Today, for the Women's History Month project, we are celebrating this fabulous woman
Meet Elaine Bayley, mother, bonus mother, wife, daughter, friend and finance director, who at 55 continues to embrace her journey with determination and spirit.
Elaine was born on July 4, 1966, at Notre Dame hospital in Biddeford, Maine. The section of the hospital she was born in was for unwed mothers, therefore was up for adoption. Her mother was unable to birth children, therefore her parents adopted her at seven days old. She was a very lucky baby. Her parents were amazing!
She grew up in Scarborough, Maine. She is the youngest of 2 daughters. Her childhood was a great one. She had loving and supportive parents she was very close to. Her father traveled for work and was gone from Monday morning to Friday afternoon. However, in the summer they would get a seasonal camp site near where her father’s job site was so they could be together all summer. The memories she has from their summers camping are some of her fondest memories. However, with her and sister getting older and wanting to be near friends, the decision was made to stop summer camping and stay at home. With a pool at home and Scarborough Beach nearby, she spent many days with friends just hanging in the sun by a body of water.
She did very well in school and was part of several organizations and teams. With a dream of going to college to become a math teacher, she worked hard and stayed focuses to make this come true. She was accepted to her first-choice school, the University of New Hampshire. Towards the end of her senior year in HS, she fell in love with a guy from high school. Wanting to realize the full college life experience, their relationship did not last, and they both moved on.
During her first semester at UNH, she struggled with the required computer programming class, which prompted her to change her major to Social Work and Criminal Justice. Which is the degree she graduated with in 1988. Shortly before graduation she got her first job as a counselor for NH Job Training Council. At NHJTC, she worked to help economically disadvantaged people participate in training/education for long-term employment. Although this job was rewarding most of the time, there were frustrating times as well. During her three years at NHJTC, she met her first husband through a colleague. Although she had anticipated moving back to Maine, with an engagement after three months from meeting and married eight months after the engagement, staying in NH was the only possibility.
With a dream of starting a family as soon as possible, they were blessed with being pregnant shortly after the wedding. Unfortunately, during this exciting time, she and her family received the most devastating news. Her 50-year-old mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was given four months to live. With only four months remaining in her pregnancy, the emotional roller coaster was very real. She struggled with knowing that her mother was going to die around the birth of her daughter. At 25 years old, and being so close to her mother, the swing between jubilation and sadness was a regular occurrence. Her mother was a strong willed, amazing woman. She set goals for her remaining months. Not only was she present for the birth of C.J., but she also participated in the first six months of her life. Also, with a newborn and wanting to spend as much time with her mother as possible, she made the decision to not go back to work after her maternity leave. Ultimately, seeing what her mother went through the last weeks of her life was excruciating, but the years she had with her, molded her into the strong, determined woman she has become.
In 1992, after moving from Manchester, NH to Auburn, NH, she, and her husband decided to purchase property to run a used automobile dealership. He would run the day-to-day activities and she would handle the finances. This opportunity allowed her to be a stay-at-home mom, as well as get back to math type activities she enjoyed so much. Then in 1993, on his due date, they were blessed with a son. Brady was born on St. Patricks’ Day, which gives them immense Irish pride.
She was always appreciative to be able to work-from-home and stay-at-home with her kids as they grew. However, as they reached school age, she wanted more challenges. She started volunteering for the school and PTA. One of the Superintendent hiring committees she was part of, piqued her interest in being part of school policy decision making, so she decided to run for school board. Running against a long-term incumbent was a long shot, but it paid off and she won. This started her four-term, twelve-year stint on the school board, eleven years of which she was the Chairman of the Board.
During the twelve years, there were many disappointments as well as successes on the board. Besides being part of choosing some wonderful superintendents for the district and SAU, there were two other initiatives she spearheaded, and she is very proud of. The first one brought public kindergarten to the town. This was not successful for many years, but after numerous tries, the district finally succeeded in a new construction project for 2 classrooms for public kindergarten. The opportunity for the children to start their formal education as part of the existing school was imperative to providing a solid foundation for the eligible children. The second large initiative was signing a 20-year agreement with the City of Manchester for the town’s high school kids to have a long-term place to attend high school. This eliminated most of the high school kids from being split between different schools. Ultimately, the things she was doing for the district and SAU got noticed by others and she was nominated and became one of the 2002 Manchester Union Leader’s, 40 Under 40.
As her children became more and more independent, and college bound, it was increasingly more obvious to her that she was not happy in her marriage. Although she loved her husband dearly, she had fallen out of love with him. She made the hardest decision she has ever had to make, which was to walk away after almost 20 years. With one child in college and the other in late high school, she was virtually on her own for the first time in over 20 years. She sold her share of the automobile business to her former husband, moved out of the house they built and started a new career in finance/controlling.
After answering a Craigslist ad for a part-time bookkeeper with full benefits, she got a new job. This career move has given her the opportunity to flourish in a corporate environment for 12 years now. The original position went full-time quickly, and expanded the responsibilities, which prompted a change in title to Financial Controller. Then after three years, that company was acquired by a publicly traded Swedish company, HMS Industrial Networks. Ultimately, since 2010 her professional world has exploded. She has had the opportunity to expand her knowledge base, travel worldwide and she is now the Finance Director for North and South America.
HMS is a growth company, where acquisitions are always a potential. Knowing that, she needed to be proactive with her career. She realized she did not have a formal background in business, accounting, or finance, which concerned her, as her ability to develop with the company may have been hindered without it. So, she took charge, enrolled in a master’s degree program, and after three and a half years, she received her Master’s in Finance with a 4.0 GPA. She is very proud of the accomplishment but knowing how proud her kids and family are of her, means the world to her.
Personally, she has had some successes as well. By happenstance she connected with the former high school love. It was obvious the love was still there, and they needed to see where it could/would go. They ended up living together in NH for a couple years, but eventually needed/wanted to get back to Maine. In 2014, they were able to move back to the place they both loved so dearly, as well as be closer to family. They were engaged in 2015 and finally, surrounded by their close family and friends, especially their blended four children they married in 2021. Although their path was not a smooth one, the love from nearly 40 years ago, has survived and grown.
She finds it important to note, her father remarried another amazing woman almost 25 years ago. They have become so close, and she truly feels she is her second mother. She, along with her father, have seen her through some tough times, as well as some joyous times. At over 55 years old, these people still help guide her through life with unconditional love and support.
And finally, her kids, her heart. No words can give justice to how much she loves them. At almost 31 and 29, they along with her two bonus kids of almost 17 and 14 are amazing human beings. She beams with pride when thinking or speaking of them. She has always told them there are only two things she wants for them…she wants them to be happy and to be good people. So, when her daughter reiterated those words for her and husband in a toast at their wedding, her heart knew they truly realized the importance of true happiness and that their mother deserved it as well.
Here is another one of Elaine's favorite quotes:
“Well-behaved women seldom make history”.
- Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
*****
Thank you, Elaine, for sharing your amazing journey with us all!
#whm #womenshistorymonth #womansupportingwomen #womanoftheday #mainephotographer
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