Notes from APP and NMDC

Volume 2, Issue 87

March 21, 2014

In This Issue

Aroostook Aspirations

WAC at Governor's Conference

Logger Training

APP Energy Fair

APP Board of Directors hears update on Aroostook Aspirations

The APP Board of Directors gathers around a conference table at the new Key Bank building in Presque Isle at the group's most recent meeting.

PRESQUE ISLE - An update on Aroostook Aspirations and continued efforts to emphasize job opportunities to middle and high school students highlighted the most recent Aroostook Partnership for Progress board of directors meeting held Friday, March 18 at the new Key Bank building in Presque Isle.

The Aroostook Aspirations Initiative and the Gauvin County Scholarship fund work to promote higher learning in Aroostook County, in turn investing in the region's economic future through the investment in the region's young people.

"Many of the goals of Aroostook Aspirations align well with efforts of the Aroostook Partnership for Progress," said APP President Bob Dorsey. "Ray and Sandy Gauvin are investors in the partnership and this was a good opportunity to hear how the initiative is moving forward."

Aroostook Aspirations Executive Director April Flagg informed the board of upcoming events, but her presentation was more than just about dates on a calendar. It was about the bigger picture and why efforts to encourage post secondary education are needed.

"It is an amazing what a college degree can do," said Flagg. "In addition to the employment and earnings potential, a college degree also affects how we feel about ourselves. Going to college in The County is the perfect way to earn a degree, the loans are lower, the education is second to none, the professors care and you can make real connections to the community that can come in handy later in life."

Flagg continued her presentation to say a culture shift is needed in Aroostook County.

"It is often said that industries and businesses build silos, that sometimes we are all so busy in our own worlds, we forget to look around us and see what is happening," she added. "Aroostook is breaking down silos and building bridges. Education and Industry are working together to help keep Aroostook strong and vital for our children. It is the greatest challenge we've faced, but we are the right people to face it. Making The County strong is the goal of our schools, our businesses, our post secondary institutions and our communities. It is our goal, our future."

More information on the Aroostook Aspirations can be found at, www.gauvinfund.org.

Also at the board meeting, Dorsey gave an update on "Education to Industry" progress, stating Junior Achievement continues to grow in Aroostook County. Houlton and Fort Kent will be starting the program with 7th and 8th graders soon. Efforts to engage more school officials and school board members will continue on the importance of exposing students to the various job opportunities available in Aroostook County and the skills needed to acquire those jobs.

The next scheduled Aroostook Partnership for Progress board of directors meeting is Friday, April 9 at NMDC in Caribou at 8 a.m.

World Acadian Congress officials showcase event at tourism conference

Lorraine Pelletier, Maine Regional Coordinator for the WAC, discusses the upcoming event at the Maine Governor's Conference on Tourism held in Bangor Wednesday. To keep track of WAC happenings check out the Maine WAC Facebook page.
NMDC is the fiscal agent for the Congress in Maine.

Another round of logger business training set for May 15 in St. Agatha

ST. AGATHA - Following up on a very successful logger business training program last spring at the University of Maine Fort Kent, Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) has developed a one day seminar to help loggers and off road truckers become more profitable.

"The day long logger business profitability training workshop will be hands on session to help logging companies document and analyze operating costs to help make critical business decisions and run the company with greater business confidence," said Alain Ouellette, Planning and Development Division Director NMDC.

The program will be Thursday, May 15 from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lakeview Restaurant in St. Agatha.

Conducting the workshop will be Steven Bick, a forestry expert who has developed a spreadsheet to help calculate operating costs.

Bick is a forestry consultant from the Adirondack Mountains in New York State. He is a trained forest economist, with BS and MS degrees from SUNY-ESF and PhD from Virginia Tech. A large part of his work has been educational programs for loggers, has taught more than 150 full-day workshops from Ohio to Maine and has spoken to landowners and industry audiences all over the country. Bick is the author of seven books on forestry and conservation, including his most recent offering "Harvesting Woody Biomass: A Small Business Guide."

At the training session last year, Bick presented an overview of his "Planning and Analysis of Timber Harvesting" (PATH) Excel spreadsheet. This workshop will dive into an updated version of PATH and go into detail.

PATH will help calculate a company's current operating costs as a means to evaluate projected growth. It will also help a company better evaluate the true cost of a particular job and will help loggers make critical decisions about equipment changes or replacements and the expected financial returns those decisions will make for the company.

Workshop highlights include:

Introduction to PATH Software - What is it? Where did it come from? What do I need to run it? How can I use it? Where can my friends get a copy?

General Production Analysis for Logging Business - Create a quick thumbnail of production costs for your business from income tax return information; "what if" scenarios; viewing and interpreting business report; brief exercises.

Calculating Machine Rates and Truck Rates - Understanding machine rates; example and exercise in entering data for individual machines; altering variables.

Are We Striving, Thriving or Just Surviving? - Compare production rate prices and recognize the levels that erode equity, pay simple wage or offer an actual return on your investment.

Trucking Costs- Brief overview of PATH's approach to determining and evaluating trucking costs.

Calculating and Comparing Costs Structures of Various Logging Systems - Using your detailed information for entire equipment profile; examining production costs for your entire business; comparing and evaluating alternative mixes; adding or deleting equipment; example and exercise.

Break Even Analysis - This is a critical business management tool that will help you calculate prices and production levels necessary for renewed investment in equipment.

Estimating Production Costs for Individual Timber Harvesting Jobs - Applying cost structure information to individual jobs.

Logging Site Management - Identify the critical chain of events that allow you to end production on one site and start it up again on another; gain productive days to help your bottom line.

The registration fee is $100 per company, with up to two employees, owner/operator and bookkeeper, who is highly recommended to attend. A light breakfast and lunch will be provided.

NMDC is currently seeking sponsors to offset the cost of the training. At the inaugural training session last spring, several corporate partners signed on at various levels including Katahdin Trust Company, NorState Federal Credit Union, TD Bank, Irving Woodlands LLC, Varney Agency, UMFK, NMDC United Insurance, LEADers Encouraging Aroostook Development, Aramark Dining Services, Acadia Federal Credit Union, FA Peabody and Key Bank. For more information on sponsorship, contact Ouellette at 543-1801 or by email at aouellette@nmdc.org.

Registration forms are available by contacting Judy Dinsmore at NMDC at (207) 498-8736 or by email at jdinsmore@nmdc.org. Forms are also available on the NMDC website, www.nmdc.org.

Vendor space available for Alternative Energy Fair April 5 at Northern Maine Community College

PRESQUE ISLE - Northern Maine Community College will host the third Aroostook Partnership for Progress (APP) Alternative Energy and Biomass Fair April 5.

The event will feature experts and vendors from local energy suppliers, pellet manufacturers, stove/boiler suppliers, heat-pump retailers, engineering firms, banks and others to answer questions and help guide people through the options and process of establishing an updated energy system for a business or home.

Bob Dorsey, the president and CEO of APP, said the purpose of the fair is to educate people about energy alternatives, which can help them save money, promote Aroostook businesses and resources (wood) and keep money in the local economy.

There is still vendor space available. For more information, contact Dorsey at 498-8736 or by email at, rdorsey@nmdc.org.

The doors to the NMCC gymnasium and the APP Alternative Energy and Biomass Fair, which is free to vendors and the public, will open at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 5. Door prizes of pellets, courtesy of Northeast Pellets and APP, will be given throughout the event.

APP, which is a public-private partnership dedicated to aggressive and effective results-oriented economic development actions that leverage the financial commitments and talents of the private sector in close partnership with the public sector, organized the Biomass Fair because it fits in with the organization's message of business growth and business retention.

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