October InTouch

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InTouch InTouch InTouch MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2012 50 ELM STREET, WATERVILLE, ME 04901 • TEL: (207) 873-3315 • FAX: (207) 877-0087 [email protected]www.midmainechamber.com Nikki Desjardins, Chair of the Board • Kimberly N. Lindlof, President & CEO Leading Women's Luncheon Highlights in this Issue: P. 2: From the President’s Chair P. 2: Mid-Maine Chamber’s Centennial P. 4: Member Events Calendar P. 6: CMGC: Wealth Strategies P. 8: Member Spotlight: Kaplan University U.S. Senate Candidates’ Forum Angus King Independent for Maine Andrew Dodge Independent for Liberty Cynthia Dill Democrat Danny Dalton Non-Party Charles Summers Republican Stephen Woods Independent 2012 U.S. Senate Candidates’ forum will be moderated by Laurie Lachance, president of Thomas College. President Lachance will conduct the forum by asking each candidate questions of importance to Maine citi- zens around business and economic issues, and responses will be of equal time. This event is free and open to the public. October 23, 2012 at Waterville Opera House 6-7:30PM Major Sponsor: October 25, 2012 11:30AM Networking Noon Luncheon at Best Western Plus 375 Main Street, Waterville Speaker: Sara Burns, president of Central Maine Power, will present her path to success & her struggles along the way. Men and Women are welcome. $20 for members who pre-register $25 registration at the door $25 general admission Includes luncheon buffet. Email [email protected] or call 873-3315 to register.

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2012 October InTouch Newsletter

Transcript of October InTouch

Page 1: October InTouch

InTouchInTouchInTouch MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2012

50 ELM STREET, WATERVILLE, ME 04901 • TEL: (207) 873-3315 • FAX: (207) 877-0087

[email protected] • www.midmainechamber.com

Nikki Desjardins, Chair of the Board • Kimberly N. Lindlof, President & CEO

Leading

Women's

Luncheon

Highlights in this Issue:

P. 2: From the President’s Chair

P. 2: Mid-Maine Chamber’s Centennial

P. 4: Member Events Calendar

P. 6: CMGC: Wealth Strategies

P. 8: Member Spotlight:

Kaplan University U.S. Senate Candidates’ Forum

Angus King

Independent for Maine

Andrew Dodge

Independent for Liberty

Cynthia Dill

Democrat

Danny Dalton

Non-Party

Charles Summers

Republican

Stephen Woods

Independent

2012 U.S. Senate Candidates’ forum will be moderated by Laurie

Lachance, president of Thomas College. President Lachance will conduct

the forum by asking each candidate questions of importance to Maine citi-

zens around business and economic issues, and responses will be of equal

time. This event is free and open to the public.

October 23, 2012

at Waterville Opera House

6-7:30PM

Major Sponsor:

October 25, 2012

11:30AM Networking

Noon Luncheon

at Best Western Plus

375 Main Street, Waterville

Speaker: Sara Burns, president of Central

Maine Power, will present her path to

success & her struggles along the way.

Men and Women are welcome.

$20 for members who pre-register

$25 registration at the door

$25 general admission

Includes luncheon buffet.

Email [email protected]

or call 873-3315 to register.

Page 2: October InTouch

- Kimberly

Business After Hours:

Mid-Maine Chamber’s Centennial

Continued on page 5

Charlie Haberstock is 8 years old and has a

business card collection of over 1,400

cards. He likes to know about each business

and asks many questions so he decided to

help us by interviewing some area business-

es. Below are excerpts from his interview.

Charlie received a little help from his mom,

Carrie Haberstock.

Tucked in to a historic corner of Water-

ville lies the oldest continuously open fami-

ly run furniture store in central Maine,

Hamelin Furniture Company. In the 1890's,

traveling jewelry salesman, Eugene James

Hamelin, sold his inventory while passing

through Waterville after learning his com-

pany went out of business and settled on the

corner of South Street and Western Avenue,

then called Mill Street. "In those days," says

grandson, John Hamelin, "it was common

for salespeople to go door to door asking

homeowners what they needed. My grand-

father started to buy furniture from crafts-

men, (usually funeral directors built when

'times were quiet'), store the pieces at home

and then deliver them to homeowners by

horse and cart. Soon he had built his busi-

ness up to where there was a demand for

more storage space. He had a two story

barn built behind his house which stands,

100 years later, in the same location and

now serves as display space for the compa-

ny. The city grew up around us filling in the

farm fields. The old trolley tracks that lead

to town are still under Western Avenue."

Thus began the family run retail store. Five

generations as of today, they supply quality

furniture from Maine, New England, and

the rest of the United States. They work

with manufacturers who stand by their

products and, because they have low over-

head, they can offer affordable prices. "We

are unique in that we are an old furniture

company that works with customers not as

a number," says John, "We do not have

delivery days. Our truck goes out whenever

there is an order, and we are here if our

customers need us.

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Veilleux’s Funeral Home & Are You Ready To Party?? 8 Elm Street, Waterville

October 17th 5:30-7:00 PM

Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks.

Door prizes, 50/50 raffle & other fabulous prizes!

$100’s in Chamber Gift Certificates will be given away

to one lucky winner in celebration of 100 years!

From the

President’s Chair

JOBS? QUALIFIED WORK-

FORCE? Which comes first?

To that end, the Mid-Maine

Chamber of Commerce is

working with local businesses

and area educators to satisfy the needs of both.

As a free member benefit you may post your

available positions on our website. It’s easy!

Email Robyn at [email protected]

to get your username and password.

Help me to educate our future workforce so our

students of today can see first hand the skills

they are going to need to thrive professionally.

I’ll be reaching out to you in the upcoming week

to seek your participation to achieve this goal.

I’ll be coordinating bus tours with Waterville,

Winslow and Jobs for Maine's Graduates in mid-

November as well as setting up mock interviews

with students in late November.

Bowdoin Photography

Serving Kennebec & Somerset Counties With Products and Services For Your

Entire Family

www.taconnet.com

Winslow

207-872-7909

Skowhegan

207-474-2254

166 College Ave., PO Box 215 Waterville, ME 04903-0215

www.az-cpa.com

166 College Ave., PO Box 215 Waterville, ME 04903-0215

www.az-cpa.com

Full Service Office Supplies Retail Store and Furniture Showroom

in Downtown, Skowhegan

The Paper Klip

New & Used Furniture

A Local, Independent, Family- Owned & Operated Company

www.WarrensOfficeSuppplies.com 800.924.9006

Thank you to our

50/50 Sponsor:

Sponsored by:

Colby students assisted MMCC on

C2IT day. Thank you Colby College!

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Page 3

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Waterville Main Street is

pleased to announce that

Jennifer Olsen has accepted the

position of executive director. Olsen has

served as the executive director of Main Street

Skowhegan since March of 2010, and in that

time, has achieved a number of successes,

including developing a downtown strategic

plan, leading and implementing a community-

wide branding initiative, and helping the town

secure a $400,000 Communities for Maine’s

Future grant to redesign the pedestrian corri-

dors in downtown. Welcome!

Heather Hodgkins was recently hired in De-

velopment for Good Will-Hinckley. Welcome

Heather!

MaineGeneral Health announced that

effective January 1, 2013, Chuck Hays

will take over as CEO of MaineGen-

eral Health and will assume overall responsi-

bility for the leadership of the state’s third

largest health care system. Scott Bullock will

step down as CEO but will remain as Presi-

dent and, over the next few years, will focus

on supporting Hays with policy and planning

issues, physician recruitment, community and

governmental relations and fund-raising.

Waterville Police Department an-

nounces the following recent promo-

tions: Duane Cloutier to the rank of detective;

Jennifer Weaver, Alden Weigelt and Lincoln

Ryder to the rank of sergeant.

Kennebec Savings Bank recently

announced the addition of Katie

Coughlin Vickers to the bank’s

family of employees. Hired as vice

president & commercial banking officer,

Katie’s primary responsibility will be cash

management and small business relationships.

eWaste Recycling Solutions, LLC, announc-

es the hiring of Al Ahlers as its environmental

compliance manager and Leo Amaral as its

operations manager. Ahlers is in charge of

implementing and executing ERS’ environ-

mental management system. Amaral oversees

ERS’ transportation, warehouse and recycling

operations.

Andre Giguere will now be teach-

ing tennis lessons full time at

Champions Fitness Club in

Waterville. Since 2005, Andre has

been teaching and in 2008, be-

came a certified instructor through the Profes-

sional Tennis Registry.

Congratulations to Wayne

Gendreau of Accounting

Solutions who recently received "A Commu-

nity Award" by the Waterville Board of Edu-

cation for his time and contributions to the

George J Mitchell Before/After School Child

Care Program.

Ambreen Ijaz, MD, a medical oncologist at

MaineGeneral’s Harold Alfond Center for

Cancer Care, has been named one of two na-

tional chairs of the bladder disease

committee for Via Pathways.

Dan Brown began his duties as a ca-

reer Firefighter/Driver for the Waterville Fire

Department recently and Allison Brochu start-

ed with the City of Waterville’s Finance De-

partment as a Finance Clerk I.

Summit Natural Gas

Michelle Moorman

1-800-720-8193

7810 Shaffer Parkway, Suite 120

Littleton, CO 80127

www.summitmaine.com [email protected]

Welcome Wagon

Rhonda Picard

207-314-3533 [email protected]

www.welcomewagon.com

3 Old Quarry Road

Vassalboro, ME 04989

Maine Technology Group

Tracy Gervais

100 Pleasant Street

Waterville, ME 04901

207-692-0954

[email protected]

www.mainetechgroup.com

Mid-Maine Regional Adult

Community Education

Susan Tuthill

207-873-5754

1 Brooklyn Avenue

Waterville, ME 04901

[email protected]

midmaine.maineadulted.org

Common Street Arts

Emilie Knight

207-577-2488

16 Common Street

Waterville, ME 04901

[email protected]

commonstreetarts.com

Northeast Coffee Company

Dan Davis

207-474-3321

1033 Waterville Road

Skowhegan, ME 04976

[email protected]

www.northeastcoffeeco.com

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October 3: Kaplan University will be hosting a ribbon-cutting

ceremony to inaugurate the new

location in Augusta at 14 Market-

place Dr., Augusta from 10AM-12PM.

October 5: Maine State Chamber of Com-

merce’s Annual Dinner, a celebration in hon-

or of U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe at the

Augusta Civic Center, 4:30PM. FMI & to

register: http://events.mainechamber.org.

October 6 & 7: REM Craft Fair & Soup

Fest at Champions Fitness Club

in Waterville. 10AM-6PM Satur-

day & 10AM-3PM Sunday.

October 8: Unity College will host a Passive

House Academy training class from 2-

5:30PM. Passive House standards, which

originate in Darmstadt, Germany are charac-

terized by super insulation, air tight construc-

tion and fully mechanized ventilation and

represent a savings in building energy costs

of 80-90%. FMI & to register:

www.passivehouseacademy.com, Naomi

C.O. Beal at 710-9478 or ncobpho-

[email protected].

October 10: The IRS is putting on a Small

Business Workshop: Reaching Out To Small

Business Owners About Taxes from 5:30-

7PM Videoconferencing technology will be

provided by the following sponsoring librar-

ies which will allow participation at these

locations: Maine State Library Augusta; York

Public Library York; Portland Public Library

Portland; Pittsfield Public Library Pittsfield;

Norway Public Library Norway; Lewiston

Public Library Lewiston; Skowhegan Free

Public Library Skowhegan;

Thompson Free Library

Dover Foxcroft; Carey Li-

brary Houlton; Cherryfield

Public Library Cherryfield.

October 13: Family Hike with

Kennebec Messalonskee Trails in

Oakland at 10AM. Join them for a

beautiful fall hike along the Messa-

lonskee Stream Trail. Options for

all ages and abilities. Sign up for the Inland

Hospital’s Let’s Go! Family Fun Series and

register to win a $500 LLBean gift card!

FMI: inlandhospital.org or 861-3292.

October 13: Comedian Bob Marley at 7PM

& 9PM at Waterville Opera House. FMI:

www.operahouse.org.

October 13: American Red Cross Blood

Drive 9AM-2PM in the Medical Arts Confer-

ence Room, Inland Hospital.

Call 1-800-GIVE LIFE or visit

americanredcross.org to sign up

today. Please bring a photo ID:

walk-ins also welcome.

October 16: The Kennebec

Montessori School will hold a Parent Work-

shop on the Montessori curriculum at 6:30

p.m. Discover how preschool children learn

to read and write the Montessori way. Ideal

for prospective parents; all are welcome.

FMI: 453-6055;

www.kennebecmontessori.org .

October 20 & 21: Come to Downtown

Waterville for a day of family fun at Harvest

Fest. Hay rides, scarecrow building, family

pumpkin carving, pumpkin

bowling, candy apple making,

pony rides and more! FMI:

www.watervillemainstreet.org.

October 20: Inland Pops Concert, 7PM at

the Waterville Opera House. FMI:

www.operahouse.org.

Oct. 20: Jane of All Trades Hardy Girls

Healthy Women Meet the women of Wom-

en Unlimited who will teach us about women

in the fields of carpentry, construction and

more. Learn how the trades help the environ-

ment. In this adventure girls will work to-

gether to construct their very own bat house!

Location: Hardy Girls, 14 Common St.,

Waterville.

October 27: Join Hardy Girls Healthy

Women as they get out their broomsticks,

cauldrons and sneakers for a Hardy Girls

Halloween Event - the 4th Annual Freaky 5K

Fun Run at Colby College. There will be

awards and prizes for Scariest Costume, Most

Creative Costume, Biggest Team, and Top

Fund-raiser. Plus a short fun run for kids 8

and younger! Come show us your best and

scariest costumes! FMI & to

register: http://www.hghw.org/ November 2: Alfond Youth

Charity Ball at 7:30PM. All proceeds benefit

community youth by providing scholarships

in the Alfond Youth Center’s After School

Program, Kid’s Kitchen, Summer Enrichment

Program & Camp Tracy.

November 3: Annual Corpus Christi Har-

vest Dance at the Waterville Elks Club.

Hors d’oeuvres, silent auction, raffle and

door prizes. DJ Steve Colella.

FMI & tickets: 872-2281.

November 3: Kennebec Mon-

tessori School will hold its

25th Annual Auction at the Winslow VFW.

Social hour begins at 5PM; Dinner catered by

Eric's; live music and cash bar. Professional

auctioneer Mike Fredericks. Oodles of items

donated by local business as well as hand-

crafted goods and services. Tickets are

$15/25 per couple. All are welcome. All pro-

ceeds benefit KMS. FMI: 453-6055;

www.kennebecmontessori.org.

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Prime Financial You dream it...

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clients, both in Maine and across the country. We under-

stand that each stage in life presents unique challenges and

opportunities. We also know that wherever you are in life

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forward to your retirement or any stage in between – being

prepared for change is crucial to future growth.

Contact us today for a personalized consultation in regard

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Securities offered through Investors Capital Corporation

Member FINRA / SIPC

12 Monument St Winslow, Me 04901

207-872-2636

www.wcfcu.com

COMMUNITY PEOPLE YOU KNOW

The Waterville Public Library Business & Career

Center (WPLBCC) will host the following business

workshops in October and November 2012. Pre-

registration is necessary. Please contact Tammy

Rabideau at 680.2611 or [email protected] for more

information.

Understanding Your Business Numbers: Wednesday, Oct.

10, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. You do your bookkeeping, reg-

ularly recording transactions, but are you getting useful in-

formation back? In this workshop we’ll review the most

common financial statements, where the numbers come

from, what they mean and how they can help you manage

your business. Instructor: Janet Roderick, Maine SBDC

Certified Business Counselor.

Three Keys of Email Marketing: Wednesday, Oct. 17, 10:00

a.m. – 10:30 a.m. In this brief session participants will dis-

cover how communicating with customers regularly can

help a small business stay connected and generate increased

referrals, repeat sales, and unwavering customer loyalty.

Facilitator: Tracy O’Clair.

Social Media Marketing 101: Wednesday, Oct. 17, 11:00 a.m.

– 12:30 p.m. This introductory session covers strategies and

best practices to get the most out of social media activities.

Discussion will include creating good content for social me-

dia marketing campaigns, incorporating social media mar-

keting into business without losing productivity, and more.

Facilitator: Tracy O’Clair.

QuickBooks 101: Tuesday, Oct. 23, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. This

session will cover the fundamentals of QuickBooks Pro.

How to set it up, write checks, invoice customers, receive

payments and pay bills. We’ll also review reports that you

can easily produce to let you know how your

business is doing. This workshop is designed for

people who have not yet started using Quick-

Books. Instructor: Janet Roderick, Maine SBDC

Certified Business Counselor.

Marketing Strategy Development: Wednesday, Nov. 7, 10:30

a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Marketing is more than advertising. Eve-

ry business should have a marketing strategy to help you

reach your target market effectively, efficiently and inexpen-

sively. We’ll discuss how to develop your marketing strate-

gy. Instructor: Janet Roderick, Maine SBDC Certified Busi-

ness Counselor.

Power of Email Marketing: Wednesday, Nov. 14, 10:30 a.m.

– 12:00 p.m. Email is the most cost-effective, targeted,

trackable, and efficient way to build and maintain relation-

ships for all types of business and organizations. In this ses-

sion participants will discover how communicating with

customers regularly can help a small business stay connect-

ed, and generate increased referrals, repeat sales, and unwa-

vering customer loyalty. Facilitator: Tracy O’Clair.

QuickBooks Intermediate: Tuesday, Nov. 27, 1:00 p.m. –

4:00 p.m. This session will address your most pressing

QuickBooks questions. It will also cover: Tricky Transac-

tions, Working with Reports, Advanced Features, Tips and

Tricks. Please be ready with your specific questions and

issues. This seminar is designed for those who have been

using QuickBooks for at least 6 months. Instructor: Janet

Roderick, Maine SBDC Certified Business Counselor.

Tammy Rabideau is Business & Career Center Coordinator at

the Waterville Public Library. FMI: 207.680.2611,

[email protected].

Business Workshops at the Waterville Public Library By Tammy Rabideau

Centennial Continued from page 2

Our customers are our first priority and our most valued form of advertisement is

word-of-mouth. Being a member of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce helps

us to get our information to our customers, to gain new customers and to stay in-

volved and connected with the businesses in our surroundings. We have been a

member since 2001.” Be sure to stop by and relax in the many high quality varie-

ties of sofas, chairs and mattresses. "One customer," says John, "fell asleep while

sampling our mattress selection and her husband could not find her until he heard

her snoring!"

Mom and I liked the reclining mattress with built in massage features!

Charlie sampling

one of the many

varieties of beds

with a friend at

Hamlin Furniture

Company.

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Page

Upcoming Events

October 11: Business Breakfast Series

7:30-9 AM Thomas College

U.S. House of Representatives Candidates’

Forum

Maine State Senate President,

Kevin Raye (confirmed) and Con-

gressman Mike Michaud (invited).

October 17: Business After Hours

5:30-7 PM Veilleux’s Funeral Home & Are

You Ready To Party??

8 Elm Street, Waterville

October 23: U.S. Senate

Candidates’ Forum

6 PM Waterville Opera House

93 Main Street, Waterville

October 25: Leading Women’s Luncheon

11:30AM-1PM Best Western Plus

375 Main Street, Waterville

6

27 Cool Street • Waterville, ME 04901 (207) 873-0721 • Fax (207) 877-2287

www.genesishcc.com Rehabilitation and Living Centers

Oct 2 Tue. 8:00 AM Bus. Attraction & Retention

Chamber Boardroom

Oct 18 Thurs. 11:30 AM BBS Committee

Thomas College

Oct 24 Wed. 8:00 AM Membership

Chamber Boardroom

Oct 26 Fri. 7:30 AM Board of Directors Retreat

Waterville Opera House

Nov 1 Thur. 12:00 PM Info Services

Mei Dream

Dec 5 Wed. 7:30 AM Public Policy

Chamber Boardroom

Chamber Tips of the Month Did you know that you can post “Hot Deals” and “Job Postings” on our Web site at no charge?

Did you know you can purchase Ads on our Web site for just $10 per thousand views (minimum $50) for a skyscraper ad or $2 per thousand views (minimum $20) for a block ad? Email [email protected] for details.

CMGC: WEALTH Strategies for

Economic Growth Having completed my first year with

Central Maine Growth Council (CMGC),

I have had the opportunity to take a “fresh

eyes” approach to identify the region’s

economic strengths and weaknesses and

identify strategies to support economic

growth. The members of the Board of

Directors have created a Strategic Plan

that outlines the changing focus of CMGC

for the next two years. Goals and priori-

ties established include: Organization &

Administration; Financial Stability &

Sustainability; Alliances & Partnerships;

and Regional Growth Strategy. As we

achieve the outlined steps of the Plan, we

should see a corresponding growth and

strengthening of the economy of central

Maine.

Priority 1: Organization & Administra-

tion: The purpose is to bring new mem-

bers and enthusiasm to the CMGC and its

Board of Directors and strengthen the

organization’s delivery system to shape

its future.

Priority 2: Financial Stability & Sus-

tainability: For CMGC to continue to lead

the region on the path to economic

growth, it must be able to stabilize and

sustain operations through active partici-

pation and financial investment from pri-

vate enterprise and continued public sec-

tor support.

Priority 3: Alliances & Partnerships:

CMGC will need to build strong connec-

tions with municipalities, local organiza-

tions, and private enterprise; and strength-

en partnerships with Colby, Thomas,

KVCC, Unity, and UMaine Augusta to be

successful in leading entrepreneurship and

economic development efforts in the re-

gion.

Priority 4: Regional Growth Strategy

& Focus: CMGC must take the reins in

the implementation of a regional strategic

plan, followed by a marketing plan.

CMGC has identified six areas of concen-

tration that would enhance existing busi-

nesses, attract new businesses, and en-

courage investment. Those areas are:

Workforce & Education; Entrepreneur-

ship & Arts/Culture; Logistics & Trans-

portation; Technology & Energy; and

Healthcare. We refer to this as our

“WEALTH” strategy.

There is more to our “WEALTH”

strategy than just an acronym. It repre-

sents work in the trenches, creating op-

portunities, marketing our region, and

connecting people and resources. There is

a lot of economic development activity

happening now in the region. At times we

will take the lead in driving initiatives,

and at other times, we will help clear the

path for others who are leading positive

change. Economic growth and stability is

a collaborative effort that will require the

efforts of many to guarantee success.

FMI: 680-7300

[email protected]

www.centralmaine.org.

By Darryl Sterling

Page 7: October InTouch

AAA Travel & Insurance current-

ly offers Maine license renewal and

replacement for Class C. Must be

within 6 months of expiring, bring a

birth certificate or passport, license and social

security number. Open M-F 8:30-5PM & Sat-

urday 9AM-1PM. FMI: 207-873-0692

Congratulations to BONNEY Staffing Center

that recently won MEMIC's Safety Manage-

ment Award for overall safety performance

and claims management.

Somerset Economic Development

Corporation recently announced the

receipt of a $150,000 grant from the

Sewall Foundation to grant funds to

area farmers, value added food processors and

distributors affiliated with the Skowhegan

Food Hub and Somerset Grist Mill projects.

The 2012 Sewall grant will be used in con-

junction with a $25,000 grant SEDC received

form the Betterment Fund to assist farmers and

food processors to increase their capacity and

efficiencies in the production of locally grown

and processed foods for distribution both with-

in the region and to markets outside of the

region.

Kelly Services announces that

Oct. 5 is National Manufacturing

Day. Manufacturing Day is for

students, parents, educators, me-

dia, customers, suppliers and the community at

large. Visitors will learn about real career op-

portunities, training, and resources. In addi-

tion, manufacturers will learn about business

improvement resources and services delivered

through manufacturing extension partnerships.

FMI: http://www.mfgday.com.

Dairy Queen has added a smoothie

shop, Orange Julius at the 161

College Ave., Waterville location.

Check out www.skillsrecycling.org for a

search tool that offers advice on how to

recycle just about everything – even

vacuum cleaners! You’ll be amazed

at what you can recycle. FMI: cmar-

[email protected].

Want a free T-Shirt? Then join Silver

Street Tavern’s Mug Club and be en-

tered into its monthly drawings only

offered to its Mug Club members. FMI:

contact anyone at SST.

United Way of Mid-Maine kicked off its fall

Annual Giving Campaign recently at Spec-

trum Generations in Waterville and an-

nounced a fund-raising goal of $782,000.

Melissa Higgins, of Northeast Labs and Unit-

ed Way Board chair, highlighted United

Way’s mission which is to improve people’s

lives. It focuses on 4 very specific areas in

assisting its most vulnerable community mem-

bers: basic needs like food & shelter, financial

literacy & stability, school readiness & life

skills, and health & wellness. This year’s

Campaign Chairs are Michael & Debbie Byrne

of Century 21 Surette Real Estate.

CONGRATULATIONS to the following Mid-

Maine Chamber members who are finalists in

the 2012 Best

Places to Work:

Bangor Savings

Bank, BONNEY Staffing Center, Maine

Savings Federal Credit Union and

Skowhegan Savings Bank. The Best Places

To Work banquet will be held on Oct. 11 at

the Ramada Inn, Lewiston.

Pine View Homes was awarded with the Best

in Show for vendors at the 2012 Windsor Fair.

Champions Fitness Club is happy to

announce that it will be offering a spe-

cial room for cross training, which will

include pull up bars, dip bars, kettle bells,

jump ropes and more. FMI: Lisa Deane,

[email protected].

Check out Maine’s new Energy Office Web

site: www.Maine.gov/energy, which provides

a home heating calculator as well as compre-

hensive information and data on energy issues,

incentives, initiatives, reports, policies and

costs. The Web site offers an interactive

Home Heating Calculator that allows consum-

ers to estimate their average annual heating

costs and presents the price impacts of various

energy sources.

Interested in hosting an off-site meeting in a

clean, newly renovated, affordable facility?

Check out the Waterville Opera House.

Waterville Opera House is conveniently locat-

ed in the heart of downtown Waterville, and

can offer breakout rooms. It is fully handi-

capped accessible and offers a variety of au-

dio/video capabilities. FMI: 873-7000 or

[email protected].

KVCC has been awarded a

$736,000 grant from the National

Science Foundation for its new

Energy Services and Technology

program to produce more qualified technicians

to meet the growing demand from Maine-

based energy services employers who need

workers that possess a combination of cross-

cutting technical skills and the ability to prob-

lem-solve complex, systemic issues.

Oxford Networks announced that Joe Hodge,

vice president data center and IT solutions, and

Dave Johnson, senior data center engineer,

received IBM PureFlex certification in both

the sales and technical designations. The IBM

PureFlex system is an infrastructure system

that provides an integrated computing system

combining servers, storage, networking, virtu-

alization and management into a single plat-

form.

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50 Elm Street

Waterville, ME 04901

PRE-SORTED STANDARD

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT #146

Waterville, ME 04901

Have some news you would like to share? Submit a short announcement to the Chamber office by the 3rd Friday of the prior month. Inserts are also available for $125 per month. Call 873-3315 or email [email protected]. Disclaimer: The Mid-Maine Chamber’s InTouch newsletter is published monthly as a benefit to members and affili-

ates. All member news is compiled and submitted solely by our members; therefore, we reserve the right to omit and/or edit as appropriate, and cannot guarantee complete accu-

racy of all announcements. Sponsorship inserts do not necessarily reflect the position of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce.

Kaplan University Opens in Augusta

K aplan University, a leader in higher educa-

tion innovation, recently opened a third Maine

location in Augusta, which will help meet the

growing demands for adult learners and area

employers. The Augusta facility operating out

of the former Staples building at 14 Market-

place Drive, near Regal Cinemas, has several

classrooms and computer labs, plus specialty

laboratory areas for Nursing, Medical Assist-

ing, and Criminal Justice firearms simulation.

Kaplan University Maine President Dr.

Christopher Quinn said the new location will

give Augusta-area students more options and

Kaplan more access to a large population cen-

ter. "It's really to expand on our mission here

in Maine in terms of servicing non-traditional

students, working adults who want to come

back and give themselves more opportunity in

a new career," Quinn said.

The Augusta location started classes in

September with classroom, online and blended

programs that

mirror the

associate’s

bachelor’s and

master’s programs offered in South Portland

and Lewiston, such as accounting, business

administration, criminal justice, early child-

hood development, medical assisting and para-

legal studies.

"We work closely with local employers to

concentrate our programs in disciplines that

prepare students for work in fields that reflect

the employment needs of the community,"

said President Quinn. “The recent investment

underscores Kaplan University’s commit-

ment to meet the growing needs of both adult

learners and local employers. Our expan-

sion comes at a critical time for Maine’s eco-

nomic future as in-demand jobs increasingly

will require post-secondary education. As the

state’s population ages, it’s vitally important

that working age adults in Maine have a col-

lege education to meet the growing demand.”

Kaplan has very career-focused program-

ming and offers college degrees that are rele-

vant to the job market which will help people

get a job after graduation. The university also

distinguishes itself with exceptional student

services, which are very personalized and ex-

tremely proactive. The opportunity to take

classes during the day or evening sessions,

starting every ten weeks, also provides work-

ing adults with the flexibility to go back and

get their college degree.

Kaplan University leaders have stated that

they are quite eager to collaborate with their

peers from all the colleges and universities in

Kennebec County, and they are committed to

providing employers with top quality, work-

place readied graduates.

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