers three camps each year, North, Midcoast and Seacoast. North Camp is a weeklong overnight camp limited to high school-age youth and is currently based at the Bangor International Airport. Midcoast and Seacoast camps are day camps (Wednesday through Saturday) for youth from 12 to 16 years old and are based at the Brunswick Executive Airport and the Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport, respectively.
More information is available at www.maineacecamp.org or on Facebook.
The post Maine ACE Camp: The Sky is Not the Limit appeared first on Sanford Springvale News.
