Laura Dolce and Jamie Houtz with the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, and Arundel Chamber of Commerce were our Guests on Thursday, May 25th.
Laura joked that at her very first meeting with our Club, someone asked, "How long do you plan to stick around?" and here she is, nine years later!! The Chamber just signed on its 600th member and has been very busy with ribbon cuttings all over the three towns lately. One of the major issues that the Chamber sees with the local businesses is that there just isn't enough help. Staffing issues were a problem even before Covid but has really become tough post-Covid, with so many people dropping out of the workforce altogether. The Chamber has just received a grant from the Maine Department of Transportation to create workforce transit connecting Sanford, the Kennebunks and Biddeford with bus transportation. This is a 2-year pilot program that a number of local businesses have partnered with like, Kennebunk Savings, to bring reliable transportation to workers in our surrounding towns. 6 trips a day will be offered.