NMCC again selected
as Focus the Nation college
PRESQUE ISLE — The country’s leading clean energy youth empowerment organization has again selected Northern Maine Community College as a national partner to raise awareness and move the country toward clean energy solutions.
NMCC joins Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the only two schools in New England to carry the Focus the Nation banner in 2012.
Last March, after being selected by the organization as a partner campus, NMCC hosted one of 22 nationwide clean energy forums on its campus. The student-organized, daylong session, called the “Maine Event,” drew more than 100 participants from across the state and had the distinction of being the only such forum hosted in the northeast.
“We are thrilled to be working with Northern Maine Community College as a Focus the Nation campus again this year,” said Garett Brennan, FTN executive director. “Last year’s event held at NMCC was one of the most successful FTN forums of the year.”
The Focus the Nation theme for 2012 participating colleges is “Forums-to-Action: Energy Innovation.” The intent is to engage student leaders to “drive solution oriented clean energy collaborations between their campuses and communities,” according to the FTN website.
Four student leaders on the NMCC campus have begun work as project coordinators, engaging with FTN staff based in Portland, Ore. Two of the organizers were members of last year’s team. Gene Martin of Mapleton, a senior in NMCC’s business administration program, and Natalie St. Pierre of Presque Isle, a graduate student taking courses through Husson University’s division of extended learning, are key members of the 2012 team. They have been joined by project newcomers NMCC students Nathan Woods of Rumford, a senior electrical construction and maintenance student, and Jessica Ouellette of Caribou, a senior in NMCC’s business administration program.
The four students will participate in regular online training sessions and work in the coming weeks to organize a second state forum “FTN 2.0” tentatively scheduled for early March on the NMCC campus. A preliminary outline for the forum, prepared by the student group, includes a presentation on the latest work to connect northern Maine to the rest of the Maine and New England electric grid. That issue was cited at last year’s forum as the major roadblock to promoting alternative energy generation, particularly in Aroostook County.
The main part of the forum, however, will be focused on the emerging biomass energy industry in the region and its future development. NMCC is one of several public institutions in northern Maine to install or announce plans to add a biomass boiler to heat its physical plant. Biomass energy has also been key to the Mobilize Northern Maine Initiative, which has identified the alternative energy sector as a key industry to propel the Aroostook economy forward.
St. Pierre and her colleagues are currently reaching out to prospective speakers and panelists to participate in the “FTN 2.0” event. The group plans to announce details of the forum by early February.
