Former Gov. Angus King to deliver kickoff address at event that will focus on tomorrow’s leaders and their role in Maine’s future
ORONO, Maine — Young professionals from across Maine will gather to discuss issues important to the state’s future when Momentum Aroostook, Fusion Bangor and the Realize Maine Network host the first ever Maine Young Professional Exchange. The Exchange will take place on Wednesday, May 11, from 2-5 p.m. at the Buchanan Alumni House on the University of Maine campus.
The event is being supported by lead sponsor Bangor Savings Bank as well as Mobilize Maine, the Meander Fund of the Maine Community Foundation, MMG Insurance, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, the Maine Winter Sports Center, the University of Maine and the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Organizational support is being provided by the University of Maine at Presque Isle, UMaine’s Foster Center for Student Innovation and the Maine Development Foundation.
Young professionals from northern Maine will travel to Orono on May 11 to meet with peers from central and southern Maine to discuss two topics concerning Maine’s future: fostering in-migration and encouraging community engagement. More than 50 are slated to attend the Exchange. The purpose of the event is to bring together future leaders from around the state to foster cohesiveness, dialogue on these issues important to Maine’s future and gain perspective of this important constituency. In addition, special guest, former Gov. Angus King — a long-time champion of economic and community development for Maine — will appear via video conference to deliver the kickoff address for the event.
“We are so pleased to be bringing together smart, young minds for this dialogue on important issues facing the state and to have former Gov. Angus King join us for this event,” Scott Violette, Momentum Aroostook Steering Committee chair, said. “Our goal is two-fold: to strengthen our professional networks and to come out of these discussions with action steps for stakeholders focused on the next generation of Maine leaders.”
“Events like these are core to Fusion’s mission of connecting young professionals to their colleagues statewide. Together, we will make significant progress on these important issues,” Julie Dawson Williams, Fusion Bangor Steering Committee chair, said.
Organizers are hoping to see the following outcomes from the Exchange: to identify ways of better engaging young professionals more actively in their communities throughout the state and to solicit ideas concerning what can be done to encourage in-migration from those who have recently chosen either to stay in Maine or relocate to the state.
Best practices and ideas generated from the workshop will be synthesized into a report by the Realize Maine Network.
“The Realize Maine Network is eager to help reproduce this workshop throughout the state and generate actionable recommendations to in-migration stakeholders,” said Johann Sabbath, chair of the Realize Maine Network. “We want to hear why and how young people, both transplants and returnees, have made their way to Maine. We want to hear success stories of young Mainers who never left. This conversation needs to happen statewide. The challenges, successes and ideas that percolate in these workshops need to be heard by people who have the power to enact change.”
The original idea for the Exchange was conceived as a learning exercise for the participants of the Young Professionals Institute, a professional development course offered by the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Momentum Aroostook and MMG Insurance. Matt McHatten, MMG Insurance senior vice president, had participated in a similar event that took place in the late 1990s called the Maine Community Exchange.
“That activity brought business people from southern Maine to northern Maine and vice versa as a means to create dialogue and awareness of economic issues facing the state at the time,” McHatten remembered. “It was very successful with an overall recognition of how powerful working together is to creating dialogue in solving complex problems facing our state. We look forward to this activity as it involves a group that is not only very close to these issues but is also highly important in leading Maine in the future.”
Maine Development Foundation and several businesses throughout the State have also been involved in providing guidance and monetary support as a means to contribute in making the event happen. Bangor Savings Bank has been a long-time supporter of the advancement of young professionals throughout Maine and is the lead sponsor of the event.
Yellow Light Breen, senior cice president and chief strategic officer, said, “Bangor Savings Bank is pleased to support this effort bringing Maine’s future leaders together to focus on key issues facing Maine. As Maine’s largest independent bank, we are committed to investing in Maine, its people and its communities we serve.”
