Maj. Gen. John Bill Libby, Ret., President
John (Bill) Libby is a retired Major General in the United States Army having served 44 years on both active duty and in the Maine Army National Guard. Bill was born and raised in Lewiston, Maine, graduated from Lewiston High School and the University of Maine with both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree. He was commissioned from the Army ROTC program at Maine. Upon commissioning, he attended the Artillery Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill, OK and after a year long assignment at Fort Hood, TX, deployed to Vietnam as a member of the 1st Cavalry Division. Subsequent assignments on active duty included the Artillery Officers Advance Course, ROTC Instructor at the University of Massachusetts and service in Germany. He resigned from active duty and joined the Maine Army National Guard and held a variety of assignments to include Commander of Task Force Dirigo in Guatemala. Bill was appointed by Governor John Baldacci as the Adjutant General and served in that capacity for 9 years until his retirement. He served on SMAA’s Vet to Vet Shared Leadership Team before signing on as an incorporator and director of Vet to Vet Maine’s board.
Adam Cote, Vice President
Adam Cote is a lawyer with Drummond Woodsum and serves on the Portland law firm’s Energy and Utilities Practice group and as a member of Drummond Woodsum Strategic Consulting. His legal practice focuses primarily on renewable energy providers, start-ups, and regulated utilities.
Adam is a combat veteran, who served as a member of the Maine Army National Guard for twenty years and deployed to Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. In Iraq, he created the “Adopt an Iraqi Village Program” which distributed toys, school supplies, and household items to Iraqi villages. In Afghanistan, Adam served as a company commander in Maine’s 133rd Engineer Battalion. He is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Action Badge, along with numerous other awards and distinctions.
In 2018 Adam ran as a candidate for Governor in Maine, placing a close second out of seven candidates in the Democratic primary.
Adam was a cofounder and CEO of Thermal Energy Storage of Maine, a company that worked closely with utilities and renewable energy providers to promote thermal energy storage in New England. Adam also worked as an energy attorney at Pierce Atwood in Portland, where his practice included advising countries such as Albania, Bosnia, and Croatia on behalf of USAID on ways to restructure their energy sectors and encourage outside investment. In 2014 Adam was named a White House “Champion of Change” by the Obama Administration as one of twelve veterans nationally recognized for “advancing clean energy and climate security.”
Adam was born and raised in Sanford and lives there with his wife and five young children. He has served on numerous local and statewide boards and is active in coaching youth sports.
Marshall Archer, Director and Treasurer
Marshall Archer is in residency with Capella’s Doctorate of Social Work Program with a focus on Administrative Practice and serves as the Ward 1 Councilor for the City of Saco, Maine, Seminar Instructor at Capella University, and as a Job Developer for Work Opportunities Unlimited.
Marshall has served as a veteran’s Universal Services Advocate for Veterans Inc. and as a Veterans and Compliance Officer for the City of Portland, Maine, where he assisted homeless and at-risk veterans in maintaining long-term stable housing. He has helped many veterans obtain VA health care, compensation, pension, education, and various other benefits that are available. He has served as the Regional Director of Student Veterans of America, served on the Veterans of Foreign Wars Current Conflict committee, advising the National Commander on various Iraq and Afghanistan issues, and served as a member of the VFWs Department of Maine Council of Administration. In addition, Marshall assisted in the creation of a Veteran Student Organization and a Veterans Resource Center at the University of Southern Maine. In 2009, Marshall’s efforts led to the establishment of L.D 1488, a law that provided Maine’s Veterans complimentary access to Maine’s State Parks. From 2001 to 2005, Marshall served in the U.S Marines. He deployed to Iraq twice and provided security support in the Anbar Province. He holds a BA in Social Work from the University of Southern Maine and a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of New England. In May 2013, Marshall was selected by the American Council of Political Leaders to participate as a delegate to China. He served on SMAA’s Vet to Vet Shared Leadership Team before joining Vet to Vet Maine as a director and treasurer of the board.
Marianne Russell, Director and Secretary
Marianne Russell is an Administrative Assistant for Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home in Portland, Maine, as well as Lindquist Funeral Home in Yarmouth, Maine. Marianne worked for 31 years at a local glass company starting out as a sales representative and working her way to become the Administrative Assistant to the president. After leaving the glass industry, Marianne joined Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home in an administrative role, where she developed their community service outreach program and maintains the company’s social media website.
Robert “Sam” Kelley, Director
Robert “Sam” Kelley grew up in Portland, Maine, attended Cheverus High School, and graduated from St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In late 1967 he joined the U.S. Army, trained at Fort Dix, and attended Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia. After attending Airborne School in Georgia, Sam joined the 82nd Airborne and served in Vietnam, where he was an infantry platoon officer. When the 82nd went home, he joined the 199th Leader Development Brigade as a reconnaissance platoon commander for the rest of his tour.
After serving in Vietnam, he joined Ford Motor Co. and later American Motors. In 1980 he started his own business selling and renting semi-trailers, which he continues to operate.
Sam has lived in Scarborough since 1977, has three children and three grandchildren. His wife is a retired teacher. He has been involved in numerous nonprofit activities, including the Jaycees, Chamber of Commerce, Little League, and Project GRACE, among others.
A Vet to Vet volunteer since 2017, Sam visits a World War II veteran who is 92. He says his involvement in Vet to Vet Maine and the opportunity to aid a fellow veteran is “literally one of the best things I have ever done for my fellow man in life.”
Robert Small, Director
A lifelong resident of Maine, Bob Small graduated from the (then) University of Maine–Portland in 1967. In August 1967, he enlisted in the U. S. Army and entered Officer Candidate Combat Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. After serving a brief tour in Germany, he deployed to Vietnam in 1969. Bob served with the 525th MI Group with responsibilities in the Northern Region of South Vietnam designated as I (“eye”) Corps. Following military service, Bob worked for the Irving Trust Company in Manhattan and soon returned to Maine, where he spent 30 years with Hannaford Bros. Co. While at Hannaford, Bob was active in the Salvation Army, Jaycees, and United Way. He continues to work as a consultant and representative for Coosemans LLC, a produce distributor in Jessup, MD. Bob and his wife, Sherron, have been married for 54 years, have two children, and six grandchildren. As a Vet to Vet Maine peer companion, he is paired with a Navy veteran and has guided him and his wife through red tape to obtain their stimulus checks and other benefits.
Shirley A. Weaver, Director
Shirley A. Weaver, PhD, has a long history of involvement in health professions education, both in military and civilian capacities. As a ten-year Vietnam era USAF officer, she directed hospital laboratory services in Wyoming, California, and Labrador. Since coming to Maine, Shirl has founded the Maine AHEC System and the Maine Geriatric Education Center at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her academic career as the Associate Director of the Harvard Geriatric Education Center at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Through those organizations she has focused on workforce training and education issues at national and state levels to improve health care for rural and underserved communities. In her retirement she remains active on state and local boards, including Vet to Vet Maine, focused on improving the health and quality of life of older adults. She has served as a Vet to Vet volunteer since 2016 and was a member of SMAA’s Vet to Vet Shared Leadership Team before joining Vet to Vet Maine as an incorporator and director.
Founder
Susan Dudley Gold developed the Vet to Vet program as a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) volunteer at Southern Maine Agency on Aging (SMAA) in 2014. She served as SMAA’s coordinator of Vet to Vet for four years, leaving in June 2018 to volunteer her services as executive director of Vet to Vet Maine and assist in the program’s transition from SMAA to its own independent nonprofit. She receives inspiration from her father’s best friend, who lost his legs when he stepped on a mine during World War II and went on to help other veterans, and from the many wonderful Vet to Vet veterans whose own stories inspire and motivate. A graphic designer, publisher, and author of more than 60 books for high school and middle school students, Susan won the Jefferson Award in 2001 for founding and facilitating a chronic pain support group. She continues to volunteer with the University of New England in its pain initiative and as a speaker at conferences and medical education seminars.
She retired as executive director of Vet to Vet Maine in June 2023 but remains involved in the organization as a volunteer.
Directors Emeriti
Daniel Bancalari is a practiced technical and business analyst working for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Federal Employee Program in South Portland, Maine. Previously, across various roles at WEX (Wright Express—also in South Portland) he managed both the business and technical needs of the General Services Administration for many years. Certified as a Professional Scrum Master, he has found the most fulfillment over the course of his career when designing and implementing solutions that not only drive value and efficiency within the organization, but also help people manage that change. Daniel began volunteering with Vet to Vet in 2016 out of a sense of duty to aid those who have served our country, hoping his technical and analytical background could be of assistance to the program. His expertise and assistance with technical issues, as well as his production of the organization’s monthly newsletter, went far in supporting Vet to Vet Maine’s ability to grow and move forward as its own independent nonprofit. He served on SMAA’s Vet to Vet Shared Leadership Team before joining others as an incorporator of Vet to Vet Maine and serving as a director on the Board of the organization. He was named Director Emeritus in 2019.
Carol Rancourt served at Southern Maine Agency on Aging (SMAA) for more than 30 years, retiring in June 2018. As manager of SMAA’s Volunteer Services, she oversaw more than 600 volunteers a year and ran the RSVP program, a federal initiative that recruits older volunteers. While at SMAA, she developed the Senior Medicare Patrol Program and State Health Insurance Program, which serves some 4,000 seniors annually, and the Advance Healthcare program, among other projects. Carol originated the idea behind the Vet to Vet program and guided its development at SMAA. She also instituted Vet to Vet’s Shared Leadership Team, which served as an informal board to the program while it operated at SMAA. She held a BSW, MSED, and did graduate work at the Ethel Percy Andrus School of Gerontology at USC, Penn State, and Syracuse University. She served three years on the Scarborough School Board, including two years as chair, and nine years on the Town Council, also serving as chair. She served as vice chair of the Scarborough Seniors Program Advisory Board. Carol was on Vet to Vet Maine’s first Board of Directors, serving as secretary, and was named Director Emerita in 2019.
Richard Sproul served in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1973. A resident of Yarmouth, Maine, he was one of the first veterans to volunteer in the Vet to Vet program. As a Vet to Vet volunteer, he visited a World War II veteran for almost five years, a routine he says brought him as much satisfaction and enjoyment as it did the veteran he befriended. He and his veteran friend speak eloquently about their relationship in a moving video portraying Vet to Vet Maine and the difference the program has made in the lives of veterans. Dick also served on Southern Maine Agency on Aging’s Vet to Vet Shared Leadership Team, was an incorporator and served on Vet to Vet Maine’s first Board of Directors. He has been a Realtor for many years. Originally from South Easton, Massachusetts, Dick attended Kents Hill School and holds a degree in psychology from the University of Southern Maine. His support, his financial contributions, and his volunteer work on behalf of Vet to Vet Maine have been instrumental in the success of the organization. He was named Director Emeritus in 2019.
Lynn White graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Engineering. Prior to attending Rensselaer, he served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1970 with duty tours in Vietnam and Germany. During his 37-year professional career, he served as Vice President/GM, President, and Director/General Manager of several large industrial manufacturing businesses and was directly responsible for major operations in North America, Europe, and Asia. He retired in Saco, Maine in early 2015 and joined Southern Maine Agency on Aging (SMAA)’s Vet to Vet program that year, becoming a volunteer peer companion. He served in that capacity for several years, befriending three Veterans. Lynn also served on SMAA’s Vet to Vet Shared Leadership Team and helped guide the program into becoming its own 501(c)(c3) nonprofit, Vet to Vet Maine, in 2018, serving as an incorporator, director, fiscal officer, and first president of the board. Lynn retired from the board in June 2023.