BUSINESS FOCUS (Part 1)
Will’s and Freedom House to crown Big Whoop at Festival
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Want to be King (or Queen) of the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival? Now’s your chance! The Maine Whoopie Pie Festival’s Official Bed and Breakfast, Freedom House Bed and Breakfast and the Festival’s Official Grocer, Will’s Shop ‘n Save announced they are partnering with the Center Theatre to make you The Big Whoop!
“We wanted to have a contest that would get people excited,” said Patrick Myers, organizer of the Festival, “We’ve certainly done that. We’ve put together an amazing prize package and are hoping as many people as possible try to be The Big Whoop!” Myers said the details of the contest are on the Festival website www.MaineWhoopiePieFestival.com. To enter you need to post a comment on the Facebook pages for both Will’s Shop ‘n Save and Freedom House Bed and Breakfast answering this question, “What would be your first decree as the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival Big Whoop?” Comments must be posted by 11:59 p.m. on June 25.
“It’s an easy contest to enter. While you’re there, check out their pages and hit the ‘like’ button to keep up to date with these wonderful, community-minded businesses!,” Myers emphasized. The winner will be chosen at random from all people posting comments to both Facebook pages and must be present at the Whoopie Pie Festival. The winner will be contacted on June 26.
Myers listed the following items that the Big Whoop would receive: a $100 gift card to Will’s Shop ‘n Save, a free night for two at Freedom House Bed and Breakfast (date to be determined), VIP parking, The Big Whoop will be an official Festival judge sampling the best whoopie pies the bakers have to offer, 10 gallons of Hood Whoopie Pie Ice Cream, a huge prize pack including, shirts, hats, posters, magnets, whoopie pies, and the honor of announcing the People’s Choice Award for Best Baker at the Festival. Myers said they’ll be doing other fun things for the Big Whoop to make it a day to remember.
For more go to www.MaineWhoopiePieFestival.com. The Festival will be Saturday, June 28 in downtown Dover-Foxcroft from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. with artists, crafters, games and rides in the Varney Agency Kid’s Zone, family fun, and of course — tens of thousands of whoopie pies. The Festival is a production of the Center Theatre, who thank lead sponsors Bangor Savings Bank, Garelick Farms, Z107.3, R.M. Flagg Food Service Equipment and Maine Kitchen Cooking School.
Law office marks 125 years serving Piscataquis County
DOVER-FOXCROFT — 2014 has been an eventful year for C.W. & H.M. Hayes, P.A., known locally as “Hayes Law Office.” C.W. & H.M. Hayes, P.A reached its 125th year of providing legal services to Piscataquis County and the surrounding region, and recently Benjamin K. Cabot, Esq. joined the law office as its third attorney.
Cabot is a native of Dover-Foxcroft and will be the firm’s new litigation attorney practicing in the areas of civil, criminal, family law, workers’ compensation, and personal injury litigation. He joins Tonya H. Johnson, Esq., who this year reached two decades with C.W. & H.M. Hayes, P.A, and Neil H. Hamlin, Esq. Hamlin practiced primarily real estate law and title insurance for 30 years at his own practice in Milo before merging with C.W. & H.M. Hayes, P.A. in 2006. Johnson and Hamlin are pleased to welcome Cabot and clients will be pleased to learn that Cabot’s services are currently being offered at a discounted rate while he builds his practice. He is a great addition to the firm.
“We represent over 80 local businesses,” Johnson said. “We serve as their clerk or registered agent. We make sure the corporate books are kept up to date and we are available for any legal services they may need,” she said. Johnson added that “we have a substantial estate planning and probate practice that I primarily handle.”
CW. & H.M. Hayes, P.A also represents clients in a variety of general practice legal matters.
The attorneys work hard to serve their clients and keep expenses down, and they pride themselves on prompt service. The business website, www.cwhmhayes.com, includes an email inquiry feature, which provides clients and potential clients with another method to get in touch.
“We couldn’t do it if it wasn’t for our experienced paralegals,” Johnson said. Tami Ogden has been with C.W. & H.M. Hayes, P.A. for three decades this year while Amanda Sickles has been with them for 19 years.
For much of its history C.W. & H.M. Hayes, P.A. was owned by a member of the Hayes family, with Stuart E. Hayes serving as the third generation of legal practitioners. The family ownership chain ended in 1998 when Johnson became the sole owner. “We kept the name because of the commitment to those who came before,” she said, adding that many clients have remained with the firm from when it was still owned by the Hayes family.
Today C.W. & H.M. Hayes, P.A. continues well over a century of community involvement, supporting a number of local organizations.
C.W. & H.M. Hayes, P.A. is located at 5 Lincoln Street. For more information, call 564-3314 or go to www.cwhmhayes.com.
Sebec 4 Corners Event Center and Ye Olde Gift Shop ready for the season
SEBEC — The Sebec 4 Corners Event Center and Ye Olde Grange Shoppe are both looking forward to a busy summer and fall. Where the Event Center is available to rent year-round, the Sebec Grange Shoppe is only open from mid-May to mid-November.
A large portion of the weekends are booked for the Event Center, but there are still several weekends available, so give Joan Baird a call and hope you didn’t wait too long to get the weekend you needed.
As for the Ye Olde Sebec Grange Shoppe, we have just opened the doors for the new season. We are located in the lower level of the Event Center; follow the “open” flags. This is our fourth year, and if you haven’t made it in yet, you are missing a treat!
It is an enjoyable shop where quality meets value with interesting items, sweet collectibles, clothes for all seasons and all sizes, handmade treasures or the supplies to make your own. From notions to party dresses — from figurines to furniture — hidden treasures are found everywhere.
Whether the sun is shining or the rain is falling, come in and check out what our co-opters have brought in every week, as the inventory changes weekly. We are full to overflowing with new and old items to start the new season, so if you think you know what is in here, think again, and come on in!
Check us out often and ‘like’ us on Facebook. We are open Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about either The Sebec 4 Corners Event Center of Ye Olde Sebec Grange Shoppe’s coop program, please call Joan Baird at 564-8526.
Country Junction Greenhouse does it all
BRADFORD — In North Bradford at the junction of Atkinson Road and Route 11 the display of flowers at Country Junction Greenhouse and Gardens slows people down. As beautiful as the flowers are they are only the tip of the iceberg and just a sample of what the greenhouse offers. Owner Sally Smith says the first thing people usually ask as they round the corner of the greenhouse is, “How do you do all this?”
Sally says, “I’m the one that is here from dawn ‘til done but this is a family business. My husband Darel and my sons pitch in when I need ‘manpower.’ When we had the dairy I had a small greenhouse for my flowers. My granddaughter Heather helped me in the little greenhouse. In 2002 when the cows were sold, we expanded the greenhouse together. When she went to Husson she took over the books.
“Other grandchildren help too. Even my 6-year-old great-granddaughter Baylee will take you to Lilac Lane where there are eight different kinds of lilacs. Perhaps she’ll take you to the Rose Garden to see the easy care roses. Sally Jo, 10, will ask you to put some herbs in your flower gardens for the bees and pollinators.
“We have over 100 different perennials to choose from. If Rachael is here she’ll be glad to show them to you. She and Tiffany potted many of them. Tiffany does some of everything, including the inventory. I put a weather forecast on the County Junction Facebook page every morning but Tiffany puts pictures on, showing what we have. This year we also have the help of a neighbor Rosemarie, who has a degree in horticulture from the University of New Hampshire. Rosemarie is our herb expert.”
County Junction has a website, www.countyjunctionmaine.com. Each day Sally writes in the Farm Journal telling readers what they are doing at the greenhouse and in the gardens. There are tips on the website and the catalog is a work in progress. All month Sally has been saying, “Please don’t put your cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes out yet. There aren’t any frosts predicted but the plants will just sulk with these cool nights.”
Sally says, “Please come by and browse. We have many other shrubs besides the lilacs and roses, including several of the new hydrangeas.”
Awards Signage and Trophies specialize in creativity
BREWER — Whether it is an award ceremony, retirement or graduation, Bob Dion and his staff at Awards Signage and Trophies can come up with the perfect mementos for any occasion.
Awards Signage and Trophies has been in business for the last 35 years, with Dion owning it for the past 15. The four-person staff is currently in the midst of their busy season, when they are designing and creating awards and plaques for the numerous high school, college and university graduations that are going on.
“That being said, we’re busy all year around,” Dion said.
They keep busy with the different creative services Awards Signage and Trophies does for its customers. Dion said the company creates trophies for different sporting events and car shows, plaques for retirements, award ceremonies and dedications, and even designs a wide variety of interior signage and bronze tablets.
Create is a key word at Awards Signage and Trophies, because the team builds each order to the customer’s specifications. The Brewer showroom has some awards on display to give people an idea of what they may look like, but each order is custom-built to the customer’s desires.
“We’ve always been a customer-oriented business, all the way back to when this business started 35 years ago,” Dion said.
Dion also explained about how Brenda Gladu, the company’s production manager, recently completed an order in which a longtime captain for a major airline recently received a plaque she created, where she found a color picture of one of the airliners in landing mode at a major city and put it in the background and super-imposed the wording over the top of it. These were the places the captain had flown to and from over a 30-year career. The captain was expecting text only.
No matter what the event is, the staff at Awards Signage and Trophies will walk a customer through each step and design a plaque, award or trophy. Dion said the staff will discuss with a customer what they are looking for in terms of the number of awards and what kind of awards they would like, and then go from there.
“Sometimes it’s easiest to fit an order by a review of the customer’s plans and scope of the event,” Dion said. “From there, we can build an order to their needs.”
To set up a time to meet with the staff, go to www.awardsaregreat.com or call 1-800-244-1137 or 989-1137.