Our June Bi-Monthly Meeting was a success, kicking off with a round of golf at the beautiful Mars Hill Country Club, followed by a lively Meet & Greet at the Houlton Elks Lodge the evening before the meeting. The event provided a great opportunity for members to connect in a relaxed setting, with live music and bowling, before diving into business the following day. A special shout-out to our Meet & Greet sponsors EJ Prescott and J. McLaughlin Construction.

During the meeting, we covered a range of important updates. We began with a business meeting that included financial and legislative updates from the Association, followed by insights from the Drinking Water Program and the Public Utilities Commission. 

The technical program featured a valuable session led by Paul Van Savage, Director of Human Resources at E.J. Prescott. Paul shared the best practices that the EJ Prescott Human Resources team employs to recruit and retain top talent. He emphasized the importance of effective onboarding processes and interview techniques, noting that the average cost of finding, onboarding, and training a new employee is nearly $4,000. As Paul highlighted, investing in employee retention is far more cost-effective than the expense of bringing a new hire up to speed.

Overall, it was an informative and productive meeting that provided attendees with actionable insights to take back to their own organizations. Following the technical session, we were provided with a haddock and prime rib lunch, cooked by the employees of Houlton Water Company; food is always a highlight of this event.  Thank you to our sponsors Wright-Pierce, American Concrete and Houlton Water Company.

We look forward to seeing everyone at our next gathering in October!