It is the 30th day of the "Women's History Month" Project, and we are celebrating and highlighting this beautiful and strong woman

Meet Julene Gervais, 50, a Wife, Mother, Sister, Friend, Corporate Executive, Business Owner, Economic Developer, Television Host, Broadcast Journalist, Motivational Speaker, and Business Advocate 

 "If you fail, never give up - because F.A.I.L. means “First Attempt in Learning”End is not the end, in fact E.N.D. means “Effort Never Dies”;  If you get No as an answer, remember that N.O. means “Next Opportunity."     -Morgan Freeman

Julene grew up in Woburn, Massachusetts, a suburb 8 miles north of Boston.  Both of her parents have strong roots from the North End of Boston and prior to that Ireland and Italy.  Growing up with her grandparents and lots of extended family Julene learned a culture that embraced family, traditions and giving back to her community.

At an early age, Julene loved to write.  She wrote about lots of different things, short stories, current events and eventually got involved with her school newspapers.  Julene wrote a story that one of her teachers encouraged her to share in a public speaking competition.   She was unsure at first but did it anyway and ended up taking first place.  Julene credits this moment that set her on a career path that she still works on today. 

After high school Julene attended Boston College.  During her freshman year a fire destroyed her parent’s home, a home she had lived in her entire life, and as a result of the fire she lost her best friend, her grandmother.  Her grandmother lived with Julene and her family since she was a little girl.  Julene has vivid memories of her grandmother’s stories about living through historical moments in time.  Although Julene’s grandmother never attended college she had a successful career in banking.   She instilled in Julene how to manage finances.

Shortly after the fire, Julene’s mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer.  While the prognosis was not good, Julene’s mother pulled from her strong will, deep inside her fighting Irish spirit, and found a way to advocate for the best of care.  Julene’s mother beat it and today is a 30-year Cancer Survivor.  That event brought about change for Julene again.  She realized if you could overcome odds like that a person could do anything.

Julene attended graduate school and earned her Master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Emerson College.  Her first job was as a Producer at WECT-TV, the NBC affiliate in Wilmington, North Carolina.  It was fast-paced, and she was learning and gaining experience - it felt right.  But, Julene missed New England, the beautiful change of the seasons and skiing on fresh fallen snow.   Most importantly, she missed her family.

At the time Julene’s brother was doing some work in northern Maine and told her about a TV station he was enjoying watching.  Julene picked up the phone and called the station manager at WAGM-TV in Presque Isle to ask if they had any openings.  They did not, but that didn’t stop her.  When Julene visited home for the holidays she asked her father to drive with her to Northern Maine.  She had convinced the station manager to meet with her.   On that 12 hour round trip drive Julene’s father,who held several different positions throughout his career as a teacher, accountant, and business consultant, shared stories about his Italian grandparents arriving here in the U.S. without a job and a place to live.  What they did have was drive and a work ethic to make a good life for themselves.  WGAM-TV offered Julene the job and she moved to Aroostook County where she fell in love with Maine and felt a huge sense of belonging. 

Julene’s television career includes all three television markets in Maine.  She worked as a Reporter and Anchor at WAGM-TV in Presque Isle, News Center Maine in Bangor and WGME CBS 13 in Portland, Me.  While working in Bangor Julene met her husband, George Gervais, an accomplished restauranteur in Central Maine.  For several years they had a long distance relationship with Julene working in Portland and George running his businesses in Bangor.  Julene learned quickly about the operations, working on her days off from the TV station in the restaurants.   She decided to partner with her husband in business and together they owned three restaurants, employed more than 200 people, and donated and volunteered their restaurant services to multiple nonprofit organizations.  While in the restaurant business, one of Julene’s favorite parts was meeting all kinds of people and was recruited by a pharmaceutical company.  Her business experience in both broadcast media and the restaurant industry had prepared her for this executive level position.  Julene has held several positions over the last 15 years and currently works as a Senior Key Account Specialist for Johnson & Johnson, a healthcare industry leader, and a company that encourages employees to give back in their communities.   Julene, impressed by this platform, waited for the right opportunity to present itself and took her business and broadcast experience to become the host of the three-time Emmy nominated television program Greenlight Maine.  Greenlight Maine at GreenlightMaine.com is a non-profit organization that promotes and invests in entrepreneurism and innovation in Maine.  Since she began with Greenlight Maine she has helped launch a College Edition as a way to assist Student Entrepreneurs who are considering opening a business in Maine and a new Series called Elevating Voices, to feature and elevate diverse business owners who are both native to our great state and have moved here from all over the world to make Maine home.

While Julene’s professional journey has been rewarding, it hasn’t been easy.  There were times she was rejected, criticized, and considered giving up.  She stopped listening to those people and holds on tight to her supporters.  Her advice is, “Live like you are building a team and you are playing for a championship.”

When it’s all said and done the most important thing to Julene is her family.  Family comes first. Her world is her husband and children.   After Julene’s first son was born she was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer.  She sought care from her mother’s doctors and followed their guidance to recover.  However, they weren’t encouraging about having more children.   But 7 years later, Julene had another baby boy.  And 4 years after that she had a baby girl, which she named after her grandmother.  They are life’s greatest gifts.

Here are a few more of Julene's favorite quotes:

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

“And if today all you did was hold yourself together, be proud of yourself.” Author Unknown

Tough Times Don’t Last.  Tough People Do.” Author Unknown

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For more information about Greenlight Maine, you can see all the episodes at GreenlightMaine.com

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Thank you, Julene, for sharing your journey with us!

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