Grocer of the Year

The Maine Grocers Association presented its 2008 annual awards at the association’s fall conference on Oct. 11 in Bar Harbor. Tozier’s Market, owned by the Tozier family, was named Grocer of the Year.

The Tozier family owns two grocery stores, one in Searsport and one in Brewer.

The association honored the entire Tozier family – Dale Tozier Sr., Mary-Jo Tozier, Dale Tozier Jr., Michele Tozier and Aubrey Atherton, with the award.

A member of the Tozier family has served on the association board of directors for the last 15 years.

Dale Sr. started in the retail business working for his father, Dana Tozier, at Tozier’s Variety in Bucksport. He also helped his father open a new store in Castine in 1975.

In 1986, Dale and his wife, Mary-Jo, bought their own store on South Main Street in Brewer. In 1992 Dale and Mary-Jo bought another store in downtown Searsport. The Searsport location was a 3,500-square-foot supermarket.

In 2002, Dale and Mary-Jo built a brand new 12,000-square-foot supermarket.

Officials presenting the award cited Tozier’s Family Markets for taking pride in its devotion to the community and for its guiding philosophy of treating employees and customers like family.

Associated General Contractors of Maine

John O’Dea, a graduate of the University of Maine, has been named the new executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Maine. He replaces John Butts, the longtime executive director, who took a position earlier this year with AGC Connecticut.

O’Dea was serving as AGC’s director of communications and member services at the time of his appointment. A former member of the Maine House and the Maine Senate, he was handling the advocacy and communications efforts of AGC. He will continue that work in his new role as executive director.

Loren Clarke, president of AGC Maine, said the association was “fortunate to have an individual as talented as John O’Dea.” He cited O’Dea’s “exceptional previous experience as a legislator” and called him “well-grounded between his family life and his work for AGC.”

Clarke added that O’Dea’s 20 years of experience in and around the state Capitol has helped the association better communicate the relationship between infrastructure investment and jobs.

O’Dea was the executive director of the Maine Irish Heritage Center in Portland before joining AGC Maine. He is a former member of the board of directors of the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce and served as chairman of the chamber’s legislative and policy committee.

O’Dea grew up in Caribou. He lives in Richmond with his wife Melissa and their two daughters.

Husson Business Breakfast

BANGOR – Maine Development Foundation President Laurie Lachance will speak on the topic, “Finding Opportunities in Our Economic Challenges,” at the Thursday, Nov. 13, Husson University Business Breakfast.

Lachance offers the perspective that Maine is at a significant point in its economic development. Taking advantage of the opportunities that exist today will create a new path for Maine tomorrow, she advocates.

These opportunities include tough choices that will challenge the “givens.” Facing these challenges will sharpen the focus and set new priorities. Maine’s ability to weather economic storms depends, Lachance stated, “on our ability to intelligently adapt to the changing economic landscape.”

Lachance joined the Maine Development Foundation in 2004. Before that, she served as the Maine state economist for 11 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College and a master’s degree from Thomas College.

The presentation is the second in Husson’s 2008-2009 Business Breakfast series. Presentations are held 7:30-9 a.m. at Dickerman Dining Hall, One College Circle. The $10 fee includes breakfast. For information and registration, call 941-7129 or e-mail breakfast@husson.edu. Registration also may be made at www.husson.edu/businessbreakfast.

Free child care training

BANGOR – Penquis Child Care Resource Development Center and Healthy Maine Partnerships in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties have teamed up to offer free skill building training sessions:

. Early Childhood Programs Promoting Smoke-Free Living, to provide updates on Maine laws, teach about the dangers of secondhand smoke and give the skills to talk to families about smoking.

6-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, Bangor Health and Community Services, 103 Texas Ave., Bangor, with trainer Emer Schiefen, substance abuse and tobacco prevention specialist, Bangor Region Public Health and Wellness.

. Nutrition in Early Care and Education Settings. Learn about safe food handling; quick, easy and affordable meals; quantity food handling; and tips and tricks for healthy eating. Learn to assist parents in providing healthy meals on a tight budget and practice skills for talking to families about nutrition.

6-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11, Bangor Health and Community Services, 103 Texas Ave., Bangor, with trainer Kristin Brooks, health and wellness specialist, Bangor Region Public Health and Wellness.

There is no cost to attend, but space is limited. Register with Amy Ludwig by calling 973-3533, 888-917-1100 or e-mail aludwig@penquis.org.

Keep ME Warm kits

Volunteer teams picked up 2,000 Keep ME Warm kits at designated distribution sites throughout Maine on Oct. 25. The volunteer teams use materials from the kits to make homes of low-income residents more energy efficient.

“Saturday was National Make a Difference Day, and these teams certainly will make a difference for 2,000 needy households by helping them stay safer and warmer this winter,” said Dale McCormick, director of MaineHousing, which helped coordinate the distribution.

“This is exactly the kind of grassroots, neighbor-helping-neighbor approach that Maine Gov. John Baldacci has encouraged in order to help our most vulnerable citizens make it through the winter,” she said.

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension county offices served as distribution sites. The local volunteer teams that picked up the kits have lists of homes in their area where kits will be installed.

Each kit contains rope caulking, switch and outlet plate gaskets, foam tape for doors, straw foam, Teflon tape, clear polyurethane and lathe bundle for windows, faucet aerators, a low-flow showerhead and pipe insulation.

To install the kits, teams will bring tools they may need for installation of the products, including ladders, adjustable wrenches, hammers, saws, screw drivers and box cutters.

Additional kits beyond the original 2,000 may be purchased by groups or individuals from Energy Federation Inc. and Aubuchon Hardware, the kit content suppliers for the initial distribution.

In addition to MaineHousing and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the Maine Department of Transportation and the Governor’s Office of Energy Independence and Security collaborated in distributing the Keep ME Warm kits. More information can be found at www.mainehousing.

org/EDUWantToHelp.aspx.

Pet care certification

BANGOR – Rachael Bridges, a pet care technician at Green Acres Kennel Shop, has earned Level I certification through the Pet Care Services Association. In order to be certified by the association, a pet care technician must pass a comprehensive exam, which covers breed recognition, small animal anatomy and physiology, boarding care, emergency care and first aid, geriatric and degenerative disease care, contagious disease, parasites, zoonotic illnesses, pesticides and customer relations.