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News from the Greater Bridgton Lakes Region Chamber Of Commerce

Thanks to all who helped with or attended the Chamber Annual Dinner. This year we held the event at Bridgton Academy to celebrate their 200th year. Retiring Headmaster David Hursty gave the Keynote Address. The food was great as prepared by the culinary program at BA. Call me Ishmael, A Catering Company hosted the cocktail hour and served refreshments through the night. We also gave out a few awards. Many of you were nominated in some area and the night was meant to showcase and celebrate our entire region. A few of you were selected by member vote or in other fashion to be honored at the dinner. Congratulations to all the award winners and to our entire Chamber membership! There are many great things happening in the Lakes Region.

Annual Dinner Award Winners

Small Business of the Year: 207Realty.com (Presented by Jeff Dupuis of FairPoint Communications)

Business of the Year: The Magic Lantern (Presented by Emma Bodwell of Highland Mortgage Co.)

Community Volunteer of the Year: Kathy Story, P.A. (Presented by Karen Harding of Pleasant View Too)

Rookie of the Year: Kathleen of Bridgton (Presented by Dan Loan of Harbor View Lending)

Board of Directors Award: Bridgton Academy (Presented by Bob Harmon of Norway Savings Bank)

Presidents Award: Diane Reo-State Farm Insurance (Presented by Mike Friedman of Friedman and Carter, PA)

Also honored at the dinner

Board Members retiring from the board

*Joan McBurnie (Harvest Hills Animal Shelter)

*Matt Jacobson (Evergreen Credit Union)

*Andrea Osgood (Norway Savings Bank)

Student Board Members

Nico Azel (Fryeburg Academy)

Nic Fox (Fryeburg Academy)

Lyzz Stevenson (Windham High School)

Many of you asked about the chocolate favors on the table. They were created by Sunny Quintal of Picture Chocolate.
&
Thanks to The Card Couple-Mark and Dina of Card Enterprises who hosted a Chamber open house at their business on Monday that drew many interested businesses and resulted in at least one new member immediately.

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The Cumberland County Committee of the Maine Community Foundation recently awarded $31,335 in grants to13 Cumberland County nonprofits, including Rippling Waters Farm in Steep Falls. Rippling Waters will use the grant money to raise awareness about the benefits of composting by working with college students and faculty as well as local residents.

Grants were also awarded to:
The Compass Project, Portland, to support the Apprentice Program, a collaboration between Deering High School, Jobs for Maine Graduates, and the marine industry
Frannie Peabody Center, Portland, for board training on governance and resource development
Habitat for Humanity/Seven Rivers, Topsham, for development of affordable housing in Harpswell
Inside Out, Portland, for a 10-week theatre workshop with women inmates at the Maine Correctional Center
Institute for Civil Leadership, Portland, to expand its Board Matching program
Maine Center for Enterprise Development, Portland, to fund its Campus Ventures program
Maine Community Action Association, East Wilton, for “Maine Voices,” an initiative to involve low-income people in a process focused on eliminating poverty
Maine Folk Art Trail 2008, Richmond, to support concurrent exhibits at 11 art and history museums
Rape Education and Crisis Hotline, South Paris, to develop “Finding Your Heartsong: Becoming a Thriver,” a year-long program to support survivors of sexual assault
Rippleffect, Inc., Portland, to assess currently available youth services and foster collaboration between area youth-serving agencies
Waynflete School, Portland, to support a mentoring program between Waynflete students and third- through fifth-graders at the Reiche School.

The Cumberland County Fund supports projects that build and strengthen communities in the county. The next proposal deadline is May 15, 2008. Application and guidelines can be found at www.mainecf.org.

The Cumberland County Fund is built through donations from the community. If you wish to donate to the Cumberland County Fund, please contact Karen Young at 207-761-2440 or kyoung@mainecf.org.

A statewide organization with offices in Ellsworth, Augusta, and Portland, the Maine Community Foundation has been partnering with donors and nonprofits to strengthen Maine communities for 25 years. For more information, visit www.mainecf.org or call 1-877-700-6800

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Coloring Contest Winners

This past winter the Community Outreach Committee of the Sacopee Valley Health Center sponsored a coloring contest for kindergarten through fourth grade students in our area schools. Copies of the coloring contest pictures were distributed to MSAD 55 elementary schools, Village Variety, Kezar Family Market, and Call’s Shop and Save.

Though there were many wonderfully creative and colorful pictures submitted in the contest, the Community Outreach Committee chose these five finalists:

Gabriel St. Saviour, Kindergarten, South Hiram Elementary School
Haley Babb, First Grade, Baldwin Elementary School
Janet Nickerson, Second Grade, South Hiram Elementary School
Brooke Anderson, Third Grade, Baldwin Elementary School
Jade Elizabeth Jordan, Fourth Grade, Baldwin Elementary School

Sue McNamara, chair of the committee presented the winners with a framed certificate, crayons and a coloring book. The pictures are on display in the lobby at Sacopee Valley Health Center.

Congratulations to the winners!

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OXFORD COUNTY REPUBLICANS TO HEAR NEW GOP MAINE SENATE AND HOUSE CANDIDATES RUNNING IN JUNE 10 PRIMARY

Republican State Senate candidate Glen Holmes of Buckfield and House candidates Jarrod Crockett of Bethel, Robert Cameron of Rumford, Joe Robison of Paris and David Knapp of Fryeburg will be among the speakers at the May 13 monthly meeting of the Oxford County Republican Committee to be held in Oxford at the Christian Advent Church (Route 26, one mile south of Wal-Mart). It will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a social hour, followed by dinner sponsored by the Hannibal Hamlin Republican Women’s Club. Following dinner, new candidates runnng in the June 10 Republican primary will be outlining the issues for 2008. A brief business meeting will also be held to hear reports on the 2008 Republican Convention being held on May 2-3 in Augusta, where Oxford County is expected to have a large delegation in attendance. Anyone interested in supporting Republican candidates to bring fiscal sanity to the state government is cordially invited to attend.

The June monthly meeting is scheduled for June 17 in Andover at the Congregational Church and will feature a report from Republican legislators on the past legislative session.

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Brunswick's First ACT Prep Course Begins Sunday, May 18

Maine Prep, known for its extensive SAT prep classes and private coaching throughout Maine, is now offering its first ACT prep course in the Brunswick area. The 6-session ACT course begins Sunday, May 18 at the Maine Prep offices, 103 Harpswell Road, Brunswick, and will prepare high school students for the June 14 ACT. Classes are taught by Maine Prep founder, Jack Mahoney, and will take place on Wednesday and Sunday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. until June 11.

The ACT, which was originally designed to be more of an achievement test than its competitor the SAT, is intended to assess high school students' general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work. Nearly all competitive colleges now accept an ACT with Writing score in lieu of not only SAT but also SAT Subject Test scores. Students may take both the ACT and SAT. There are no conflicts of dates.

While the makers of the ACT claim that "students are generally more comfortable with ACT than with SAT because it is based on what is taught in the high school curriculum and is more 'user friendly'," students who have taken both tests agree that the ACT is far more time intensive and that taking the ACT "cold" is not recommended. For those students who prefer to prepare for tests on their own, the ACT publishes a book, The Real ACT Practice Guide, that contains three practice tests.

The Maine Prep ACT course is designed to teach high school students its own alternative test strategies and time-management tools to use in the five skill areas of the ACT: English (grammar), Math; Reading; Science; and the ACT Essay. The Maine Prep curriculum consists of real ACTs and Maine Prep proprietary TEN FOR TEN curricular materials.

Maine Prep, in addition to its ACT classes, teaches SAT prep classes in Brunswick, Kennebunkport, Lewiston/Auburn, Bangor, Cape Elizabeth, Bridgton, and Kents Hill. In addition, the company offers private tutoring to help its students prepare for SAT, ACT, SSAT, LSAT, GRE, and GMAT.

For further information and a complete course schedule, call Maine Prep at 207-798-5690 or email at info@maineprep.com. The company web site is www.maineprep.com.

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One Thousand Graduates To March at USM Commencement

Roger Wilkins, who shared a Pulitzer Prize in 1972 for Watergate coverage with Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein and Herb (Herblock) Block, will be the speaker at the University of Southern Maines 128th Commencement.  Ceremonies will take place 9 a.m., Saturday, May 10, in the Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland. It is expected that more than 1,000 graduates will be marching at the ceremony.
 
Wilkins is the Clarence J. Robinson Professor of History and American Culture at George Mason University.  He served as assistant attorney general during the Johnson administration, and has written for The New York Times and The Washington Post. Among his public service activities, he served as past chair of the Board of Trustees of the Africa-America Institute and is a member of the Board of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He is publisher of NAACPs journal Crisis and has served on the Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia and on the District of Columbia Board of Education. He will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters during the ceremony. 
 
Mark A. Coursey of Auburn, who will graduate with a B.S. in Leadership and Organizational Studies from USM Lewiston Auburn College, was chosen to be student commencement speaker.  Cour`zzlZb sey returned to college after a 16-year absence using Osher Re-entry Scholarships.  He plans to attend the University of Maine School of Law this fall.
 
Gary Lawless of Brunswick, a poet and a champion of literature in Maine, will be awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters.  Born in Belfast, he graduated from Colby College, after which he apprenticed in the home of Pulitzer Prize-winning Beat poet Gary Snyder. He opened Gulf of Maine Books in Brunswick and in 1976 began Blackberry Books, a small press devoted to bringing Maine classics back to print and publishing international poetry and fiction.  He teaches at Mt. Ararat High School, leads writing workshops at Brunswicks Spindleworks Art Center, and at Portlands Reiche School.
 
USM alumnus Ray Stevens, class of 1986, of La Jolla, Calif., will be awarded an honorary doctor of science for his commitment to the advancement of science and for his contributions to science education at USM. Stevens, and Auburn native, received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and in 1989 became a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard. After becoming a tenured faculty member at the University of California at Berkeley, he established the John S. Ricci Undergraduate Fellowship at USM, to honor his undergraduate professor and mentor, USM Professor Emeritus of Chemistry John S. Ricci.  The fellowship brings a USM student to the Stevens Laboratory of the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego for a summer of research.  The first recipient of the Ricci Fellowship, Sri Dhyana of Portland, graduates this year with a B.S. in physics and a minor in biochemistry.
 
Kenneth Nelson and Mary P. Nelson of Falmouth will receive a Distinguished Service Award for their years of commitment to USM.  Kenny Nelson is president of Nelson and Small, Inc., a Portland-based wholesale distributor of appliances.  H`zzlZb e is a graduate of Bowdoin College and the Boston University School of Law.
 
While practicing law in Boston in the 1970s, Kenny provided legal counsel to the technology, financial, and biomedical businesses taking root around the city.  After 10 years of practice, Kenny and Mary returned to Maine and the family business, bringing with them a vision of replicating Bostons university-based economic growth here in southern Maine. Among Kennys first steps toward that end was to take a lead role in establishing an electrical engineering program at USM. His company created the Nelson and Small Prize in Electrical Engineering, a grant to provide stipends to USM faculty for special efforts in electrical engineering. He also helped establish the Maine Foundation for Technology Education, which has raised more than $1.5 million in cash and equipment to support technology education in the University of Maine System since 1987.

Mary is a graduate of Smith College, and she earned her masters degree in public policy from the USM Muskie School of Public Service in 1988. She is president of the Friends of USM School of Music and is in her sixth year as chair of the Schools Advisory Board. An accomplished vocalist, Mary is a member of the USM Choral Arts Society, which often performs with the Portland Symphony Orchestra. Mary is a former director of alumni relations for the University of Maine School of Law.  She plays a prominent role in the Portlands arts and cultural scene, serving on a number of boards, including those of Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Maine College of Art, and the Maine Historical Society.  She co-chaired the capital campaign for USMs Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education, and is the immediate past president of the Osher Library Associates.

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THE BOXBERRY SCHOOL

Since 2003, an independent elementary school in the Oxford Hills.
In-Session OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, May 3, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Come in and see for yourself how your child can benefit from a Boxberry education!

Boxberry is committed to:
• small, multi-aged classes
• individualized attention
• arts in the curriculum
• challenging academics
• inspiring creative, critical, and independent thinkers

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9 Lives Thrift Shop Antiques Appraisals and Yard Sale

Wondering what that watch that you’ve had in your drawer for 20 years is worth? How about your grandmother’s favorite pin? That antique clock hidden in your closet? Well, 9 Lives Thrift Shop at Harvest Hills Animal Shelter has the answer. Please join us on Saturday, June 14, 2008, between 9 AM and 1 PM when George Forney, Appraiser and Antiques Dealer from Bridgton, will be here to appraise such items. The cost? 2 items will be appraised for $5. Where? 9 Lives Thrift Shop, next to the Harvest Hills Animal Shelter, Route 302, Fryeburg. Can’t beat that!

Also on the 14th, 9 Lives Thrift Shop will be hosting a yard sale between the hours of 8 AM and 3 PM. Have things in your attic, basement or closet that you just don’t know what to do with? Well, bring them on in. For $15 you can reserve a space to set your own table up and display your wares. For a total of $25 we’ll even provide the table with that space. For more information, or to reserve your space or table, please contact Bonnie at 207-935-4358.

And as with all fund raising events, your generosity goes directly to supporting the dogs and cats cared for at Harvest Hills Animal Shelter.

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Lakes Environmental Association News

When spring arrives in Maine, the whole landscape transforms, but nowhere is this transformation more apparent than in wetlands. Frog choruses, bird migrations, extreme flooding: wetlands have it all. To explore the dynamic nature of wetland systems, join Lakes Environmental Association on May 8th for two separate programs. First, at 10 am, LEA educator and conservation biologist Bridie McGreavy will lead a vernal pool walk on the Narrow Gauge railbed. The focus of this walk will be vernal pool ecology and egg mass identification. Meet at the LEA Lakes Center, 230 Main Street to carpool to the trailhead. Rubber boots or old sneakers are recommended. The hike covers easy terrain and will last approximately 2 hours.

In the morning, LEA will explore the smallest of wetlands, yet in the afternoon we will cast ourselves into the midst of one of the largest wetland systems in the State: the Brownfield Bog. LEA is teaming up with Nurture Through Nature for a sunset canoe trip in the Brownfield Bog. Participants can meet at LEA at 3:30 pm or at the Brownfield Bog parking area at 4 pm. The Brownfield Bog Wildlife Management Area, maintained by the state, contains hundreds of acres of bog to explore. As participants travel the shores and wetlands by canoe, the group will focus on Bog ecology and ways to increase awareness towards the natural environment. Novice and experienced paddlers are welcome. Pace will be gentle to connect with the wildlife and the landscape and the group size is limited to 6 to 12 participants. The fee is $30 for LEA members and $40 for nonmembers. The fee includes paddling and safety lesson, healthy snacks, guided excursion, canoe, paddle, lifejacket, and programming. For more information and to register, call Nurture Through Nature at 452-2929 or LEA at 647-8580.

These programs are part of the Caplan Family Environmental Education Series at LEA. For more information on these and other educational programs, visit the website at www.mainelakes.org.

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Rufus Porter has something for everyone

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Local Mental Health Counselor Launches Website

Ellia Manners, a licensed professional counselor, celebrates a round decade of working with area women by launching an informative and attractive website. Manners, who has been in private practice for (twenty-five) 25 years, hopes her website www.elliamanners.com will accomplish two important tasks.
“It’s never easy for women to take time out of their busy lives for themselves. My web site, my counseling practice and my office décor are all designed to make women feel positive about themselves, and hopeful about their lives.”
Empowering women through In Her Own Image, her counseling practice located in Bridgton, Maine, is Ellia’s ultimate goal.
“Women are so busy taking care of everyone else’s needs they often postpone looking at their own,” Ellia observes. “I hope my website helps to demystify counseling and encourages more women to create the life they want.”
Insuring that women are equal partners in their relationships is another of Ellia’s goals as she counsels women of all ages throughout the Lakes Region of Maine.
Through Ellia’s collaboration and help, hundreds of women in the greater Bridgton area have been encouraged to assert themselves, take a stand, and have a voice.
Ellia Manners, LCPC, writes a bi-weekly column for The Bridgton News entitled “For Women Only.”
A dozen of Ellia’s helpful columns, ranging from A Simple Hug to Family Secrets are free for viewing at her website.
An office tour, a biography of Manners, and directions to In Her Own Image are also featured on the therapist’s website.
Manners moved her thriving counseling practice from suburban Boston to Maine just after the infamous ice storm of 1998.
For an In Her Own Image brochure please call 207-647-3015, or send an email to ellia@elliamanners.com.
Or, most conveniently, simply surf the internet to: www.elliamanners.com.

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Saint Joseph’s College sponsors summer symposium for health care managers

“Managing the Business of Health Care,” a symposium for managers at health care organizations, will be held July 15-19 at Saint Joseph’s College on Sebago Lake in Standish. The symposium is designed for chief executives, administrators, hospital department directors, nurse administrators and unit managers. Participants can attend on a daily basis or for the whole five days.

The symposium brings together hospital and health service organization executives, industry consultants, and college faculty to address current issues in health care. Specific topics include human behavior in organizations; culture change – new leadership models; ethics and advocacy in acute and long-term care settings; improving physician/hospital relations; developing and maintaining interdisciplinary teams; getting ready for the Baby Boomers; trends and analysis in the changing health care scene; what nursing directors and administrators need from each other; informatics for the long term; disaster readiness: managing through crisis.

Saint Joseph’s College is located on Maine’s second-largest lake just 18 miles from Portland. Lovely, wooded trails throughout the 350-acre campus are a wonderful place to stroll or just take a break.

Participants earn undergraduate and graduate credit or continuing education units. Continuing education students will receive 6 CEU contact hours per day. Registration fees vary depending on number of days attending, and credit or non-credit status. Accommodation and meals are available to those who participate in the full five days.

For more information, visit www.sjcme.edu/healthsymposium, or call 800-752-4723

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The 11th annual Kezar Falls Lilac Festival will be held Saturday, June 7, 2008 in downtown Kezar Falls by the Ossipee River, rain or shine.

The event will kick off with a Pancake Breakfast 7 – 9:30 a.m. at the Riverside United Methodist Church. Tickets are $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for children 10 and younger. Free for a child 6 and younger

An inspection of bicycles and testing of riding skills will be held beginning @ 8:30. The Bike and Doll Carriage Parade will follow at 9:30. The staging area will be across from the Church. The Kezar Falls Fire Department will lead the parade from the Porter side of the river, across the Ossipee River Bridge and end on the Parsonsfield side. Helmets are required for all bicycle riders.

Activities and vendors will be featured in the green spaces on both sides of the river from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., including artisans, crafters, food concessions, yard sales, informational materials from non-profits, a car wash and plant sales, including lilacs.

Other activities are:

• Walking Tour of historic village homes
• Book Sale at the Kezar Falls Library
• Open House @ the History House with a display titled

"Doorways and Details" display, featuring photographs
by George French on loan from the Maine State Archives

• “Pets of Parade” in lilac attire
• Magic Show free for all children
• Pick-up Softball Game
• Music on the green throughout the day

A Chicken BBQ at the Fire Barn from 4:30 – 6:30 will conclude the Lilac Festival. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $8.00 and $5.00 for children 10 & younger.

Proceeds are used for community beautification projects. Over the years, American flags were purchased to be displayed around town, “Welcome to the Village of Kezar Falls” signs were erected, a bench made of recycled plastic was constructed overlooking the Ossipee River and tubs were purchased, placed around the village and are filled with flowers each year.
 
In case of rain, the festivities will be held at the Sacopee Valley Middle School Gymnasium, South Hiram Road, South Hiram.

For more information, call 625-3082

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