PRESQUE ISLE - Teamwork, accomplishments and what seems to be a winning strategy for the "Education to Industry" initiative highlighted the Aroostook Partnership for Progress/LEADers Encouraging Aroostook Development annual meeting Thursday morning at the University of Maine at Presque Isle Campus Center.

   Nearly 80 LEAD members, APP investors, legislators and invited guests attended the breakfast that serves as a review of accomplishments of the past 12 months.

   LEAD Executive Director Ryan Pelletier said his organization has gained more than 40 new members this year and he hopes to continue that trend into the future. Pelletier and LEAD Past President Jon McLaughlin also presented the Spirit of Aroostook Award to LEAD member Ginny Joles. Joles, who retired from Maine Public Service earlier this year, has served the community in many capacities, as one of the founding members of the APP board of directors, former LEAD President, former Presque Isle Rotary President, to name a few.

   "LEAD is a strong business member organization for Aroostook County," said Pelletier. "We were able to highlight some of our initiatives this past year and honor the hard work of our volunteer Board members. LEAD is planning for next year activities now and we look forward to serving our current members and welcoming new members in 2014."

   APP President Robert Dorsey also used the opportunity to outline achievements of the Partnership over the past year. He singled out helping businesses convert to alternative energy sources and the promotion of biomass, growing the investor ranks by nearly 10 new members and detailed progress made in the Mobilize Northern Maine process. Mobilize Northern Maine is a strategic planning effort being utilized by APP and Northern Maine Development Commission to help focus economic development efforts. Focus areas are in forestry, manufacturing, renewable energy and diversified agriculture.

   "I want to take some time to thank the more than 100 working group and tiger team members for their time and effort," said Dorsey. "It takes teamwork to make a difference and we are making a difference."

   Also as part of the presentation, Dorsey discussed the Partnership's "Education to Industry" initiative. For more than a year, business people, educators and others have been developing a strategy to better link the student of today with the jobs of tomorrow. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to grow the 18- to -44-year-old workforce in Aroostook County.

UMS Chancellor James Page addresses the attendees at the annual APP/LEAD meeting.

   Guest speaker, University of Maine System Chancellor James Page, also discussed the declining number of workers in that age group and said Aroostook County is no different from the rest of Maine. He added the University of Maine System is addressing the problem.

   "Jobs exist now and in the state," he said. "How do we in our partnerships form a continuous communication system to see what your needs are as an employer or business."

   Chancellor Page said to address the challenges of having a skilled workforce; the University of Maine System has concluded there is a need to pull people back into higher education to complete their degrees. There are somewhere between 190,000-230,000 Mainers who started college but never earned a degree, according to the University of Maine System. Officials with UMS want some of those people to finish what they started. A recent report submitted by a team co-led by University of Maine at Presque Isle President Linda Schott said, "The need to link higher education to career and economic development has never been stronger. The public and individual students expect a return on their investment in higher education, and that return must translate into a quality education and a good job upon graduation."

   Page also had high praise for the work being done by APP and LEAD in linking student achievement with potential jobs.

   "The rest of the state needs to be doing what you have accomplished here," he added.