Leadership Spotlight: Dan Daigneault
Dan Daigneault is a native Mainer, French Canadian by descent, who grew up in Lewiston. He earned a degree in finance and accounting from the University of Maine. After a short period in Rhode Island early in his career, he moved back to Maine and eventually set down roots in mid coast Maine. Dan is focused and driven, dedicated to his family, his career, and the community. Like many Mainers, while he spends a bit more time in Florida since retiring, he maintains a steadfast sense of responsibility to the communities he lives in and remains fiercely loyal to this foggy, rocky, cold, and beautiful place called Maine.
Dan retired in 2015 from a 40-year career in banking. He worked for Camden National Bank for 15 years, moving his way up through various leadership positions. In 1994, he was hired as CEO of what was then known as First National Bank of Damariscotta — now simply First National Bank. At 42 years old, he was one of the youngest CEOs in the state, and he led that company for more than 20 years.
Throughout his career, community service was a consistent theme for Dan. He credits his passion for civic engagement to his time in student government at the University of Maine, where he was Student Government Treasurer and a student member of the University of Maine Board of Trustees Finance Committee. Early in his professional career, board service with nonprofits and community organizations was expected of leaders at his bank. When he rose to the top, it was something he expected of his own leadership team. “Community service is a big part of who I am and what I like to do,” Dan shared in a recent conversation. Dan, who leads by example, added that he has served on boards almost continuously since the late 1970’s.
Dan and his wife, Carol, have long been generous supporters of LifeFlight of Maine, although they didn’t know much about the organization — especially that it was an independent nonprofit instead of a government entity — until a winter evening in 2001 when Carol’s car hit black ice and tipped over on its side.
One of their sons was a student at Gould Academy in Bethel, and Carol was driving home to Boothbay after dropping him off at school. Dan remembers that she was running late, and he hadn’t heard from her.
The phone rang, and it was the sheriff’s department. Dan recalls the officer explaining that there had been a car accident in Edgecomb. Local EMS had responded and quickly determined Carol’s injuries required more advanced care, so they transported her to Wiscasset Airport, where they met the LifeFlight aircraft. Carol was in a helicopter on her way to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, the officer told Dan.
Thankfully, Carol got the care she needed and recovered from her injuries. “Since then,” Dan said, “we’ve always had LifeFlight at the top of our list. LifeFlight exists to save lives. Every dollar given to LifeFlight, one way or another, will save lives.”
A few months after Dan retired, The LifeFlight Foundation approached him about joining its Board of Trustees. Dan agreed and was voted onto the board in 2016. He spent the first year or two getting to know both the Foundation and LifeFlight of Maine — its leadership, its culture, its operations, its mission, and its needs. In the years that followed, he became a staunch advocate for increasing the fundraising capacity of the Foundation to support the growing needs of LifeFlight of Maine and the increasing demand for its services. He was elected as Chair of the Foundation Board in 2018 and served as a representative on LifeFlight of Maine’s Steering Committee, helping to identify those needs and to develop strategies at the Foundation to meet them.
A symbiotic relationship exists between LifeFlight of Maine, which operates advanced care teams to transport critically ill and injured patients across the state, and The LifeFlight Foundation, which is a separate nonprofit committed to raising funds and awareness to make LifeFlight of Maine’s mission possible. As a board member, Dan has been instrumental in helping both organizations rise to meet new challenges in recent years.
“Dan Daigneault is one of a kind,” said Kate O’Halloran, Executive Director of The LifeFlight Foundation. “He is generous, thoughtful, committed, and decisive. His financial acumen and strategic thinking have been extremely valuable, but it’s Dan’s keen understanding of and unwavering commitment to the LifeFlight mission that always helps guide what we do. He brings a leadership presence to the board and to the organization that always pushes us forward and challenges us to do more, and to be thoughtful and rigorous in all of our endeavors.”
This summer, after nine years of service, Dan concluded his tenure on the Foundation board. As a life-long Mainer, Dan is well aware of the issues faced by people across the state, particularly when it comes to healthcare. “Access to healthcare is continuing to be more challenging,” Dan said. “I think we all see the healthcare system in Maine continuing to erode. LifeFlight is that link among all the hospitals in the state. I think ten years from now LifeFlight will have an even more crucial role, and I seriously believe it’s in a solid position to grow and meet that need.”
LifeFlight crew members with our plane, “Lima Mike.”
