Made in Maine, about Maine.

A show that sounds like here

Every community has voices worth hearing — the physical therapist who gets runners back on the road, the food maker chasing a dream, the nonprofit director holding a mission together. National media will never tell those stories. So we do.

The show began in the Penobscot Valley. Today it travels the whole state — the Kennebec Valley, Casco Bay, the Midcoast, Downeast, the Western Mountains, and up through the County — because every corner of Maine has people worth hearing from. Twelve Founding Voices built the first chapter, our Founding Ambassador carried it forward, and today every new guest joins the Community Voices.

Sandy Smith

Sandy Smith is the founder and host of Maine Thrive Voices, where he sits down with business owners from every corner of Maine to hear the real stories behind what they’ve built. A lifelong Mainer with deep roots in the Kennebec Valley, Sandy holds an MPA from the University of Maine and has spent decades working across town government, real estate, and business ownership before founding Smith Digital Solutions — Maine’s Visibility Consultant.

That range of experience shows up in how Sandy interviews: less like a host running through questions, more like someone who’s sat on the other side of the table himself — running a business, managing a town, building something from nothing. It’s why guests tend to open up.

Sandy also publishes the Penobscot Valley Voice and Kennebec Valley Voice newsletters and leads the Maine Thrive Community Network, connecting local businesses across Maine. Somewhere in there, Scout — his black Labrador and unofficial Director of Public Relations — makes sure he takes a walk between recordings.