WATERVILLE, Feb. 14— Thomas College, in partnership with the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, has rescheduled the next edition of its Business Breakfast Series for Friday, February 16.
Alan Caron, president and chief executive officer of GrowSmart Maine, will discuss recommendations from a recent Brookings Institution report. The presentation is titled “The Brookings Report: Where do we go from here?”
In October 2006, GrowSmart Maine released the Brookings report detailing the many problems the state faces—pessimism, a bloated state bureaucracy, regulatory inefficiencies, and an inconsistent approach to economic development.
The Brookings’ plan that is intended to correct these issues is titled “Blueprint for Action.” It calls for streamlining state government and shifting a greater portion of the tax burden onto people who live out of state in order to free up resources for investments in the economy, and offer Maine citizens tax relief. The plan also encourages the preservation of Maine’s natural resources, waterfronts, farms and small towns.
Caron, who is the founder of GrowSmart Maine, was involved in the 1991 Sensible Transportation Act in Maine; the creation and promotion of a Maine telecommunications plan; and the modernization of Bath Iron Works. GrowSmart Maine is a statewide, nonprofit organization based in Yarmouth. Caron has a master’s in public policy and management from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
The presentation will be held in the Atrium in Student Center building on the Thomas campus located at 180 West River Road in Waterville. The public is invited to attend. The event begins at 7:30 a.m.
The cost per person is $13 for members with advanced registration, $15 for members at the door and $18 for non-members. Contact the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce at 873-3315 or info@midmainechamber.com for registration information.
The sponsors for the Business Breakfast Series are: TD Banknorth Insurance Agency, Inc., KFS, PFBF Certified Public Accountants, UniTel, Inc., and Weeks & Hutchins, LLC.
