How is Maine meeting the unique challenges students from diverse backgrounds? “These learners represent a tremendous opportunity to grow Maine’s economy and future workforce, and quite possibly attract more needed in-migration to Maine.” Excellent opinion piece in the Portland Press Herald from MDF partners Educate Maine and Maine State Chamber of Commerce.
MDF’s President and CEO, Yellow Light Breen, recognized by Mainebiz as one of 10 Mainers driving economic improvement. Read the full article.
Bucksport and other members of MDF’s Maine Downtown Center program are featured in this in-depth look at how communities are revitalizing their downtowns and expanding their local economies. Read the full article in the Bangor Daily News: https://bangordailynews.com/2019/07/27/bangor-metro/after-decades-of-decline-how-these-maine-downtowns-turned-themselves-around/
HALLOWELL, Maine – July 11, 2019 – The Maine Development Foundation (MDF) is pleased to announce that Rosie Vanadestine has joined our team as Program Director I. In this role, Vanadestine will help manage, design and execute the various functions of MDF’s Maine Downtown Center (MDC) Program which serves as the state coordinator for the National Main Street Center and as a statewide resource for downtown revitalization.
“As a long-time member of MDC’s Advisory Council, Rosie has been an ardent advocate and community leader in our work to revitalize historic downtowns and expand their economic vitality,” says Anne Ball, Senior Program Director for MDF’s Maine Downtown Center. “We are thrilled to have Rosie join the MDF team and we look forward to her ideas and efforts to continue to enhance MDC offerings.”
Vanadestine brings to MDF extensive experience with economic and community development, revitalization, and historic preservation, and is well known for her integrity and coalition-building skills. She is currently a Norwex Independent Consultant. Prior to that, she served as Executive Director of the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (KVCOG), and Director of Economic and Community Development for the City of Bangor as well as similar roles with other municipalities across the state.
“This position speaks directly to my experience and passion for economic development,” says Vanadestine. ”I have been searching for a challenging career opportunity where I can use my skills to advance the State of Maine, local communities and the team I work with. MDC and MDF are the perfect fit!”
Rosie Vanadestine began her work with MDF on June 24th and can be reached at rvanadestine@mdf.org.
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About MDF
MDF is a non-partisan, statewide public-private organization that works to drive sustainable economic growth and improve the lives of all Mainers. We do this through trusted research, leadership development and creative partnerships that connect businesses, policymakers, educators, community leaders and other non-profits. For more information visit mdf.org.
HALLOWELL, Maine — July 10, 2019 — The Maine Downtown Center (MDC), a program of Maine Development Foundation (MDF), is pleased to select the Town of Houlton’s Downtown Committee as a partner in building a Downtown Revitalization Roadmap™. Houlton has demonstrated the capacity to complete the project and also to implement the strategies from the plan when it is completed.
Downtown Redevelopment Services, LLC will be facilitating the project. The Revitalization Roadmap™ process is a streamlined planning process that takes 7-10 weeks and involves downtown visioning, a downtown assessment (ordinances, business health and building conditions), public input and strategic recommendations (tasks, initiatives or policy suggestions). The recommendations are grounded in short and long-term achievable goals that are highly action oriented and use existing resources or are no and low cost for implementation.
“This project will give Houlton the tools they need to move their community forward,” says Anne Ball, Maine Downtown Center Director. Houlton has done much of the ground work to improve their downtown and this project will position them to continue their revitalization efforts”
“We are absolutely thrilled to have been selected for this project to benefit Houlton’s beautiful historic Downtown,” says Nancy Ketch, Houlton’s Community Development Director. “We extend our sincere thanks to the Maine Downtown Center for making this opportunity available to our community. The timing seems absolutely perfect for us to participate in this type of a process. We are looking forward to getting underway and encourage the public to get involved.”
Houlton is one of seventeen Maine Downtown Affiliates and one of four in Aroostook County. The Maine Downtown Center provides vital programming and guidance to towns across Maine and is a one stop shop for revitalizing Maine downtowns. To learn more about the program and how your community can get involved, visit http://mdf.org/mdc_overview.php.
For more information contact MDC Senior Program Director Anne Ball aball@mdf.org (207) 415-5770.
The newsmagazine show “207” dedicated 7 minutes to an in-depth look at how FOR/Maine (Forest Opportunity Roadmap), a broad coalition in which MDF is a proud key partner, is helping stabilize, energize and grow Maine’s forest economy.
Watch the 207 segment.
AUGUSTA, Maine – April 24, 2019 – The Maine Economic Growth Council today released its 25th annual Measures of Growth Report, a snapshot of where the state’s economy sits relative to our long-term goals, to other states, and the U.S. as a whole. It finds that overall, Maine continues to perform exceptionally well in terms of environment and safety, and persistently struggles in other business, community and workforce areas. This year’s report also issues an urgent call to action for the State of Maine to develop a long-term economic plan to grow the state’s economy and make a high quality of life possible for all Mainers.
“The Measures of Growth annual report has long provided valuable information about what we are doing right, where we need to improve, and the trends of progress or decline over time,” said Steve Von Vogt, Chair of the Maine Economic Growth Council. “However, in order to truly make meaningful, sustainable progress Maine must develop, commit to and implement a long-term strategy for growing the economy and establishing our state as a vibrant, desirable place to do business and raise a family.”
In total, the report tracks 27 indicators that represent Maine’s assets and areas of persistent challenge. Maine made measurable progress on 7 indicators, but lost ground versus the benchmark on 7 others. More specifically, the 2019 report assigns four Gold Stars signifying exceptional performance in the following areas:
It assigns six Red Flags highlighting the following areas in need of particular attention:
“The Maine Economic Growth Council’s vision of a high quality of life for all Maine people is the foundation of our work at MDF,” said Yellow Light Breen, President and CEO of Maine Development Foundation. “Improving Maine’s economy requires both brutal honesty and unquenchable optimism. We look forward to the opportunity to work with the new Administration and other policymakers, along with business and community leaders, over the next decade to develop, implement and maintain a comprehensive, long-term plan that delivers on this vision.”
The Maine Economic Growth Council takes a nonpartisan, data-driven approach to presenting an unbiased picture of Maine’s economy and well-being. Measures of Growth is designed to be a resource for policy and decision makers at all levels, helping them to focus their efforts and understand the connections between the major issues affecting the state. Since 1993, the Council has served as an unbiased analyst and advisor of Maine’s economic health and status, and is administered by the Maine Development Foundation (MDF). Council members are jointly appointed by the Governor, Senate President, and Speaker of the House, and represent a broad and diverse cross-section of Maine’s key constituencies.
You can read the Full Report here, and read the Executive Summary here.
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Contact:
Kathleen Shannon Nichols
MDF Director of Engagement and Communications
(207) 400-1828
On Wednesday March 20, 2019 MDF’s Maine Downtown Center hosted a forum for employers and community organizations on retaining and attracting skilled workers who are coming out of the corrections system. The event was a partnership with the Maine Department of Corrections, University of Maine Augusta – Rockland Center, and Rockland Main Street. The forum was featured in the Bangor Daily News.
Among those who presented were offenders nearing the end of their sentences who spoke about the benefits of pre-release programs to develop highly sought after job skills, pursue educational degrees and certifications, and participate in resume writing, interviews, mentorships and other training that in many cases helped them land jobs while they are still incarcerated.
Read the Bangor Daily News Article:https://bangordailynews.com/2019/03/21/news/midcoast/maines-new-prison-leadership-team-makes-the-case-for-businesses-to-hire-former-inmates/
AUGUSTA, Maine — September 25, 2018 FOR/Maine (Forest Opportunity Roadmap), a broad coalition working to diversify the state’s wood products businesses, attract capital investments, and develop greater economic prosperity for communities impacted by recent mill closures, announces an action plan to grow Maine’s forest economy from the current $8.5 billion (annual) to $12 billion by 2025.
The Roadmap outlines how the industry will achieve the projected 40 percent growth, much of it coming from new markets for the state. The sector will build on traditional strengths like saw logs and paper, and add new layers of innovative products – including eco-friendly chemicals, bio-degradable plastics, and medical and technical products made from nanocellulose – many of which can be made from the residuals of other wood manufacturing processes.
“Maine has an incredible, sustainable forest resource, including an abundance of moderately priced softwood raw material in an area with existing harvesting and logistics infrastructure,” says Patrick Strauch, FOR/Maine Co-Chair and Executive Director of the Maine Forest Products Council. “In the past, this resource went primarily to papermaking and saw logs. While these products will remain the backbone, the industry will look much more diverse over the next few years. Maine’s trees will be inputs to everything from textiles, to medical devices, to biofuel. Anything made from plastic can also be made from a wood base.”
The Roadmap is the culmination of two years of coordinated research and strategy development, informed by extensive data, global benchmarking, and industry expertise. It reveals Maine’s competitiveness in new global markets, and outlines five goals and 17 matched strategies to realize the opportunity, and build a more diverse $12 billion forest economy annually:
“Maine’s forests are a major renewable resource. With the right next steps, like investment-friendly regulations and policy support, the state is in a position to grow a sustainable economy built on bio-based production,” says Jeffrey Hatcher, managing director of Indufor North America, an international consulting firm that specializes in the forestry sector and conducted the global market analysis. “Innovation, collaboration, and an eye toward long-term sustainability are key ingredients to success. We are very excited to see where Maine goes from here.”
The project has been strongly supported by industry leaders, university researchers, community and civic leaders, as well as Maine’s Congressional Delegation, which was instrumental in securing U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) support for the project. The recommendations also benefited from key input from state agencies.
“Maine has a huge opportunity to expand the value-chain of products we make from wood, and this Roadmap is a big step in the right direction,” says Steve Shaler, Director and Professor at the University of Maine School of Forest Resources. “The University of Maine is recognized as a global leader in forest products innovation, and we have new research coming online. We will be partnering with industry more closely to commercialize these innovations.”
Communities and towns throughout Maine who have been acutely affected by recent mill closures are now coming together and rebounding in a historic effort to re-envision a strong future. “We are creating the conditions for diversification and new investment to welcome new growth and good job opportunities to our region,” said Peggy Daigle, selectman in East Millinocket and retired town and city manager for four different paper mill communities, including Millinocket, Old Town, East Millinocket, and Lincoln. “This is both an exciting and critical time in our state’s forestry history.”
FOR/Maine sees the enormous opportunity to create the next great era of Maine forestry but in order to seize this economic growth for the state, there is an imperative need for partners across all sectors to work together to create the conditions that would attract new investment. This includes ongoing coordination and cooperation between industry, state government, and forest communities, supported by the Maine public.
The coalition has identified several Maine businesses and community members who are playing an active role in ensuring a future for the forest economy. If you would like to contact the subject matter experts associated with the following storylines or to arrange an interview with any of the FOR/Maine members, coalition chairs Patrick Strauch, Yellow Light Breen, or Steve Schley, please contact Claire Jeffers or Kathy Shannon.
Biobased chemical products can lead Maine to second golden age of forestry:
CONTACT
ABOUT FOR/MAINE
FOR/Maine is a unique cross-sector collaboration between industry, communities, government, education, and non-profits, which have come together to realize the next generation of Maine’s great forest economy. The development of the coalition’s action plan is supported by funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was created to assess Maine’s current industry, assets and readiness and determine a
strategy to capitalize on new opportunities. FOR/Maine is combining collaborative actions, innovation, market and resource management expertise, and reliable data to guide smart and successful investment and market expansion in the forest economy.
