News
Gray
Business Association is thriving
Cathy Manchester, Ketter Williams Team Business
Achiever Award
The
Gray Business Association held its annual banquet
and membership meeting at Spring Meadows this past
Saturday. It was a milestone night for all who attended,
in that, significant changes to the structure of the
organization were voted upon.
The most important change was the unanimous decision
to change the name to the Gray - New Gloucester Business
Association. The idea of reaching out to the New Gloucester
business community has been a topic in the forefront
of the organization for several years and its President,
Leo Credit has been a proponent of this concept since
he became President two years ago.
The membership meeting began with Credit thanking
the current and past members of the Board for their
tireless efforts in keeping the association strong.
Following this he outlined some of the more challenging
issues facing the G-NG BA, including leadership attrition,
lack of visibility for the organization and the formality
of Board meetings which have been perceived as being
closed to membership participation.
In an attempt to make the organization more reactive
to the needs of its membership, by-law changes were
passed which will alter the structure and function
of the Board of Directors and implement more active
membership gatherings. In particular the G-NG BA will
attempt to provide membership with greater opportunities
to interact on an educational and social basis and
to establish committees that are more focused upon
carrying out specific projects that follow its mission.
These committees include: a Membership Committee ("Handshake
Committee") which will focus on establishing
relationships with new businesses, current members
and past members; a Meeting Committee which will plan
monthly member gatherings for social, educational,
and business networking purposes the Auction Committee
will continue to exist as is; and finally a "Special
Projects" team will be established.
This group will work towards promoting the organization
through greater community partnerships that build
upon developing current as well as new member products
and services such as the Member to Member Discount
Program and the Gray - New Gloucester Community Town
Map. In addition, updates on brochures, banners and
G-NG BA participation with community events such as
the Patriot Crossroads Soccer Tournament will be performed
by this group.
During his President's address, Credit paralleled
the community with that of a year end accounting balance
sheet. He discussed assets to this area which included
positive solid local resources such as: location of
Gray-New Gloucester as ideally centered between Maine's
two largest economic centers; steady commercial and
population growth; the Pineland Campus Business Park;
tourism attractions such as the Wildlife Park and
Shaker Village and the many local recreation spots.
Other assets included the Northbrook Campus, Libby
Hill area and the historic buildings in Gray Village
and its revitalization potential. However, Credit
noted that without promotion and nurturing, the latter
items could just as easily be liabilities and lost
opportunities.
Weekly soap-opera like politics fueling local resentment
and "population apathy" that is present
due to bedroom community logistics (commuters not
always aware of the local issues) were listed as the
primary liabilities facing the area. These seem to
be fairly fixed and may change in time but not likely
to change in the short term.
Other significant liabilities that are potentially
alterable in the short term included: traffic congestion;
pedestrian obstacles; lack of cohesive vision of the
future of the area by residents; lack of effective
change in local government that is business or commercial-friendly
and lack of true economic leadership in the area.
He summarized his talk by pleading to the membership
and challenging those present to set aside their differences
and to work towards a common good so that the quality
of life, for residents and business, can be substantially
enhanced.
One of the highlights of the evening was the introduction
of a rough draft of the first of its kind community
road map for the towns of Gray and New Gloucester
which has been in the development phases for the past
several months. He gave credit to Jeanne Adams from
Gray Dove Design as the creative driving force in
the creation of the 18"x 24" map.
One rough draft color copy was available for membership
to view as well as several black and white copies
and he noted that sponsorship and advertising opportunities
were available for members and non-members to participate
in this exciting first of its kind product for the
area. Completion date is set for April 1st.
Left,
Mr. Credit presented the 2005 Business Achiever Award
to Cathy Manchester from Keller-Williams Realty, thanking
her for her significant contributions in the areas
of business growth as well as community stewardship.
He cited her many business accomplishments as well
as her fund raising efforts for local charities including
raising money for Lungs for George, a New Gloucester
Fire Fighter who suffers from cystic fibrosis. The
night concluded with a keynote address by Craig Denekas,
VP of the Libra Foundation who spoke on agritourism
and its future and how the Pineland Farms campus has
been transformed over the last several years.
Elected
Officers for 2006
President, Leo Credit, Gray PT;
Vice President, Michelle Bedigan, Androscoggin Bank;
Treasurer, Mark Bacon, CPA,
Executive Secretary, Christine Lee,
Gate Keeper Communications.
Appointed
Directors 2006
Chris Dombrowski, Gray Chiropractic Center
John Couture, State Farm Insurance
Phil DiRusso, Pineland YMCA
Marcel Vachon, Us and Company Computers
.
