Business Briefs

Briar Patch Flowers and Gifts featured at Bangor floral expo
    BANGOR — The Maine Florist Association held its inaugural Maine Design Show and Expo at the Bangor Civic Center and the Briar Patch Flowers and Gifts of Island Falls was one of 20 floral businesses invited to attend.
    The Briar Patch Flowers and Gifts gave a design demonstration and also had a booth that displayed a sampling of its fall through Christmas floral designs and gifts. The Maine Floral Association designed the expo to educate the public on what local florists have to offer.
    On Saturday, Nov. 7, the Briar Patch Flowers and Gifts will host a “Christmas Open House” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at its 20 Houlton Road business. For more information, call 463-2661.

Momentum Aroostook, NMDC host Fall Business Forum
    PRESQUE ISLE – Momentum Aroostook and Northern Maine Development Commission are partnering together to host a Fall Business Forum focused on workforce challenges and opportunities in northern Maine Wednesday, Oct. 28 from 6-8 p.m. in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Campus Center. The public is invited to attend this free event and join in a dialogue on Aroostook County’s most pressing challenges.
    “We are very pleased to be collaborating with Northern Maine Development Commission to facilitate this important and very timely discussion in and about Aroostook County,” said Tim Poitras, Momentum Aroostook chairman. “With this Fall Business Forum, we’re really hoping to raise awareness about issues surrounding out-migration and local workforce opportunities for young people in this region and continue the dialogue that will help to create positive change for the area.”
    Officials with NMDC point out that there will be much to discuss during the evening and that while there are many concerns regarding workforce issues in the region, there are also many signs of hope.
    “A very promising aspect of the studies and surveys that have been done in recent years is that there is a strong desire on the part of high school-age young adults to remain in the area and come back to the area,” said Mike Eisensmith, NMDC’s economic development director. “There are some disconnects between what appears to be an obvious desire to live and work here and the fact that we have so many of our youth going other places. The challenge is how to connect in new and different ways with these individuals and that’s part of what we’re going to try to explore during this event.”
    The forum will feature several panelists – including a young entrepreneur, a representative from a large area employer, a college student and the director of a non-profit – who choose to live and work in the County. These panelists will share their perspectives on why they have decided to stay or relocate to this region and the obstacles and opportunities they have encountered while here.
    Following the panelists’ short presentations, the evening’s moderators – Shawn Cunningham of WAGM-TV and Jason Parent of Northern Maine Community College – will engage the panelists and the audience in a dialogue on issues ranging from youth in- and out-migration to young entrepreneurship.
    Panelists for the evening will include Matt Bell, Patty Perry, Matt McHatten, Lara Cannon, Nathan Berry and Mariah LeMieux.
    Matt Bell, an Aroostook County native, is the owner of Northeast Pellets in Ashland and was named Aroostook County’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year for 2009. Bell’s four-year-old business was the first wood pellet facility in the state and at its peak was producing 400 tons of pellets in a single week. In March 2009, a fire destroyed the manufacturing plant, but Bell is in the process of rebuilding and has plans to increase production by about 25 percent.
    Patty Perry is the manager of the Presque Isle CareerCenter. She was born and raised in Limestone and has spent all of her life in Aroostook County. She completed undergraduate work at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, taught in the Houlton school system for 11 years, and she and her husband bought a convenience store in New Limerick and ran the business for 11 years. After selling the business, she went back to college and received a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling at the University of Southern Maine and then worked in the mental health field for 10 years. In her current position at the CareerCenter, she provides oversight for employment services to all of Aroostook County for the Maine Department of Labor.
    Matt McHatten is the senior vice president of external operations at MMG Insurance, a regional property/casualty insurance company that has more than 150 independent agents across four states. McHatten earned his bachelor of science degree in business administration and finance from the University of Maine and worked in southern Maine before returning home to his roots in Aroostook County. He has served as a past board member and president of the Presque Isle Rotary Club and a board member of the Nordic Heritage Center. McHatten resides in Mapleton with his wife and two daughters.
    Lara Cannon is the executive director of the Wintergreen Arts Center and has worked as a professional artist for the last 12 years. In 2005, she and her husband and their three children moved from the Seattle, Wash. area – where she worked doing portraiture and murals for businesses – to northern Maine. Since then, Cannon has devoted her efforts to establishing a non-profit arts center in the Presque Isle area. She is leading an effort to raise $100,000 for the center, which will be used to renovate its new space in downtown Presque Isle.
    Nathan Berry is a partner with Barresi Financial, a Presque Isle-based financial services firm. Originally from the southern Aroostook area, he graduated from Husson College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration-financial management and a master’s degree in business. He has served as a board member of the Presque Isle Rotary Club, the Presque Isle Area Chamber of Commerce, Momentum Aroostook, the United Way of Aroostook County, the Aroostook Partnership for Progress and Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development. Berry stays highly involved in regional economic development efforts so that his young children will feel that there are opportunities for them to live and work in northern Maine.
    Mariah LeMieux is a Presque Isle native and a non-traditional student at Northern Maine Community College, where she is majoring in computer-aided drafting and residential construction. LeMieux points to her family and her community as reasons she chooses to stay and receive her education in this area. She believes that it takes the experience of both residents who have lived in this region for generations as well as newcomers to forge a strong future for Aroostook County.
    “We’re hoping to see many faces and hear many perspectives at our Fall Business Forum,” said Shawn Cunningham, a Momentum Aroostook board member. “We need as many people as possible to be a part of this dialogue, share their insights and move this effort forward, so please make plans to attend this event.”
    Momentum Aroostook is a group of highly motivated Aroostook County young people connecting for career, social and community betterment. The organization offers younger members of the County workforce the opportunity to use their talents, skills, enthusiasm, and high energy to further their own growth and career interests while seeking ways to support community needs. The County-wide networking group is working to shape the economic, social and recreational future of the area.
    All are welcome to attend this free event and join in the conversation. For more information about this Fall Business Forum, contact Rachel Rice at 768-9447 or Jason Parent at 768-2808.