Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I N O. X I I I J U N E 1 5 , 2 0 2 0 10 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E N O T E W O R T H Y M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T United Midcoast Charities in Camden awarded a total of $39,000 in grants in April and May as part of its Rapid Response Fund, which provides stop- gap support for local nonprofits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Midcoast Community Alliance in Bath said it received a $10,000 John T. Gorman Foundation Direct Services Grant for its work in serving students and families in the greater Bath area. State measure could ease supply of meat to supermarkets e state has eased authorizations for three custom meat-processing plants in response to a pandemic- related bottleneck in the food sup- ply chain. e Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry has authorized 90-day grants of inspection to Hatch's Custom Meat Cutting in Crystal, Watson's Custom Butcher Shop in Etna and Blake's Slaughtering and Custom Cut Meats in Alexander, according to a news release. Hatch's and Blake's will be the first inspected livestock slaughter- houses in Aroostook and Washington counties, respectively. "Farmers need to get their animals to market, and this temporary authorization eases the process and allows more locally-raised meat to reach Maine people," said the department's commissioner, Amanda Beal. Meat and poultry products sold in commerce must be inspected daily by either the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service or the DACF's Maine Meat and Poultry Inspection Program. By law, custom slaughter operations are inspected annually by the department, or the meat does not enter commerce. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N Katahdin Bankshares Corp., parent company of Katahdin Trust Co. in Houlton, announced that it declared a cash dividend of 11.85 cents per share for the second quarter of 2020, representing a 5.33% increase over last year's second quarter dividend. Q: There are so many things to think about regarding starting up our busi- ness after the COVID-19 downtime. What are some basic Do's and Don'ts? ACE advises: While every business is different and has its own unique set of circumstances, here are some core considerations: DON'T ✘ Expect that you can just call people back and press the start button ✘ Expect that teams, even high- performing teams, will function as though nothing has happened or changed ✘ Assume that there will be more market demand and customers than ever before just because there have been shortages of products and services ✘ Take action just for the sake of taking action. DO ✔ Communicate with absolute honesty and in multiple, frequent ways: Face-to-face, groups, one on one, written, e-modes ✔ Engage your management team and workforce. Now is the time for seeking input, working collabora- tively, being creative, enhancing your culture ✔ Take time to rethink the organiza- tion — who we are, how we work ✔ Have a "startup" mindset. ✔ Encourage agility, accountability, frequent check-ins, daily huddles to reassess priorities and progress ✔ Consider deliberate, engaged team re-development. Focused discussion of goals, roles, prac- tices supportive relationships ✔ Ask, "How can we be most effec- tive? What's different?" ✔ Be more engaged with customers and supply chains than ever before. A S K AC E A n s w e r e d b y J o h n S h o r b , T h e D e l p h i G r o u p I n c . The Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE) is a non-profit association of independent consultants who value "Success through Collaboration." The public is welcome to attend its regular meetings to share best practices and engage with industry experts. For more information go to www.consultexpertise.com. N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N

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