BDC Welcomes New Board Appointments in 2024

“The Brunswick Development Corporation is pleased to announce the recent appointments of James Mason, Sande Updegraph, and Steve Weems to the BDC Board.  We are excited they will be bringing their vast knowledge and experience to the BDC to help us further our mission to assist and support economic development in Brunswick.” – Larissa Darcy, BDC President

Sande Updegraph – Sande has been active in Brunswick serving on the Planning Board for 6 years, the Bridge Design Advisory Committee, the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA), the Village Review Board, and the Davis Fund Committee.  She is the former director of both the Freeport Chamber of Commerce and the Freeport Economic Development Corp.  She served as a reading tutor through Midcoast Literacy for young children.   For 25 years she was in hotel management and owned a small business, and is a contributing columnist to The Forecaster, Coastal Journal Edition.  Sande has lived on Durham Road since 2001 with her husband, Charlie.  They have 3 sons and 1 granddaughter who live throughout the country.   She is a graduate of Wake Forest University and has owned her own wine business in El Paso, Texas.  She is an avid reader and loves creating and re-creating interesting gardens.  Traveling is a real passion.

Steve Weems – A “swamp Yankee” by birth, Steve Weems and family moved to Maine in 1975, and to Thompson Street, Brunswick in 1987. Steve has enjoyed a diversified professional career in business, finance, and government. He has founded, owned and/or managed 10 businesses (for-profit and nonprofit), engaged in organics recycling, commercial modular space, solar energy, project finance, economic development, and public art. He has been a business consultant, commercial banker, and held executive positions in state government and other nonprofits. 

Steve has been active in Brunswick public service since 1987, as a town councilor (1991-1995), a trustee of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, Vice Chair of the Town’s Sustainability Committee, and in other economic development and natural resource protection activities. His vision is a Brunswick that is an affordable, safe, fun place to live, while addressing the crisis of climate disruption and helping create a sustainable future for all living things. Steve and his spouse Susan have two adult sons. He loves trees, cats, algae, wild places, talking with people, and just being outdoors.

James Mason – Jim Mason and his wife, Sherry, moved to Brunswick in 2012 and fell in love with the town. Drawn by a love of the water, a connection to Bowdoin College, and Brunswick’s unique sense of community, they have worked to set down roots. Jim helped found the law firm of Handelman and Mason, a firm specializing in criminal defense, and is a downtown business and property owner.

Before becoming a lawyer, Jim worked for state governments in the South on issues relating to the environment and coastal communities. He has a undergraduate degree from Duke University, a Master’s in Environmental Studies from the College of Charleston and a JD from Wake Forest University.