Standing, left to right: Patricia Hart, Senior Program Director, Maine Development Foundation; Steve Pound, Associate Director, Workforce Development, Cianbro Institute; Paul Bolin, Director of Employee Relations, EMMC; Andrew Cassidy, Business Manager, Phillip-Strickland House; Sally Dobres, Associate Director Of Human Resources, University of Maine System; Carl Little, Communications Director, Maine Community Foundation Seated, left to right: Paige Gagnon, Benefits Manager, Community Health and Counseling Services; Deb Thomas, EMMC

Augusta, January 26, 2010 — On January 14, the Maine Development Foundation and its Maine Employers’ Initiative recognized 12 eastern Maine employers for their efforts in supporting employee higher education.  The awards were presented at the meeting of the Human Resources Association of Eastern Maine at the Muddy Rudder Restaurant in Brewer.  The celebrated employers have committed to support their employees' educational goals through a variety of actions ranging from celebrating employee completion of a degree or certification program, to creating or enhancing a formal tuition payment assistance program.

“There is no more critical investment to be made to ensure Maine’s future prosperity than the investment in higher education, with the goal of supporting every Maine worker to achieve his or her highest potential,” said Lachance.  “The Maine Development Foundation is very grateful for the leadership demonstrated by these employers – and all of our 75 committed employers in Maine.  We appreciate their commitment and support to their employees’ education.”

Steve Pound, Associate Director of the Cianbro Institute and honoree, remarked, “This initiative is a wonderful opportunity for employers to focus on ways to assist each of their employees to become life-long learners in order to reach their full potential.  In business, we need to help employees acquire the skills to keep them up-to-date with technology, as well as to help them with career development.”

Patricia Hart, Senior Program Director of the Maine Employers’ Initiative recognized the efforts of the following organizations:

• Acrobat Research, Calais, Maine
• Bangor Savings Bank, Bangor, Maine
• Cianbro Corp., Pittsfield, Maine
• Community Health and Counseling Services, Bangor, Maine
• Dead River Company, Bangor, Maine
• Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor, Maine
• Greenville Adult and Community Education, Greenville, Maine
• Maine Community Foundation, Ellsworth, Maine
• Morris Yachts, Bass Harbor, Maine
• Phillips-Strickland House, Bangor, Maine
• Sebasticook Valley Hospital, Pittsfield, Maine
• University of Maine System, Orono, Maine

The Initiative, funded through generous grants from the Lumina Foundation and Ford Foundation, is working in partnership with the Maine Compact for Higher Education and the Maine Community Foundation to increase the educational attainment levels of Maine’s workers.  The goal is to have 500 employers take “one more step” to promote education for their employees.

The Maine Development Foundation is a private, non-profit organization that drives sustainable, long-term economic growth for Maine through several programs.  MDF stimulates new ideas, develops leaders, and provides common ground for solving problems and advancing issues.  For more information please visit www.mdf.org.