Mainebiz

V O L . X X X N O. X X I V O C T O B E R 2 1 , 2 0 2 4 6 Anthem Health Plans of Maine in South Portland and Central Maine Healthcare in Lewiston signed a multi-year agreement that contin- ues in-network access to hospital facilities and physicians for pro- gram members. Evergreen Credit Union in Portland opened a branch at 617 U.S. Route 1 in Scarborough. WMTW in Portland is celebrating its 70 th anniversary of providing television programming to viewers in Southern Maine and New Hampshire. Haley Ward, an employee-owned professional engineering, architec- tural, environmental and surveying consulting firm in Bangor, moved its Portland office to 12 Mountfort St. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins announced that Pratt & Whitney was awarded $216 million for the F-35 Engine Core Upgrade Risk Reduction contract. The contract has a potential value of $1.3 billion. A portion of the work for the contract will be performed at the com- pany's North Berwick facility. The city of Portland's Housing and Economic Development Department announced that applications for its Business Assistance Program for Job Creation are now being accepted. The program provides reimbursement match- ing grants of up to $20,000 to for-profit city businesses to create net new jobs for low- and moderate-income individuals, at $10,000 per full-time job (or two part-time jobs). The program is funded by the city's Community Development Block Grant. Maine Connectivity Authority, the public agency leading statewide broad- band expansion and access in Maine, announced that the Pre-Qualification Evaluation phase is now open for ac- cessing Maine's $272 million state al- location through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program. Through this, the authority will work with prospective applicants to evalu- ate eligibility to apply for funding in later application phases. Maine Resilience Building Network, a nonprofit in Gorham that educates youth-serving professionals on the sci- ence of positive psychology and its im- pact on healthy youth development, re- silience and mental well-being, changed its name to Maine Youth Thriving. PortTIX, a box office services, sales strategies, event marketing and cus- tomer service firm in Portland, moved its office to 400 Congress St., Suite A. Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield announced that Ashley Mychak, a fellowship-trained podiatric surgeon, became the first surgeon in New England to perform a Patient-Specific Instrument Lapiplasty 3D Bunion Correction. The procedure utilizes advanced 3D printing technol- ogy and personalized surgical planning to correct bunions. The Alfond Youth & Community Center in Waterville announced its participa- tion in the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program to provide nutritious meals at no separate charge to all chil- dren enrolled in its childcare programs. Maine Healthy Communities of the Capital Area, fiscal sponsor for Gardiner Area Thrives Coalition, was selected as a recipient of a $125,000 federal grant from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy under the Drug-Free Communities Support Program. The grant program, managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N S O U T H E R N N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E S T A T E W I D E SP ONSORED BY 2020 was the year of the 'mask' cover B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n E ven five years later, it is all-too-familiar to see some- one wearing a mask, walking into a grocery store or at a business event. But, just as COVID coverage dominated the inside pages of Mainebiz in 2020, people wearing masks were also a common feature on the cover of Mainebiz. The May 18, 2020, cover was our first that featured someone wearing a mask. It was David Allen, owner of Allen Manufacturing Inc. in Lewiston, who wore a full-faced plastic shield. In his hand were the facemasks his company had turned to making. "We didn't start this to make money," he told Mainebiz. The June 29, 2020, cover story looked at how the hos- pitality industry was approaching the key summer season. The cover featured Tina Hewett-Gordon, GM of the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport, wearing a black facemask. Another sign of the times: she was featured with the resort's outdoor tent-like dining structures on the grounds. In the July 27 issue, a cover story, "Whatever works: Reinventing the office for a post-COVID world," featured MEMIC's chief administrative officer, Catherine Lamson, wearing a mask and holding a bottle of hand sanitizer — another sign of the times. For the annual Giving Guide, Mainebiz featured a little kid outdoors, playing on a jungle gym, wearing a colorful mask with strawberries. FUN FACT: By 2021, Mainebiz photogra- pher Tim Greenway had adapted to doing two photographs of subjects — one with the mask and one without. So for an "On the Record" interview in the March 8, 2021, issue, Mark Adams is pictured wearing a mask. For subsequent instances where Adams might be quoted in a story, we had a backup image of him in the same spot, without the mask. In 2020, Mainebiz had a number of covers that featured people wearing masks. It was a sign of the times.

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