LIVERMORE — Renda Guild is always lending a hand to help others whether it is serving people as town clerk, organizing a fundraiser or helping someone work toward a diploma or comforting people.

She has done it for years. She will be the first to tell you, she doesn’t do it alone. She says helping comes naturally to her and makes her life feel complete.

She also volunteers in a variety of ways including for the Christmas dinners at the American Legion Post 10 in Livermore Falls, with Rose Darling and Deb Breton.

Guild, who grew up in Livermore, is a graduate of Livermore Falls High School.

What prompts you to help others? Helping others is the best feeling in the world. I am not sure what prompts me to help others, I just know that everyone needs help once in a while and sometimes needs an extra helping hand. . . . Our tri-town community is truly amazing as they all seem to come together when someone needs a little help. Such giving people, sometimes not even realizing the impact they have on others. Sometimes it’s to help raise money for medical needs, housing needs, or needing things in times of loss. We are fortunate to have the tri-town all come together and help kick in where it’s needed. I have just recently started working hospice on weekends and enjoy being with people that need me and depend on me to be there through different stages. . . . I am blessed to be able to work and be a part of lives, and families. I grew up here in Maine.

How do you decide who to help? Usually it’s not who I help. I have a wonderful support team that is usually the ones that will come to me and Ann Hammond and ask what to do, and we end up doing a lot of it and helping. I am not sure how many people and benefits we have done, but Ann has done so much more that I have, and she is my guide all the way. . . . I think we both have the soft heart and souls that know when to jump in. I can’t take all the credit for helping others. I have a wonderful staff at the office, and with the help of Ann Hammond she gets it done.

When did you determine you wanted to be a town clerk? I decided after I had been a deputy clerk for a couple of years. I realized that working for and with the public made my life feel complete. I loved coming to work. . . . Nothing was ever the same day to day and I loved that. Working in the community has made me strong, caring and willing to help others that need it. I was hired in 1998 for the town of Livermore starting out as a deputy town clerk. . . . We have gone through a couple evaluations, electronic registrations and vital records. Times have changed drastically from when I began here.

Is helping others a natural instinct for you? I truly think it is. I grew up in Livermore, and graduated from Livermore Falls High School. I think the older I become the more I believe we are here to help one another. A small town with the most wonderful people make it easy for me to want to help in the time of need. We are all in this together, and helping each other warms my heart. I have a son in public service (Brad) and a daughter who is a teacher (Jenn), and they have both stayed close to Livermore and have the same heart of giving and helping people. I am proud of the work they do, and I love the job I have helping others. I

always wanted my kids to feel that the act of giving makes you feel so much better than receiving and they sure embraced it.

Does your experience as a town clerk and offering town office services to residents tie in together? I believe it does. You see we are all here together and everyone needs help in one way or another. I truly feel that I was put in this position to help others as well as provide a wonderful office, staff and place to come to. It’s never easy when you have to come in and give us money, especially with the times of the pandemic now. (When) I started at the Livermore Town Office . . . the care and compassion came naturally as people came in with different issues, problems and just needed a helping hand. As time went on I realized that our community was not just community, it had become part of the family. They became a part of my life, and I became a part of theirs. From benefits, to diplomas, to helping others in need I realized the happiness and smiles it brought to faces. In 2004 from helping Lionel Castonguay to reach a dream of receiving his diploma, which was a life time dream of his, to raising money for the fire department for supplies, to doing many fundraisers to help others when times were bad. . . . As a community, we laugh together and share a few tears. The town of Livermore is a small community where everyone knows everyone, and through this office I have watched newborns grow up to get their licenses, marriages that take place right here in the community in which we live, and deaths of ones we love. When you love the job you do it no longer seems like a job, but a place where people feel comfortable, and share laughter with. If you had asked me this question years ago how long would I stay, my answer would be that I really didn’t’ know. . . . Today my answer is that I can’t imagine not having a job where caring and doing my job is top priority. I am the one that is blessed to feel the closeness of a community I call home.

What is your most favorite memory of helping others? I think the most favorite memory was the day we watched Lionel Castonguay walk down with his cap and gown with the class of 2004. A man’s dream became reality that day, the smiles were infectious, and my heart grew a little bigger that day. . . . He was able to do something that he had only dreamed of doing since he had gotten out of school. I am the one that is doing better than I deserve. You see, I have a job and community that stand behind me, and support me. I am the lucky one!

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