Mainebiz

V O L . X X I I N O. X I X A U G U S T 2 2 , 2 0 1 6 12 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 AAA Energy is proud to support organizations in the communities we serve. Like Maine Real Estate Development Association and their annual Bowlathon event at Bayside Bowl in Portland to support MEREDA's high school scholarship program. Over $18,000 was raised in this spring's Strikes for Scholars night which we were happy to lead for the 4th year in a row. Serving Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts Call 207.883.1473 or email info@aaaenergy.com aaaenergy.com Building Community And Eciency! HEATING AIR CONDITIONING REFRIGERATION MAINTENANCE DESIGN/BUILD Congratulations, David! As part of our commitment to business banking in Maine, Katahdin Trust is pleased to promote David Cambridge to Senior Vice President, Commercial Services Officer. A native of Presque Isle, David joined Katahdin Trust as Assistant Vice President, Commercial Services Officer in 1999 and was promoted to Vice President in 2001 and Regional Vice President in 2014. He has completed the Northern New England School of Banking and is very active in the community. Cambridge will continue to oversee business lending and development in the central and northern Aroostook region. Find out how Katahdin Trust can help grow your business! (207) 764-2361 KatahdinTrust.com David Cambridge Senior Vice President, Commercial Services Officer In Bangor, Fed aims effort at low-income workers BANGOR — The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's Working Cities Challenge came to Maine for the fi rst time, with a meeting in Bangor that drew attendees from local, state and federal governments, as well as the nonprofi t and business worlds. The economic development initiative, which traveled to Bangor on Aug. 10, offers competitive grants designed to support cross-sector, collaborative leader- ship and improve the lives of low-income people. Originally aimed at small cities in southern New England, its expansion to Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont represents a new focus on northern New England's more small-town and rural nature, said Jeff Fuhrer, an economist at the Boston Fed. "Poverty is at least as much a rural and small-town issue as it is a city issue," Fuhrer told Mainebiz. "There are a lot of promising developments in Bangor," he added. "The new waterfront pavilion is a signifi cant draw. There's Husson University, which is doing well. There are things that have made a big difference in and around Bangor. That said, there are still folks in low-income echelons. We hope our work will pull people out of their silos a bit." In recent years, the Fed's Working Cities Challenge has worked with the Massachusetts cities of Haverhill, Lowell, Pittsfi eld, Springfi eld and Worcester. Backed by a network of funders from the public, private and philanthropic sec- tors, grants of $475,000 were awarded to each of the Massachusetts cities. The grants were intended for neighborhood revitalization, workforce development and improved access to economic opportunity. Next steps The Boston Fed has not yet made a fi nal decision whether to launch the pro- gram in Maine. "It will take us a while to digest what we learned talking with all three states. Working into 2017, we'll continue to meet with community leaders through the com- ing months, solidify our model, then start to roll it out with information sessions," he said. "It will also depend on getting commitments from all the key partners." Still, with pockets of concentrated poverty, Bangor fi ts the program's mis- sion. The program is rooted in research performed in 2007 by the Brookings Institution and the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth that found some small, post-industrial cities in Massachusetts lag in income, employment and educational attainment. Around the same time, the Boston Fed research team, led by Fuhrer, exam- ined 25 cities nationwide that shared a similar experience of decline. Among 10 "resurgent" cities — those now prospering — the critical factor was col- laboration toward helping all segments of the population. "It's not a fi ve-year turnaround. It's a 10- or 20-year turnaround," said Fuhrer. "But what seemed to make the difference was the presence of a collaborative team of leaders from all sectors — public, private, for-profi t, nonprofi t. All of them agreed on a common vision for their city and were held accountable for making progress toward that vision, usually through a backbone institution that coordinated their efforts." — B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F T H E F E D E R A L R E S E R V E B A N K O F BO S T O N Speaker Anna Steiger, vice president for regional and community outreach with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, addresses participants of the Working Cities Challenge in Bangor on Aug. 10.

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