2008 Annual Report Executive Summary

Aroostook County Enterprise Community 

Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC)/Aroostook County Empowerment Zone Administering Organization Business Attraction/Marketing The Aroostook Partnership for Progress (APP), a public-private partnership that was formed as a result of the initial Empowerment Zone regional meeting held shortly after designation in 2002, is the primary business development entity for the region. Funded through private business financial commitments, APP’s activities are directed by a group of the biggest private investors with input from Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) staff.

The President/CEO of APP is an NMDC staff person and works at the NMDC offices, which creates access to all of the other staff resources at the Commission. This leveraging of human capital means that the money being spent by the private business investors has a much greater impact than would otherwise be the case. APP creates a yearly “Showcase Aroostook” event which entices site development professionals and targeted business prospects to the region.

Going forward, APP is embarking on two strategies that fit in with our strategic plan and focus on existing resources. The first strategy involves a very in-depth asset mapping exercise and the other concerns advocating for entrepreneurship throughout the County.

Tourism Aroostook County Tourism (ACT) is a standing subcommittee of the Northern Maine Development Commission’s Executive Board with staffing and administration provided by NMDC. This year staff expanded their presence at trade shows by attending several venues with the Maine Office of Tourism’s new “Pavilion” exhibit. These included shows in Boston and New York.

The creation of an updated snowmobile map and work on an ATV map are major areas of work for 2008 into 2009.

The tourism website (www.visitaroostook.com) was completely updated with significant improvements to functionality and content. A Customer Service (CS) conference was held in early November. Funding for this was provided by a USDA RD EZEC set-aside grant that also allowed the creation of an online reservation system for regional lodging establishments that will be a part of the new tourism website referenced above.

Scenic Byway Designations - In 2007, two successful National Scenic Byway designations were awarded in the region, the Million Dollar View Scenic Byway and the Grindstone Scenic Byway, thanks to efforts of NMDC staff. Work continues on these projects to upgrade signage and develop tourism infrastructure along these routes. NMDC continues to provide the technical assistance to communities along these strategic travel corridors with an eye to obtaining grant funding for these infrastructure needs.

USDA Rural Development EZEC set-aside grants - Both of the grants noted in last year’s report were ongoing in 2008. The Rural Business Enterprise Grant has been successful in assisting over 15 small businesses in their training and marketing efforts; while another component of the grant enabled the convening of the customer service conference and creation of the online reservation systems noted above. The Rural Business Opportunity Grant that targeted creative economy businesses has connected with over 50 businesses and offered training events in the southern, central and northern parts of the region. This year we received a grant that will begin an asset-mapping strategic planning process partnering with Fairpoint Communications, our new telephony service provider, and a second grant that will initiate an small business energy audit program in which we are collaborating with Efficiency Maine, our state’s energy reduction office, to provide information and incentives assisting small businesses in reducing their operational costs.


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