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Quick Links:
Join the Network
Interested in joining the Network? It's quick, easy, and free. Just fill out the form on our website to sign up now.
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Who's Involved
The Network has now moved into the transition phase
of our activities. To see the list of people who participated in the
Network's Transition Workshops, the former Steering Committee list, and
the Marketing Committee list please visit www.mainemountains.org. |
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Special Thanks!
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Once again, we heartily thank our able Transition Workshop facilitators
Tom
Gross of Genesis Consulting in New Hampshire and Warren Cook of WCC
Associates in Carrabassett Valley. Their contribution to the transition
process was very much appreciated!
Bottom Left: Facilitator, Tom Gross.
Top Left: Facilitator, Warren Cook.
Top Right: Workshop participant, Russ Walters of Northern Outdoors in The Forks. |
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Celebrating Maine's Mountain Heritage
Sixth Edition...
NETWORK UPDATE: HERITAGE NETWORK ADOPTS ACTION PLAN AND PILOT PROJECTS
On
January 26, the 30 member "transition team" charged with moving our
heritage-based development initiative from planning to implementation
finished its work... READ MORE
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HERITAGE NETWORK WINS SHARE YOUR HERITAGE WORKSHOP: ONE OF ONLY FOUR IN THE NATION!
The Maine Mountain Heritage Network has been selected to receive assistance through Share Your Heritage, a unique workshop designed by the Heritage Tourism Program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation... READ MORE
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TOURISM IN YOUR MAINE COMMUNITY: NEW WEBSITE INTRODUCED
Tourism can create jobs and diversify rural businesses. It can also present new challenges for any community or region... READ MORE
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Upcoming Conferences and Events
Make room in your schedule for the following 2005 conferences and events.... READ MORE |
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Welcome to the February 2005 Edition of Network News!
Network
News is published by the Maine Mountain Heritage Network. It's filled
with updates and articles about what is happening in the Maine Mountain
Heritage Area.
If you want to learn more about the Network visit our website at www.mainemountains.org, or call the Network's coordinating agency, Mountain Counties Heritage, at (207) 778-3885.
We welcome your story ideas! Email us at Network_News@mainemountains.org.
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 NETWORK UPDATE:
Heritage Network Adopts Action Plan and Pilot Projects
On January 26, the "transition team" charged with moving our work from planning to implementation finished its work.
The
more than thirty team members representing many interest groups and
local areas across the region were asked to create a "Post Office"
speech to quickly explain to a neighbor what the effort was about.
Jennifer Kierstead of Public Service Communications came up with the
following:
 "Hi,___,
guess what! Remember the heritage economic development work I've been
talking about for a couple of years? We finally took action last
week—we formed four teams to tackle each of our highest priority
program areas that cut across the entire four-county region— These are
now called Land and Water, Knowledge Power, Village Works and Mountain
Made. Ideas for some very do-able pilot projects in three of these
areas came together very quickly, with a fourth one almost selected.
Talk soon! I'll keep you posted."
Pictured Left:
Participants discussing projects over lunch at the Network's Jan 26th
Transition Workshop. From left to right around the table - Michael
Montagna of the Maine State Planning Office, Bruce McLean of the
Millioncket Area Growth & Investment Council (MAGIC), Robin
Zinchuck of the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce, Anne Campbell of
Norway Downtown Revitalization, and Roger Poulin of the Towne Motel,
Skowhegan.
To see descriptions of the four program areas, please visit our website and look under Program Profiles.
If
you would like to get more information about our action teams and pilot
projects, please contact any of the action team stewards listed below.
They are:
• Knowledge Power: Mike Wilson of the Northern Forest Center, mwilson@northernforest.org
• Land and Waters: Carolann Ouellette of the Maine Office of Tourism, carolann.ouellette@maine.gov
• Village Works: Tom Marcotte of the Town of Skowhegan, skowplan@skowhegan.org
• Mountain Made: Jim Batey of the Somerset Economic Development Corporation, jbateydd@kynd.net
And to find complete meeting notes from the Jan 26 session, please go to the Network's Website, we've also posted a list of Workshop Participants. More information about proposed pilot projects will be forthcoming in future editions of Network News.
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Heritage Network Wins Share Your Heritage Workshop:
One of Only Four In the Nation!
 The Maine Mountain Heritage Network has been selected to receive assistance through Share Your Heritage,
a unique workshop designed by the Heritage Tourism Program of the
National Trust for Historic Preservation. National funding for this
workshop is being provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and
the USDA Rural Development Office of Community Development. The Network
is one of only four organizations in the nation to be selected for a
Share Your Heritage Workshop this year.
The Share Your Heritage Workshop
proposed for the Maine mountain region will focus on building the
heritage tourism experience in "hub" communities by linking local
heritage resources, community cultural organizations, and tourism
related businesses. "Our Maine Mountain Heritage Area marketing plan
notes that our region has lots of heritage resource and not much
heritage tourism "product." This workshop should help us create the
kind of tourism experience that actually generates real revenues for
local businesses and organizations," notes Bruce Hazard, director,
Mountain Counties Heritage who wrote the proposal.
The local
planning committee for the workshop also includes Roxanne Eflin,
director, Maine Preservation; Alden Wilson, director, Maine Arts
Commission; Ken Young, director, Kennebec Valley Council of
Governments; and Robin Zinchuk, executive director Bethel Chamber of
Commerce.
 Tony
Tighe, Intergovernmental Affairs Specialists with the National
Endowment for the Arts, noted that the workshop came to Maine because
the Maine Mountain Heritage Network has done "an outstanding job of
identifying the important cultural and heritage resources in the
region, and building the partnerships that are necessary for
sustainable and successful cultural heritage tourism program. The
National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Endowment for the
Arts, and the USDA Rural Development Office, sponsors of the workshop,
all recognized the tremendous potential of this region to build a
cultural heritage tourism program, and we look forward to assisting in
that effort through the Share Your Heritage workshop."
"The
two-day workshops are designed to bring together diverse community
representatives from tourism, preservation and the arts to address
specific cultural heritage tourism challenges and issues," according to
Amy Webb, Director of the Heritage Tourism Program. "By providing this
intensive assistance, we are able to help participants develop a
cultural heritage tourism action plan that will guide their project's
implementation."
The National Trust's Heritage Tourism Program
began in 1990 with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and
is recognized as the country's premier heritage tourism program. The
program has assisted hundreds of heritage and cultural sites,
communities and states in assessing their resources and creating plans
for sustainable heritage tourism programs. The Share Your Heritage
workshops have assisted more than 20 communities, regions and states
with cultural heritage tourism program development in the past five
years.
For more information about the workshop, please contact Bruce Hazard, Mountain Counties Heritage, (207) 778-3885. |
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Friendly Reminder
Regarding Spam Filters
From Erika Bohlman, Network News Publisher: Please remember to add my email address (ebohlman@mainemountains.org) to your "Approved Senders" list so that you are sure to continue receiving your copy of Network News! |
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Tourism in Your Maine Community: Boom or Bust?
By: Roger Merchant, University of Maine Cooperative Extension of Piscataquis County
Tourism
can create jobs and diversify rural businesses. It can also present new
challenges for any community or region. Generally, tourism is promoted
by those seeking income from this part of the economy. Yet in order to
be successful, tourism needs to proceed with community wide involvement
in the development of viable tourism products.
Most
communities do not have the financial resources to pay for professional
coordination of a tourism program. How might local citizens obtain
information and practical tools that will help them assess, plan and
develop tourism opportunities which benefit their community?
Nature, Heritage, Community,
a brand new website from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension,
contains tools and information to help communities organize, plan,
develop and implement successful community tourism strategies. The site
features fact sheets, case studies, planning tools, business resources
and conference links about tourism opportunities.
Nature, Heritage, Community,
will connect you with research-based information on rural tourism
topics such as cultural heritage, agritourism, forest heritage,
adventure, nature and ecotourism.
Community leaders, chamber and
tourism stakeholders, small business owners, economic development
councils, planners and residents engaged with rural tourism projects
will find Nature, Heritage, Community to be a credible source of information on community tourism.
Visit Nature, Heritage, Community at http://www.umext.maine.edu/nhc-tourism.
If you lack Internet access or would like further information contact
Roger Merchant, Extension Educator at Natural Resources and Community
Development, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Tel.
207-564-3301, or email rogerm@umext.maine.edu |
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Mark Your Calendar Now!
Make room in your schedule for the following upcoming conferences and events:
April 2005
DISCOVER NEW ENGLAND'S: 10th Annual International Marketplace & Tourism Summit
Date: April 4-6, 2005
THE 2005 GOVERNOR'S CONFERENCE ON TOURISM
Date: Friday, April 29, 2005
May 2005
WOMEN AND THE WOODS CONFERENCE
Date: May 2nd -5th, 2005
To learn more about these exciting opportunities and to see others please visit our website.
If you would like to submit information about your conference for us to
publish in Network News and on our website, please send an email to Network_News@mainemountains.org. |
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 January 2005 Edition Omission Correction
The state agencies that make up the Maine Arts and Heritage Tourism Partnership include the:
Maine Arts Commission, Office of Tourism,
Humanities Council, Historic Preservation Commission, Department of
Agriculture, Department of Conservation, Department of Transportation,
and State Planning Office.
We apologize for the omission error
in last month's article titled "Network Update: State Agencies
Presented with Network Requests for Support." |
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