🔒Putting the Maine in Mainebiz

One of the things that we've been trying to do at Mainebiz is get out to visit businesspeople across the state. This fall we will have Mainebiz “On the Road” events in Lewiston-Auburn (Sept. 25) and Bangor (Oct. 30). As a staff, we've also talked about getting out and doing our own “on the road” meetings.

As Mainers know, the state may only have 1.3 million people, with it taking six hours to drive from Kittery to Fort Kent. So it's important for us to get out and visit businesses and meet the people who are driving the economy. Time and again, I have heard from Maine business leaders the importance of driving two or three hours for a meeting, of having face-to-face contact with clients.

So far, I have been able to get to Kennebunkport, Biddeford, Prouts Neck, Lewiston, Lisbon, Auburn, Augusta, Brunswick, Bath, Skowhegan, Madison, Rockland, Rockport, Camden, Warren, Thomaston, Port Clyde, Belfast, Blue Hill, Castine, Brooklin, Milbridge and Machias, where Axiom Technologies CEO Susan Corbett introduced me to a truly amazing blueberry pie at the Blue Bird Ranch Family Restaurant.

By boat or bridge I've been to Monhegan, North Haven, Peaks, Great Diamond, Clapboard, Cousins, Littlejohn, Orr's, Bailey, Eagle, Isle au Haut and Long Island (the one in Casco Bay), where my son and I met a new resident, Carol Welu, who kindly offered us a tour of the island from her golf cart.

I've traveled by car, ferry, mail boat, motor boat, kayak, stand-up paddleboard, bike and the golf cart. And yet this isn't a Johnny Cash song, because I have not been everywhere. In Maine, this only feels like scratching the surface.

For a story about food distribution in this issue, Senior Writer Lori Valigra visited companies in Portland, Falmouth and Nobleboro. For the Health Care and Wellness focus in this issue, Senior Writer Jim McCarthy made a short trek to the Mainebiz confererence room to conduct an in-depth, face-to-face interview with Steven Michaud, president of the Maine Hospital Association. I think you'll agree that Jim's questions are intelligent and on the mark and the answers are compelling.

I once attended a journalism conference where the late journalist Richard Ben Cramer was the keynote. When an editor complained about not having the time or resources to get out of the office, Cramer slammed his hand on the podium and shouted, “There are no stories at your desk!” It may be time for a new set of tires.