LIMESTONE – The task of selling the Limestone Defense Finance and Accounting System facility and northern Maine to potential new employees has begun.

Four employees of DFAS Limestone put their expertise together and developed a 17-minute video that tells the story of northern Maine. The video was shown to trustees of the Loring Development Authority on Wednesday.

Larry Conrad, director of DFAS Limestone, said he expects 10 percent to 20 percent of the 310 new jobs coming to DFAS Limestone in the next two years will be filled by DFAS employees from centers listed for closure.

An unofficial survey of the 6,000 employees losing their jobs in DFAS closures has been completed. Conrad said 52 employees have said they are interested in jobs at Loring. He said many of those losing their jobs are taking early retirement. DFAS has told employees who are willing to move that moving expenses would be paid by DFAS.

Conrad will be attending briefing sessions at DFAS centers across the country that are slated for closure. Conrad and others with him will be selling Limestone DFAS as a place to work, and northern Maine as a place to live.

Troy Whitehead, Dave Clark, Ben Shaw and Vernon Davenport, all DFAS Limestone employees, made the in-house promotional video, which talks about the rich cultural environment of northern Maine, the agriculture and forestry.

Shaw, who is the moderator, talks about light traffic, ample parking, unlocked doors and cars and a good environment to raise a family. He tells potential transplants about low crime rates, high educational standards, school laptop programs and Internet connectivity of the 21st century.

The video has clips of cultural activities, the universities of Maine at Presque Isle and Fort Kent, Husson College courses and the Northern Maine Community College.

Affordable housing costing between $40,000 and $200,000 is available and recreational opportunities abound four seasons of the year. On the video, Shaw talks about biathlon, snowmobiling, cross-country and alpine skiing, lakes, streams and rivers for fishing and boating, hunting and fall foliage.

He tells viewers northern Maine is a special place to live and raise a family, and a place where there are exceptional possibilities for professional growth.

Shaw tells potential new employees about the modern facilities in all of DFAS at Limestone, and the internship, mentoring and coaching programs available at the site. He also chats about the challenging work and good relationship between management and union at Limestone.

“We look forward to welcoming you and your family,” Shaw says in closing.

Conrad said the video will go with northern Maine people to DFAS centers around the country. It will also be available on the DFAS Limestone Web site, and can be downloaded.

Conrad said DFAS Limestone already has 125 active resumes of people seeking jobs or better jobs in northern Maine, and 30 percent of those are people with college degrees.

“I don’t foresee any problems in getting the number of employees we will be needing,” Conrad said in reply to a question. “Based on past experience, people want to come to work with us.”

DFAS Limestone is expected to get 150 new jobs this year, and 80 new jobs a year in 2007 and 2008 for a total of 310 new positions.