Crystal Priest, Technology Coordinator for MSAD #4 in Guilford, was elected ACTEM’s fifth president at the May 12 Augusta business meeting. Crystal succeeds Vince Vanier of Madawaska. She will serve a two-year term.
 Vince receives plaque from Crystal Vice President Trey Bachner (Falmouth), Secretary Tyler Dunphy (Westbrook), and Treasurer Andy Wallace (South Portland) round out the new slate of officers. Other new faces on the ACTEM Board are Alice Barr (Yarmouth) and Cheryl Oakes (Wells) who will serve as co-coordinators of the Educator of the Year Award program. Also serving on the Board are NEISTE President Dennis Crowe (Gorham), Professional Development Coordinator Dennis Kunces (DOE) and Electronic Educator editor Rachel Guthrie (SMTC)
Crystal’s career began as an Industrial Technology teacher in Madison in 1989. “Teenagers and table saws—no stress there,” says Crystal with her customary grin. “It was all kinds of fun though, and great training in serious project-based learning.”
She returned to her home town of Guilford as an IT teacher in 1994, and eventually built a house on land that has been in her family for several generations. In 1999 she co-wrote a grant to acquire 17 laptops. By the fall of 2000, after enlisting the support of local industry, every Piscataquis Middle School 8th grader had a laptop helping to kick start the concept statewide. Crystal was featured in a Maine Times cover story and received ACTEM’s Educator of the Year Award in 2001. When SAD 4 students and staff returned to school in 2002, the district was 1:1 laptops in grades 7-12.
Taking her “can do” attitude to the state level, Crystal has served on the MAINEducation Conference committee for several years and is an annual conference presenter. She was a SEED Developer, served on the original MLTI design team, and occasionally serves as an Apple Professional Developer-Maine. In the fall of 2007 she began hosting and managing the ACTEM NoteShare Server, which has grown rapidly in popularity.
“This is definitely an interesting time for ACTEM with many projects in the works and, thankfully, many talented members who are interested in pitching in to make things happen,” Crystal notes.
Vice President Trey Bachner has served as Director of Technology for the Falmouth Public Schools for the past seven years. Prior to that he served in the US Navy as Director of Maintenance Training at Brunswick Naval Air Station. Trey has volunteered countless hours to ACTEM working with the Augusta Civic Center to improve wireless capacity for the October conference. As an active member of the 2008 Conference Committee he is involved in every aspect of the conference.
Providing increased training opportunities for school technical staff is a priority for Trey. “We need to look out for our training/development needs along with educating teachers and students,” Trey commented.
 ACTEM Officers 2008-2010 Andy Wallace, Crystal Priest, Trey Bachner, Tyler Dunphy
Tyler Dunphy , Director of Technology for both the City of Westbrook and the Westbrook School Department the past eight years, joins the ACTEM Board as recording secretary. A former Battalion Signal Officer assigned to the 101St Airborne Division, Tyler played an active role on the ACTEM Technology Coordinator Certification Committee and the Technology Regionalization Committee last year. He wants ACTEM to “provide the best available organizational resource for technology in the state and to continue to take a leading role in technology integration throughout New England and the nation.”
Treasurer Andy Wallace brings to the ACTEM Board a background as a librarian, his original position with SAD 16 in Hallowell. “I got dragged into technology because I was the youngest librarian on staff,” he cheerfully recalls.
The South Portland Schools Technology Coordinator the past four years, Andy believes information literacy to be the key skill for the future, and views the equipment as a means to access, organize, and communicate information. Also active on the Tech Coordinator Certification Committee, Andy serves on both his local Public Library Board and Historical Society Board.
Rebooting quickly, within 48 hours of assuming office the new Board set aside a July Tuesday for a lengthy meeting.
| 
