Chamber Connection - Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Connection
August 2016
2016 Board of Directors
Sarah Brooks
Bobbie-Jo Caron
Greg Doak
Nola Farley
Karen Gonya *
Kim Jones
Shawn Lahey *
Shelley McAtee *
Jim McKenney
Laurie Nelson
Karen Ouellette *
Bonnie Pack
Justin Pelletier
Floyd Rockholt *
Karen St. Peter *
Sherry Sullivan
Penny Wickstrom
Miles Williams *
* Indicates member of Executive Board
Meet the Board!
Nola Farley
State of Maine Lottery
Lottery Field Representative
Nola Farley has participated on the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce Board for multiple terms. She is an
active member in many chamber and community events and she finds that the most enjoyable part of service.
Nola works as a Lottery Field Representative for the State of Maine Lottery. She has worked for them for three years
and she travels all over Aroostook & Washington Counties providing lottery services. She also is employed at Lowe’s
of Presque Isle.
Nola is born and raised in Aroostook County. She loves spending time with her family and having fun with them on
outdoor family activity opportunities.
*Monthly Meetings*
Chamber Board Meetings are typically the SECOND Tuesday of each Month. During
the winter they are held at the Chamber office. During the spring and summer months
we like to visit members in the community.
3 Houlton Rd., Presque Isle, ME 04769; Phone (207)764-6561, Fax (207)764-1583, www.centralaroostookchamber.com
Thank You to all this month’s
RENEWING MEMBERS
For your continued support!
The Central Aroostook Chamber of
Commerce is only as strong as its
membership.
Arndt’s Aroostook River Lodge &
Campground
Aroostook Beverage Company
Aroostook Savings & Loan
Bike, Board & Ski
Gregory M. Blackstone, D.D.S.
Burger Boy
Caribou Eyecare
Carroll’s Auto Sales
Colton Associates, Inc.
Crown Equipment
Desjardins Builders
FairPoint Communications
Gary’s Furniture & Appliance
Gene’s Electronics
H & R Block-Caribou
Hand Me Down Antiques
Houlton Farms Dairy
Mike’s and Sons
Northeast Trophy & Embroidery/Norogala
Ribbons
Pepsi Beverages Company
Plourde & Plourde, Inc.
Precision Lawn Services, Inc.
Presque Isle Redemption
R.H. Foster Energy, LLC
S.W. Collins- Caribou
S. W Collins-Presque Isle
Sleepers Shopping Center
Underwood Electric
Chamber Connection
June 2016
Steaks N’ Stuff
Tell us about a recent
Customer Service Experience
and
nominate the business you want
to recognize.
Grand Opening
Public Market Pavilion
Page 2
Welcome to our
Newest Chamber
Members!
How to contact your representatives:
2016 Elected Officials
U.S Senator
Susan Collins - [R]
25 Sweden St.
Caribou, ME 04736
207-493-7873
U.S. Senator
Angus King - [I]
169 Academy St. - A
Presque Isle, ME 04769
207-764-5124
U.S. Representative
Bruce Poliquin - [R]
445 Main St.
Presque Isle, ME 04769
207-764-1968
Maine State Senators
Senate District 1 - Peter Edgecomb - [R] 207-287-1505
Senate District2 - Michael Willette - [R] 207-287-1507
Central Aroostook Chamber
of Commerce
Maine State Representatives
District 146 - Dustin White - [R-Washburn] 207-227-8756
District 147 - Robert Saucier - [D-Presque Isle] 207-227-1160
District 148 - Anthony Edgecomb - [R-Fort Fairfield] 207-484-8119
District 149 - Carol McElwee - [R - Caribou] 207-498-8605
District 151 - John Martin - [D-Eagle Lake] 207-834-7568
Opportunities to be Involved
CACC has several committees in which
members of the community and businesses in the area
are welcome to help plan and
participate while learning what the Chamber does.
There are also committees essential to the basic
operation of the Chamber. Anyone with an interest in
the success and future of the Chamber is
encouraged to become involved through committee
participation.
Now is a good time to join and help make a
difference in Central Aroostook County.
For more information please contact
Theresa Fowler at:
tfowler@centralaroostookchamber.com
January—Annual Awards Dinner
February—Maine Quebec Caravan
June—Area Wide Yard Sale
June—Strawberry Shortcake Sale
July/August - Potato Booth/Northern Maine Fair
August—Crown of Maine Balloon Fest
October—Haunted Woods Walk
October—Aroostook County Brew Fest
December—Holiday Light Parade
Grand Opening
Sign!
Available for your use
from the
Central Aroostook
Chamber of
Commerce
$75.00 deposit fully
refunded when sign is
returned!
Call us at 764-6561
To reserve it today!
lfrederick@centralaroostookchamber.com
Only a few weeks left!
Get your delicious
Ice Cream Float
$5.00 each
Refills $2.00
At
Mondays on Main
8/22
Or at
Thursdays on Sweden
8/11 & 8/25
Please Join us for Breakfast
At the
Caribou Inn & Convention Center
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
7:00a.m.
Featuring:
Tim Crowley
President
Northern Maine Community College
Reservations required
$10.00 for Chamber Members
$20.00 for Non-Members
Sponsored By:
Like us on Facebook!
For the most
complete
Calendar of Events
in
Aroostook County
Check out our
Website
at
www.centralaroostookchamber.com
“I’m a Member, Now What?”
For some businesses, being a member of the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce
(CACC) is second nature. For others, they have a hard time seeing the value in their investment.
What does the Central Aroostook chamber of Commerce actually do? The mission states: To
serve, advance and publicize the commercial, agricultural and civic interests of Central
Aroostook County. This mission is multi-faceted: it involves Business Networking, Education,
Economic & Community Development and Community Events.
Business Networking: This may be the most well-known opportunity for our members. Along
with our monthly newsletter, we have advertising opportunities, we give business referrals and
we are often the first information resource that new businesses seek out when considering
Central Aroostook County.
Education: The Centr al Aroostook Chamber of Commerce hosts monthly
Breakfast Meetings to meet the State of Maine Commissioners. The CACC also joins other local
institutions and businesses to provide forums for discussion on local issues.
Economic & Community Development: One of the main objectives of the Centr al
Aroostook Chamber of Commerce is to make Aroostook County a place where people want to
live and work. The Chamber is the liaison between our region, the State of Maine and the nation.
We work to accentuate the positive aspects of our region to those near and far.
4. Community Events: If you live or wor k near Aroostook County, then you have most
certainly been exposed to one of the numerous community events that the Central Aroostook
Chamber of Commerce hosts. The Annual Dinner in January, The Maine Quebec Caravan in
February, City-Wide Yard Sale and Strawberry Shortcake Sale in June, Potato Booth at the
Northern Maine Fair in July, Crown of Maine Balloon Fest in August, Haunted Woods Walk and
Aroostook County Brew Fest in October and the Holiday Light Parade in December are all
opportunities for your business to participate and gain exposure in events that draw people from
all over the State of Maine.
You membership is important to your community AND your business—utilize it! Call us today
at 207-764-6561 and connect with us to access all the resources available to you!
Original article by Cynthia Ross appeared in the Business Insider, a publication of the Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber Connection
Page 5
Spotlight Members
When you work with Acme Monaco, you are assured top quality and professionalism. Your desire for precision is met by our computerized
controlled production and Class A tooling, clean plant-wide operations and late-model equipment, guaranteeing consistently certifiable
quality. We offer custom guidewires, archwires, medical grade springs, stampings, fourslide parts and wire forms. ENGINEERING
ASSISTANCE Our first priority is selecting a manufacturing method that ensures practicality and efficiency. Our engineering staff will assist
you by offering cost effective manufacturing processes and product reliability. PROFESSIONAL CONFIDENTIALITY Our management
team knows and respects the importance of professional confidentiality. It is paramount for the free and open
discussions of parts and products that precede research, development and the making of prototypes. Our professionalism is the cornerstone
of our operation. Contact us today to get the best quality, price and delivery for custom guidewires, archwires, medical grade springs,
stampings, fourslide parts and wire forms.
WAGM-TV is the CBS/Fox-affiliated television station for Northern Maine, United
States and Western New Brunswick, Canada. Licensed to Presque Isle, Maine, it
broadcasts a standard definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter
on the northern section of Mars Hill Mountain among the wind turbines. The
station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 12 and in 720p high
definition on digital channel 1206 and on Rogers Cable channel 9 and in high definition on digital channel 145. Owned by Gray Television,
WAGM has studios on Brewer Road in Presque Isle. Syndicated programming on the station includes Entertainment Tonight, The Insider,
Extra, and Family Feud among others.
We are a small, but innovative, member-owned credit union that
prides itself on providing quality financial services to our members.
We offer checking and savings accounts, IRAs, CDs and more.
After the most recent opening of our Ashland branch in 2014, we
currently have five locations, over 10,000 members and assets
totaling over $142 million. Because Acadia Federal Credit Union
has grown from small, member-focused community credit unions,
we continue to stay true to our roots of service, while we invest in
local communities. To best serve our members, we have branches
in Fort Kent, Madawaska, St. Francis, St. Agatha and Ashland.
ACE Rent a Car is a Presque Isle Maine based car rental company part of Ace Rent a
Car. We proudly serve all of Aroostook County with reliable transportation at great
prices
Take a peek at our website, browse our selection of vehicles and prices, and feel free
to make a reservation! If you have any questions or comments feel free to call our
office directly at (207) 768-RENT (7368). Thank you for your business!
Our office at 87 State Street is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
and Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Our in-terminal office handles all arriving
flights and are open during those times. Feel free to come by and visit!
Did you know?
Healthcare
There are roughly 31,000 jobs in Aroostook County with
a turnover rate of about 10%. That accounts for 3,100 job
openings a year, many in healthcare field. Healthcare is the
second largest employer in Aroostook behind forestry and forest
products manufacturing.
Healthcare jobs are available in the region. For example, TAMC
averages 160 openings a year, Cary Medical Center 77, and
Houlton Regional Hospital and Northern Maine Medical Center
average about 40.
More than a dozen different career paths can be found in a
hospital, from doctors and nurses, to accountants and social
workers, to custodial staff and administrators.
Chamber Checks
Program
YEAR ROUND GIVING !!
The Chamber Checks Program isn’t just for the holidays! It is for year round spending in our local stores!
They are regular business size, fully encoded checks. The checks will be signed by Lynnette Frederick or Theresa Fowler. They are
being issued in $ 10, $15, $25 and $50 denominations. At the time of use the checks will be dated and made payable to the receiving
business. The check will be accepted at its full face value and any required change will be given to the client. For simplicity they will be
considered like cash until the bank deposit is being made.
Your business will then deposit the check in your bank deposit like any other check received for payment from a client.
The checks have gone through a duplicate printing process to make them protected against forgery.
Like Gift Certificates the money from the purchase will be placed in a specific account and held. There are no printed expiration dates as
they will expire 6 month after the check is presented for purchases, not 6 months from date of purchase here at the Chamber.
We are hoping that this project will encourage support of local businesses. There will be a list of businesses which have agreed to accept
these checks as forms of payment sent with each purchased check. Local businesses will be given window decals to advertise that they
accept these checks for payment as well.
If you have any concerns please contact the Chamber office and speak to either Lyn or Theresa at your convenience.
Thank you for your continued support.
The Following Businesses Participate in the Chamber Checks Program:
ACE Rent A Car
Amy’s Flowers
Aroosta Cast
Aroostook Limousines
Aroostook Savings & Loan
Aroostook Shredding
Aroostook Tech, Inc.
Ashland 1 Stop
Ashland Diner
Aural Rehabilitation Services/ARS Hearing Aids
Beaulieau’s Auto
Big Cheese Pizza (Caribou & PI)
Bigrock Mountain
Bike, Board & Ski
Braden Theater
Bradley’s Citgo & Car Wash
Bread of Life Bulk Foods & Specialty Store
Burger Boy
Card Smart
Care & Comfort
Caribou Inn & Convention Center
Caribou Save - A -Lot
Cary Medical Center Gift Shop
Chandler Farms, Inc.
City Drug Store
Collage Beauty Studio
Condon Sign, LLC
Country Cleaners
Country Collectibles
Criterium-Brown Engineers
Cushman & Sons, Inc.
Daigle Property Maintenance
Dana’ s Auto Sales
Eagle Hill Stamp & Coin
Family Eyecare & Mavor Optical
Gagnon’s Auto & RV Sales, Inc.
Gil’s Sanitation
Governor’s Restaurant & Bakery
Graves Supermarket, Inc.
Hampton Inn By Hilton
Hand Me Down Antiques
Harry’s Motor Sports & Equipment
Diana Higgins, LMT
Hillside IGA
Irish Setter Pub
JP Market & Deli
Lynox Welding Supply
Diana Mains, LMT
Mars Hill Country Club
Mars Hill IGA
Merchants on the Corner
MOJO Outdoor Sports
Northeast Pellets
Northern Business Products
Northern Maine Community College
Northern Prosthetics & Orthotics
Pat’s Pizza
Percy’s Auto Sales
Plourde & Plourde, Inc.
Pottery by Karen St. Peter
Precision Lawn Services, Inc.
Presque Isle Country Club
Presque Isle Save - A - Lot
Quality Homes Services
RLW Management, Inc.
Rathbun Lumber
Shallie’s Place
Star City IGA.
Steaks N’ Stuff
Sunrise Massage & Birth Services
The Aroostook Medical Center
TAMC’s Country Heart Gift Shop
The Maine Dance Academy
The Olde Rustic Attic
Tim Horton’s (Caribou & PI)
Verizon Wireless Zone
Walmart
BDN Maine Outdoors
1/16 page—$65.00
1/8 page—$130.00
1/4 page—$260.00
1/2 page—$520.00
BDN Maine Outdoor prints over 50,000 issues
of their magazine four times a year.
Advertising
Opportunities
All purchased advertising will receive a free
Facebook posting
Email Blast to Membership—$25.00
The Chamber will send your ad out to our over
300 members
Monthly Newsletter—$25.00
Your ad will be included in our monthly
newsletter
Annual Directory
The Directory includes all of our membership,
local organizations, places of worship, and
information on Central Aroostook County. With
1200 printed annually, the directory is given in
relocation packets, new member packets and is
distributed throughout Aroostook County.
Website Banner/Rotator Ads
Top Banner—First Month FREE then $50.00 per
month with a 6 month
commitment up front. After 6 months you can
continue on at the same monthly rate or pick
times of the year that would benefit your
company the most.
Rotating Side Banner—First month FREE then
$20.00 per month with a 6 month
commitment up front. After 6 months you can
continue on at the same monthly rate or pick
times of the year that would benefit your
company the most.
Bangor Metro
1/16 page—$100.00
1/8 page $200.00
1/4 Page—$400.00
1/2 Page $800.00
With a monthly circulation of 12,500 magazines,
Bangor Metro is growing in popularity here in
Aroostook County due to a special feature called
“Crown of Maine”.
WAGM-TV-CACC Presents
$260.00 for 40 airings total over one month.
Choose the month that best suits your
business’s needs. The Chamber pays $60.00 of
the cost..
You get: A 15 second piece that introduces you as
a member of the Central Aroostook Chamber of
Commerce (5 seconds), then your advertising
information with an
exterior shot of your business (10 seconds) with a
total of 20 airings on CBS and 20 airings on FOX
over the month you choose.
Event Sponsorship
The Central Aroostook Chamber of
Commerce holds eight events each year with
varying levels of sponsorship. Please contact the
Chamber for sponsorship menus.
The Central Aroostook Chamber of
Commerce buys advertising to share with it’s
Members through local radio, local
publications, special inserts, and tourism items
sent through out the State of Maine
.
The weather was perfect for the Northern
Maine Fair so now we are hoping for a few
more days of sun for all the other
community events that are planned in the next
few weeks.
Every weekend seems to get busier as we
approach the end of summer vacation. As
always it is hard to believe that many of our
teachers and students will be returning to
school very soon.
Thanks to City of Caribou, Town of
Mapleton, The Aroostook Medical Center
Trinity Lodge, Katahdin Trust, MMG
Insurance, Lowe’s, Aroostook County
Action Program, University of Maine at
Presque Isle, Northern Maine Community
College, North Country Auto, County
Behavioral Medicine and the Chamber Board
members and families for helping at the
Potato booth during the fair. The tradition of
baked potatoes is alive and well in Aroostook
County! Thank you to McCain Foods USA
for the great potatoes, Smith Farms for the
fresh broccoli, Star City IGA, Graves Shop N’
Save and Jimmie Donahue at Steaks N Stuff
for all his help.
We are busy preparing for the Crown of
Maine Balloon Fest. Rides are booking quickly
which is a good sign that there will be lots of
people in the area for 3-4 days. Everything
except balloon rides are free so join us for
some fun at the Northern Maine Fairgrounds.
We have added a few new events this year.
Saturday, the Presque Isle Fire Department
will be hosting a Firemen’s’ Muster which will
appeal to the entire family. While you are
watching the competition take time to visit the
tables with the Pizza Tasting competition. Big
Cheese has invited the Presque Isle Fire
Department, Presque Isle Police Department
and area Emergency Medical Technicians to
design pizza toppings and let the public
choose their favorite. Should be an interesting
competition because these groups work
together so often and support each other all
the time. Martha & Rob Frank thought this
was a good opportunity to recognize the great
work these people do and how they work to
keep us safe.
We still have some “Shop Local” signs at the
office if you would like one for your place of
business.
Hope you enjoy the
rest of the summer.