Never enough arrows in our finance quivers

    Money: it’s all about money, isn’t everything? One small detour first: some days we think it’s all about the food: and did you know last week was Maine Restaurant Week? We celebrated heavily – and had great pizza from Jeff’s; amazing poutine a la desko from Par & Grill; the best sweets from Farm’s Bakery; dough boys from Napolis; eggs and homefries from Potluck which are always heavenly; and finally spring rolls and hot/sour soup from the Jade (all we could get in just one week). We’ve got plans for the Rendevous, The Greenhouse, Fredericks and Reno’s next week.     Money. While we ate “out” a la desko, I perused a Web site I’d heard about last weekend just before the Sunday Maine Biz program: the “Move Your Money” campaign (www.moveyourmoney.info).
    Before I get too far into this, I would like to reiterate, the most helpful board members, and people I’ve worked with the last 10 years have been the bankers, the accountants, and our attorneys, which brings up all kinds of old jokes about snake oil salesmen and the like, but it’s true. The CDC, and now the CCC&I has been very fortunate in this community to have so many good people, some now with larger institutions, who’ve spent enormous amounts of time, and money assisting our clients, our members, and the organization over forty years (my official disclaimer, and I’m sticking to it).
    A while back I wrote about our loan clients, and our organization, and how I personally hope we are more like George Bailey, in spirit, and in practice, than we are like Mr. Potter (It’s a Wonderful Life). I wasn’t aware of the Move Your Money campaign at the time, but I have been dwelling about it since. The intro piece on their site speaks a bit about if all the folks out there, with no big bunches of money sitting in deposit, really did all actually take the time and effort to move their money from the large institutions, to the local ones, what a tremendous message it would send to those on Wall St, and what potentially we could all do together in our own small cities and towns, for our ourselves, our neighbors, our regions. The site is informative, easy to read, straightforward, and has checklists for things to consider, and a component which includes a drill down to help people find all their own local options.
    Since we are also local GAP financers, and it’s almost spring, I would put a plug in for everyone’s community and local GAP financiers as well. The single thing I am the most proud of having been a part of in Caribou, most of the 10 years of the CCC&I existence, is the component I didn’t know existed when I was hired: commercial lending. We haven’t been able to help everyone with “happy endings,” but we have helped many of our clients. Being a George Bailey is one of my goals, each and every year, to be George Bailey would be a good thing. GAP financing is touted as one of the largest, key components in any economic development agency’s quivers, by all the leading economists, and “think tanks.” While we must have other arrows in our quivers, and continue to look for new and innovative ways to help our small businesses, a loan portfolio such as ours is unique, and an asset many other towns would be happy to have.
    I have several plans for what I’ll do when I win Megabucks, or Powerball (I’m just letting other people play and win for now). We have variations on the plans different days in the office, depending on what’s happening in the community, but by and large they revolve around renovating buildings and holding big carrots out to small businesses from away to come north! We’ll create a cluster of Monica’s, and food, and art, and things to populate the downtown! Bringing me back to, it’s all about money. Everything seems to revolve around it, and I wish we all had more of it to move. Moveyourmoney.info is the site: it’s worth some time and thought I believe.
    Remember, it’s not too late to see some Junior Olympians, and welcome them!
    Wendy Landes, MPA, is the executive director of the Caribou Chamber of Commerce & Industry. She can be reached in person at 24 Sweden Street, Suite 101; by telephone at 498-6156 or via e-mail at wlandes@cariboumaine.net.