PRESQUE ISLE – Two individuals are among 30 statewide featured in “Creating the Future: 30 Stories from the Maine Economy,” recently published by Maine Centers for Women, Work & Community (WWC), the only statewide comprehensive women’s education and economic development organization in Maine. Gail Thibault, of Mapleton, and Robin Jenkins, of Fort Fairfield, are included in the booklet highlighting some of the organization’s successful graduates.
Gail Thibault always enjoyed carpentry so it is not surprising that she is enrolled in the residential construction program at Northern Maine Community College. After completing her degree, she expects to become self-employed as an interior finish carpenter. As a wife and mother of two with a full-time job, Gail expected that juggling family, school and work would be challenging, but she decided it was worth it.
“Since I am unable to attend school full time, financial aid options are limited,” Thibault said.
To help pay for school, Thibault opened a family development account through Women, Work and Community. She saved $1,800 on her own, which was then matched two to one by the Family Development Account Coalition. She used the funds to pay her tuition and to buy the carpentry tools she needed for her classes.
“The account helped relieve some of the stress of school,” she said. “Getting through with little or no debt is a high priority for me.”
Thibault encourages other adults to consider finishing their education.
“It’s never too late,” she said. “All the possibilities are still there.”
Jenkins, owner of Robin’s Chocolate Sauce uses seven specialty flavors of chocolate sauce and organic ingredients including shade-grown cocoa from Central and South America. The locales where the cocoa is grown are the same ones that songbirds from Maine visit in the winter.
“Not only is shade-grown cocoa more flavorful, it also provides environmental benefits and help to the farmers that grow it,” Jenkins said.
Jenkin’s business got a boost in 2004 when she participated in “Taste of Success,” a collaborative program of Women, Work and Community and the Maine Small Business Development Centers. The program connected specialty food producers with resources and networks around Maine and helped them develop their business skills. With a Small Business Administration loan, Jenkins was able to open a licensed food products kitchen in the Loring Applied Technology Center. In 2007, her “Tropical Dark” sauce was name the Best New Product at the New England Products Trade Show.
These graduates were honored at a local 30th Anniversary Celebration in Presque Isle on Oct. 26, as well as a tea at the Blaine House in Augusta, along with the other 28 individuals featured in WWC’s publication.
Founded in 1978 as a displaced homemakers program through state legislation, WWC’s mission is to improve the economic lives of Maine women and their families. Program graduates have gone on to build careers for themselves, start their own businesses, pursue higher education, gain control over their finances, buy their own homes and become leaders in their communities. Regionally, WWC is located at 33 Edgemont Drive in Presque Isle on the Northern Maine Community College campus. For more information, visit www.womenworkandcommunity or contact them in Presque Isle at 764-0050.
Photos courtesy – Judy Bossie, A Moment in Time: Photography by Judy.
Gail Thibault
Robin Jenkins
