On November 2, 2016 the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce will partner with Bangor Savings Bank and our other sponsors: Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, Franklin Savings Bank, Barresi Financial, and Machias Savings Bank to explore topics that affect every business in our area.  How do we develop a sustainable workforce?  How can we effectively grow our businesses and communities in Eastern Maine? These are just some of the issues the Downeast Business Conference will try to address.

Topics will cover workforce developmental topics such as Hire, Train and Retain as well as HR Basics.  We will also offer a marketing session to discover how to use social media effectively or ways to extend the season in our area. “We are excited to be able to offer these timely topics to our members and guests to discuss how we grow from here,” says Kristy Overlock, Membership Coordinator for the chamber, “This is a great opportunity for business owners and managers to learn how to deal with some of the challenges with running a business today.”

Keynote Speaker, Kevin Strange, Ph.D. 

Kevin Strange, Ph.D., became the MDI Biological Laboratory’s first president in July 2009 after a distinguished career as an NIH-funded biomedical scientist and leader at Harvard Medical School and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Dr. Strange is leading a dramatic transformation of the Institution’s biomedical research and educational programs. He began his tenure by refocusing the Institution’s research program and recruiting a new generation of multidisciplinary scientists to understand the genetic mechanisms of tissue repair, regeneration, and aging. These scientists are defining how diverse animal models rapidly replace damaged hearts and nervous systems and lost limbs, and how gene activity influences lifespan and the degenerative changes that occur during aging. Only three years after establishing this new research focus, the MDI Biological Laboratory was recognized by the National Institutes of Health as a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) in regenerative and aging biology and medicine.

Before arriving in Maine, Dr. Strange was associate professor at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Critical Care Research Laboratories at Children’s Hospital in Boston. In 1997, he moved to Vanderbilt University School of Medicine where he was the John C. Parker Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Anesthesiology, founding a much-needed basic, translational and clinical research program that quickly elevated the department’s prestige to “top ten” status.

Dr. Strange is an expert in the field of cellular stress biology, and leads groundbreaking research into how proteins are damaged by environmental stressors and how cells detect, degrade and repair these damaged proteins. This work is vital to understanding the degenerative changes that occur as humans age. Dr. Strange holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of California at Davis, and received his doctorate from the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Strange excels at creating multidisciplinary environments for dynamic and innovative scientific investigation, and is building the MDI Biological Laboratory into a pioneering 21^st-century biomedical research and development institution. In 2013, together with assistant professor Voot Yin, Ph.D., he founded the Institution’s first spinout company, Novo Biosciences, Inc., to accelerate the testing and development of a novel drug for patients with heart disease. The company was awarded its first patent in July for the development of new treatments to reverse tissue damage caused during a heart attack. Novo Biosciences is one of a growing number of institutional ventures designed to transform discoveries into cures and stimulate entrepreneurial thinking and risk-taking. Dr. Strange was named in 2013 as one of ten Maine “innovative business people” who “hold tremendous promise for the state” and its future economy.

 SESSIONS AVAILABLE

HR Basics – Headed up by our partner, Bangor Savings Bank will be talking about the steps that they go through to make sure that they are picking the right people for the jobs they are hiring for.

Overtime Rule – A representative from Rudman Winchell will be on hand to discuss what the new rules going into effect in December will be and what it will mean for businesses.

Customer Service – Southern Hospitality 101: Intersecting Tourism, Heritage, and Customer Service” From Hurricane Katrina to the hollars of Appalachia – The South really does rise again. Learn a few simple ingredients for business success from someone “from away.” Gigi Guyton of New Ventures Maine – a Southerner – will talk about her family’s success in the hospitality industry, and other Southern Main Street success stories – with some key customer service take-aways.

Using Social Media Effectively – This is a couple of people from Hancock County Higher Education that will discuss how to use the different social media platforms to further your business effectively.

Hire, Train and Retain –  Eastern Maine Development Corporation (EMDC) will host a workshop entitled “Hire, Train and Retain”.  Facilitated by Workforce Development Specialists, Renee Doble and Jill Chouinard, the presentation is for employers who are seeking assistance in hiring, training and retaining employees for the long term. Learn how to save time and money, and how to examine the real reasons employees leave.

Motivate your Millennials – This discussion is to show the differences between working with Gen X and working with the new Millennial Culture and how to use those differences to your advantage.

Closing the Sale – This Panel discussion with Mark Politte from Stanley Subaru, Kirsten Henry from Morton’s Moo, and Tim Archambault from REACH Maine will take a look at how you relate to your customers from the first sale and to make sure your customers keep coming back.

Company Culture – Robert Keteyian is facilitating this one. He is going to look at how company culture drives productivity as it draws and repels talent.

Extending the Season – Donna Moreland from Maine Tourism will be here to discuss how we might go about extending our season past the summer and get us through the holidays and beyond.