Adrienne Bennett, longtime press secretary for Gov. Paul LePage, is resigning from the administration to become an executive at Kennebec Savings Bank.

Bennett joined the LePage administration in January 2011, and her last day in the Governor’s Office will be Aug. 2.

“Adrienne has been a vital part of our team since the day I took office, and we will miss her greatly,” LePage said in a statement. “With her tenacity, experience and insight into the media business, she was able to handle a very difficult job with poise and composure. She maintained grace under fire from a hostile media that was more interested in sensationalism than the many important policy goals we have achieved.”

Bennett will become vice president and marketing and communications director for Kennebec Savings Bank.

“It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve our governor and the people of Maine. The past seven years have been simultaneously the most challenging and the most exciting years of my life,” Bennett said in a statement. “While it was certainly demanding, this job has been an incredibly rewarding, once-in-a-lifetime experience, mainly because of the leadership within the Office of the Governor and the people I encounter every day.”

Bennett is the latest of several appointees to depart the administration as LePage enters the final years of his second term. Previous departures include Patrick Woodcock, energy office director; Jeanne Paquette, labor commissioner, and Carlisle McLean of the Public Utilities Commission.

Previous to working for the LePage administration, Bennett was the Waterville bureau chief for WABI TV5 from 2007 to 2011. She also held positions at the station as executive producer and videographer, beginning in 2002. Bennett has also volunteered for the Sexual Assault Crisis & Support Center in Winthrop since 2005 and is a member of the Maine Domestic Violence and Abuse Commission.

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