LEWISTON — Louis Morin stood on the stage of the Franco-American Heritage Center and gazed back at the grand performance hall with its columns, plush seats and stained glass.

“I get to lead all of this!” Morin said.

The first time, he said it with bounce, like a kid describing Santa Claus or candy bars.

The next time he said it, only a moment after the first, the optimism remained — but there was a hint that he sensed his growing responsibility.

Morin, that same kid who asked his parents to speak only English around his friends — lest they be teased for their Franco background — now leads Lewiston’s bastion of Franco culture.

It’s a lot to live up to.

“My entire extended family still lives in Quebec,” said Morin, who was born and raised in Skowhegan. His parents and their families were from the small town of Saint-Côme, just north of Jackman and the Maine border.

Morin feels responsible for Maine Francos and wants to help preserve their culture. He also feels an obligation to the people who built the former St. Mary’s Church in the neighborhood referred to as “Little Canada,” and to the folks who renovated the massive stone church.

But Morin, the center’s new executive director, also worries about money.

“I’m trying to find that balance,” he said.

After two months on the job, Morin is working to bring new audiences to the center. He has booked comics for stand-up nights and has begun reaching out to national music acts.

He is floating other revenue ideas, such as selling the naming rights of the center’s Heritage Hall to the right company for the right price.

Morin dreams of making a deal with a Canadian beer company that could bring in at least tens of thousands of dollars.

“It’s the time to start thinking big,” Morin said. “I think we are on the cusp of a revitalization in the arts and in the economy. I feel like I am on the ground floor of an opportunity here.”

Growth will occur as more people enter the building and see what it has to offer. It’s a place to watch a concert, attend a wedding or enjoy a special meal, such as this weekend’s Medieval Feast.

“If I can just get them through the door, this place sells itself,” Morin said.

Morin, 47, believes he was meant for the job.

Besides his Franco background, Morin has worked in public relations and fundraising since the early 1990s. He has worked on political campaigns and spent years as director of Marketing and Public Relations for Maine Public Broadcasting Network.

He is also a musician.

“I have played in all kinds of bands around here,” he said. “I currently play in a Grateful Dead cover band called Lazy Lightning.

The job seemed to fill one of his aspirations: to run a performance venue.

His first two months on the job have been spent learning, mostly alongside Rita Dube.

Dube was the center’s first director. She helped make the deal that created the center, taking ownership of the landmark building from Maine’s Catholic Church. She plans to continue to work at the center until retirement, scheduled for Dec. 6, her 70th birthday.

When she retires, Morin said he’ll try to keep up with everything that Dube has done. He said he will fall short in some ways, particularly with Dube’s connections in the community. Prior to joining the center, Dube worked with the YWCA of Central Maine and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center.

“She knows everybody in town,” he said. “There’s not one business in this town where she can’t walk in and get a big smile, a hug and a kiss from somebody.”

“It’s going to take 20 years for me to get to that point,” Morin said.

[email protected]