For Kjirsten Flores, offering information about the area’s attractions is an enjoyable part of her job as marketing coordinator for Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce. “I get to tell everyone about the magic of being here,” she recently told the Register.

Some of that magic may well come from her own memories, after her parents, FNP Anne and Dr. Alan Barker, moved the family here in 1999. Flores graduated from Boothbay Region High School in 2003.

In June 2021, she and husband Ivan and their daughters Arianne, now 10, and Lucia, now 7,  moved back to Boothbay from Orem, Utah. Both girls go to Boothbay Region Elementary School. “I had always wanted to come home and family issues made it possible,” she explained. Having family here gave the Flores family a “soft place to land,” as she described it.

She graduated from Brigham Young University in 2009 with a double major in art education and graphic design and can apply her talents to help Chamber members with their design projects. She is also responsible for the newsletter distributed to 8,700 subscribers in New England, Canada, Hawaii, England and elsewhere.

Kjirsten enjoys being part of the Chamber’s team. “I'm fortunate to work in such a collaborative environment and it's really a joy.” The Flores family lives close to Kjirsten’s brother, Soren Barker, a history teacher at BRHS. Ivan Flores is the culinary supervisor at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. 

Kjirsten said the Chamber is seeing an interesting shift in the demographic of area visitors. Lately, travel to our area has been more “family-driven,” she explained and she believes we are uniquely suited to families due to the many possibilities, from antiquing to shopping to the outdoors. “You can choose your own adventure,” she tells those inquiring about attractions.

Boothbay Lights and the shoulder season are other times for visitors and Flores said businesses are glad to see activity in December. Asked about the wet weather earlier this summer, she said she tells visitors rainy and drizzly days are the reality of living on the coast. “There’s no bad weather, only bad clothing choices,” she said referring to a Scandinavian saying.

Flores credits the team at the Chamber and the board she said includes experts in finance, business, nonprofits and hospitality and has a wealth of experience.  “This is a working board, and they really do have the region's interest at heart.”

The Chamber has been helping businesses for 60 years and the membership of 250 businesses extends beyond Boothbay Harbor to include Boothbay, Edgecomb, Southport, Newcastle, Wiscasset and Woolwich.

Flores said the move to Maine has been very positive. “I’m so grateful to have our community back. I love this region.”