On October 19, Governor Janet Mills applauded U.S. Senator Susan Collins for securing $1.6 million in the draft Fiscal Year 2022 Interior Appropriations bill to support the installation of a Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) treatment system at the Anson Madison Sanitary District wastewater treatment facility.

I read a quote recently, “If you do not voluntarily take time to be well, you will involuntarily take time to be sick.” Read that once again. My question to you: do any of us have the time to be sick? Do any of us have team members we can afford to have away from work? How does this absenteeism affect our business? More importantly, what can we do about it?

With the goal of strengthening The Voice of Maine Business, the Maine State Chamber’s effort to recruit new members is unending. These new members collectively represent 10 Maine counties and more than 2,000 employees. Welcome to The Voice of Maine Business!

We hosted our Annual Meeting approximately a week ago. Now that I’ve had some time to reflect on it, I encourage you to experience it for yourself through the recap and recording on our website, mainechamber.org/am2021, as well as the two video tributes to our honorees – the late Harold Alfond, philanthropist and Dexter Shoe Company founder; and the late David Flanagan, who most recently served as executive chairman of the Board of Directors of Central Maine Power and Avangrid, Inc.