Unity College to Host Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce Eggs & Issues Breakfast Series Tuesday, April 8 at the Unity Centre for the Performing Arts 

    Unity College will host the Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce Eggs & Issues Breakfast Series on Tuesday, April 8 at the Unity Centre for the Performing Arts in Unity.  The presentation from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. by Alan Hinsey, Director of the Knox / Weldo Regional Economic Development Council, will focus on regional economic development.

     Registration and breakfast start at 7:45 a.m.

     To register contact Rob Constantine at Unity College at rconstantine@unity.edu, Nancy Boyington at the U Maine Hutchinson Center at nancyb@maine.edu or Dawn Place at dawn.place@bangor.com Cost is $10 which includes a light breakfast fare.  A 10% discount is available for Chamber members and enrolled students.

     The Unity Centre for the Performing Arts is located at 42 Depot Street (off Route 202) in Unity, Maine.

     This is the first time that new chamber member Unity College has hosted the business breakfast.

     “Unity College is pleased and honored to welcome members of the Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce to the College community,” said Rob Constantine, Vice President for College Advancement.  “Members of the Unity College community live, work and shop in the Belfast region.  We are very pleased to be new members of the chamber and are looking forward to meeting chamber members and contributing to a pro-growth business climate in the region.”

     About the Presenter & KWRED

     Prior to serving as Director of  KWRED, Alan Hinsey ran two Rockland–based consulting firms: 1)"Management Intervention Services" - a full service management consulting firm specializing in public sector and non-profit organizational management issues; and 2) “The Breakwater Group” – an economic and community development consulting firm, focused exclusively on the economic issues of Midcoast Maine.

     Hinsey and his family moved to Maine in 1994, at which time he was appointed by Governor Angus King to serve as the Director of the Maine Bureau of Labor Standards (1994 –2000). He also worked in various management positions in Illinois State government for over 15 years before moving to Maine.

     Hinsey holds a BA in Political Science and Public Administration from Blackburn College in Southern Illinois, and a Masters Degree from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

     KWRED, (a program of Eastern Maine Development Corp), was formed to address the common economic development needs of a readily identifiable regional business market – namely the greater Knox and Waldo County region.  This one region shares a transportation system, a workforce, they have common environmental concerns, a shared lack of affordable workforce housing, as well as a common need for a reliable information technology infrastructure that can help this region transition into a knowledge-based economy for the 21st century.

     It is clear that for this region to truly succeed and grow into a vibrant, sustainable, year-round economy, we must act as one entity when working on business expansion and business attraction.  What is good for business in one part of the region – will be good for the economy of the entire region.  While a healthy competition among businesses and municipalities within the KWRED region is generally a good thing – our overriding objective must be focused on cooperation and collaboration when it comes to regional economic success.

     Unity College is a small private college in rural Maine that provides dedicated, engaged students with a liberal arts education which emphasizes the environment and natural resources.  Unity College graduates are prepared to be environmental stewards, effective leaders, and responsible citizens through active learning experiences within a supportive community.