Angela Goodwin and Casey Turner were convinced they’d have to leave Maine to pursue careers in the performing arts.

Goodwin, a photographer and senior at Leavitt Area High School, and Turner, an actor and junior at Buckfield High School, were volunteers at the Blaine House Conference on the Creative Economy last Friday in Lewiston. They observed firsthand the interaction among more than 600 economic developers, artists, bankers, government officials and businesspeople as they explored ways to better their communities by embracing the creative process.

The conference convinced the girls that there’s a future for artistic professionals in Maine.

“It’s nice to know we don’t have to go to Boston,” said Goodwin.

As she spoke, Gov. John Baldacci smiled. Baldacci delivered an opening address that morning at the conference and had returned for the evening’s scheduled networking when he met Goodwin and Turner. The girls’ comments pleased him, proof that the conference he had initiated had some impact.

“It’s all about empowering individuals,” said Baldacci, who praised event organizers and the host cities for rolling out the red carpet and presenting such a dynamic conference. The next step, he said, would be to look at the strategies for launching a creative economy in Maine and get them implemented.

But some folks aren’t waiting for a government push. Connections made at the conference have spawned work for some participants and momentum for creative economy ideas.

• Jason Leiva, a digital imaging artist who made a video presentation for the conference, was approached by two people interested in hiring his company to photo edit projects.

• Rinck Advertising, the event coordinators, have been asked to organize other statewide conferences, including one at the Maine Maritime Museum.

• Bates College requested another of the conference’s walking tours for its president, fund-raising and alumni officials to better acquaint staff and potential investors with the mill’s history and development potential

• Gallery owners who met at the conference talked about coordinating their gallery hours and then organizing a tour.

• Museum Director Rachel Desgrosseilliers was “inundated” with phone calls and donations of artifacts for Museum L-A after the mill museum was showcased during the conference.

• Artist Jonathan Mess, whose artwork of salvaged mill materials was displayed at the conference, was approached by private buyers as well as representatives of Lewiston Public Library, the Franco-American Heritage Center and Platz Associates as possible buyers for some of his pieces.

• And even the Bates Mill itself – site of the conference – got a boost. Allan Turgeon, mill manager, said he was approached by someone interested in occupying the space in Mill No. 3 after the conference. There were other inquiries that could lead to new tenants, he said, and some interest in having the mill host future conferences. And, Turgeon said, he received phone calls from three or four groups looking to hold conferences on a smaller scale in the mill.

“I think we laid the foundation for future events,” said Turgeon. “People realize this is a pretty cool place to be.”

One of the most impressed was Richard Florida, keynote speaker and author of “The Rise of the Creative Class,” the book that examines the creative economy and its potential to transform a community. Florida and his business partner Rod Frantz have asked the Maine conference planners to put together a guide they can distribute to others interested in doing a creative economy conference right.

“There was tremendous energy there,” said Frantz. “We felt it the moment we stepped into the governor’s reception. It was electrifying.”

Frantz said he and Florida have been to between 20 and 25 creative economy conferences around the world, and the Lewiston event ranked among the very top.

“The fact that it was in the Bates Mill complex sort of put it into orbit in a way few other conferences we’ve been to have done,” he said. “And you’re blessed to have a governor who gets this, who understands the importance of these ideas and wants to empower creative people to move the creative economy forward.”

A study on the impact the conference had on the local economy is planned. Tom Platz already has a sense of the economic potential. Platz, mill developer and one of the prime sponsors of the conference, surveyed the scene Friday night as bands played on a makeshift stage in Mill No. 1 while Nick Spitzer of National Public Radio played emcee. Platz is one of the many people who hopes to see Mill No. 5 converted into a convention center some day.

“It would be great if people could think what it would be like if every other weekend of the year there was an event five times the size of this one,” he said. “Think of what that would do to our local economy.”

The wheels are turning in the minds of other developers. Scott Christiansen, director of the River Valley Growth Council, said the conference met his expectations for making contacts, networking and picking the brains of others. The Rumford area group is considering hosting a statewide culture-based festival as a tool for economic development.

“It helped refine the vision and provide some traction in terms of where we’re going,” said Christiansen.

But his hope that there might be a blueprint for where Maine as a state is going with respect to a creative economy didn’t materialize. Christiansen concedes it might have been an unrealistic expectation.

“The governor did what he was supposed to do; he brought everyone together,” said Christiansen. “We’ve had the hoopla, now it’s time for a lot of work. I think that will happen at our level, at the local level. We’ll have to work hard at a fundamental, practical level.”

Christiansen said he was particularly impressed with the use of Bates Mill as the setting of the conference. Despite a few glitches – a blown fuse interrupted power during an afternoon workshop and the acoustics in the break-out rooms made it difficult to hear – the conference was “outstanding” in its presentation.

“Everybody’s got an empty mill,” he said. “But the folks in Lewiston have the talent and the vision to make something like this successful.”

[email protected]