May 7, 2020
 
Chamber Head Speaks May 8
 
Quincy Hentzel, the first female CEO of Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce, leads an organization with more than 1,300 member businesses, serving the communities of South Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, Cumberland, Scarborough, Portland, Westbrook, and Gorham. A couple of months ago, the key issues faced by the Chamber involved the opioid crisis, housing, transportation, and rapid growth. Today, the coronavirus pandemic has presented a new set of challenges for the Chamber’s leader.
 
Hentzel moved to Maine in 2003, a graduate of the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and a juris doctor. Active in variety of nonprofits, she’s rappelled down One City Center for Rippleffect, served on the boards of Community Financial Literacy, cPort Credit Union, and the Center for Grieving Children.
 
Portland’s surge in economic development is a key focus for the chamber to tackle. “We want to see a robust economy: we want more businesses for our businesses here to serve and more consumers for our businesses to serve as well,” says Hentzel. “But there are people seeing that growth and getting really scared. They don’t know what this growth is going to mean for them. We’re trying to help have a community- wide conversation.” COVID-19 adds complexity to this issue.
 
Join our virtual meeting via Zoom to hear more from Quincy Hentzel.
Bits & Pieces From May 1 Meeting:
 
  • Paul Tully led our Moment of Reflection by reading “The Rainy Day,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow–
 
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the moldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.
My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the moldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast
And the days are dark and dreary.
Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.
 
  • Charlie Frair and Paul Tully asked that the $2,500 remaining from the Veterans luncheon be contributed in equal amounts to the Veterans Home in Scarborough, and the Preble Street Homeless Vets program. Preble Street indicated they would use their $1,250 contribution to help veterans in transition to housing who need bedding and other supplies. The Club approved.
  • President Amy Chipman shared a letter of gratitude from Leslie Clark, Director of the Portland Recovery Center thanking the Club for its $1,200 donation.
  • John Thompson conveyed enthusiastic appreciation from the Baxter Academy Interact Club for the funds contributed for fabric to help with their mask project.
  • Liz Fagan reports that the Kosovo project continues to move along. She will be presenting at a conference in June in Kosovo.
  • David Small reported that Micklange Borisma, the woman helped by the 3H team in Batey 50 continues to do well and has been adopted by the village. Our DR connection, Rafael, has visited her twice and provided additional supplies.
  • Portland Sunrise kicks off a series of meetings focused on Rotary with Rotary International President Mark Maloney as their first speaker. The event is scheduled for Wednesday May 13, 2020 at 5:30pm. Their second speaker, scheduled for Wednesday May 20, 2020 at 5:30PM is RI Director Johrita Solari, who will serve as Rotary International Vice-President beginning July 1. The speakers will make a live presentation followed by Q&A. The Zoom link will be provided ahead of the meeting. Plan to join promptly at 5:30pm. 
Breweries Drive Development
 
Sean Sullivan, Executive Director of the Maine Brewers Guild, shared the story of the growth of Maine’s craft beer industry with 36 Rotarians attending the May 1 Zoom meeting. “We now have breweries in every Maine county with Bissell Brothers new brewery in Milo in Piscataqua County,” he said. Sullivan said there were over 150 active licensed breweries in Maine, 110 of which opened in the last seven years. “While that seems like a lot,” he said. “The craft beer market is only 23 percent of the beer consumed in the country, but that’s up from seven percent five years ago.” The remaining market share is covered by the major brands. (The top five brewers in the U.S. are Anheuser Busch, Molson Coors, Constellation Brands, Pabst Brewing, and D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc.)
 
Introduced by Justin Lamontagne, Sullivan said craft breweries have become popular, not only because people like beer, but civic pride has prompted communities to adopt their tasting rooms as a “third place,” that space between home and work where many find relaxation. As food became more available in breweries, the English pub concept caught on. “Breweries are often harbingers of growth in quiet abandoned Maine industrial towns,” Sullivan said. “In many cases, they are drivers of economic development.” Sullivan reported many new breweries were started by people who had never worked in a brewery but were attracted to the business. He also noted that many were owned and operated by women.
 
Sullivan said the Guild’s legislative work focuses on contract relationships and on how beer is registered and labeled within the state. “Because of the state’s geography, laws may impact members in different ways,” he said. He noted that there was a spirit of unity and cooperation among competitors. “The thing I love about Maine is the great community,” he noted. Sullivan said that one of the things preventing brewers from shipping beer out of the state for sale elsewhere is the requirement for a brewer to have a contract with an out-of-state distributor. “These contracts are life-long and not easily broken,” he said. Consequently, 90 percent of the beer brewed in Maine is consumed here. The biggest breweries are able to ship out of state, but the demand for beer locally outstrips supply so most brewers don’t bother.
 
The COVID-19 crisis has created “tough times” for brewers, but state laws were amended to allow direct sales to consumers, which helped ease the financial burden, and some are offering neighborhood delivery. Sullivan said the shift to making hand sanitizer in the breweries demonstrated the quiet participation of the brewing community. “We all love beer,” he said, “but we love more the community around us.”
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