News Releases

USM Site for “National Entrepreneurship Week” in Maine Events

February 25, 2008

USM is the host site for several events that are part of National Entrepreneurship Week in Maine, including a celebration with special guest Thomas Moser on Wednesday, February 27, a “Pitch an Angel” event allowing participants 10 minutes to pitch a business idea to possible investors, and the Junior Achievement-Bank of America Titan Challenge for high school students.

Contact information follows each event below, or contact Sandra Stone, Maine Center for Enterprise Development project coordinator at 228-8524, sstone@mced.biz or USM Associate Dean for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Valarie C. Lamont at 780-5919, lamont@usm.maine.edu.  For a complete list of events statewide, see http://www.eweekmaine.com.

Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers

Beginning at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, February 27, in USM’s Abromson Center on the Portland campus, special guest Thomas Moser; Harry Fraser, CEO of Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers; and Chris Howard of Pierce Atwood LLP will explain how Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers began as one man’s attempt to restore the lost art of fine woodworking, and now after 35 years has grown to employ nearly 100 cabinetmakers with showrooms in eight cities around the world.  The panel discussion is followed at 6:30 p.m. by a celebration. Pre-registration is required and can be done by contacting Amber Elliott at aelliott@pierceatwood.com or 791-1143.

Pitch an Angel

From 2-5 p.m., Thursday, February 28, entrepreneurs have signed up for an informal, private session with several members of the Maine Angel Private Equity Investment Network.  Each participant has 10 minutes to pitch his or her idea and get feedback from Maine Angel members who since 2003 have invested almost $2 million in 16 promising companies.  For more information, call Sandra Stone, Maine Center for Enterprise Development at 228-8524, sstone@mced.biz.

Junior Achievement-Bank of America Titan Challenge

On Thursday, February 28, from 8:45 a.m.-3:15 p.m. thirty teams of high school students will compete in the Junior Achievement-Bank of America Titan™ Challenge, which pits teams of three high school students and one volunteer business advisor against each other to run the most profitable company.  Twenty teams will compete in USM’s Glickman Family Library on the Portland campus, while 10 teams will compete in the Foster Innovation Center at the University of Maine in Orono. In the afternoon, using a communication technology known as Skype, top teams from each location will compete for the state title. Former Governor Angus King will be on hand to award savings bonds to the winning teams.

In Portland, USM’s School of Business L.L. Bean /Lee Surace Endowed Chair of Accounting is hosting the competition with assistance from USM’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Team.  In Orono, The Foster Innovation Center is hosting with SIFE students from Maine Maritime Academy assisting. SIFEis a nonprofit organization founded in 1975 that cultivates the partnership of business and higher education, to foster student communication and leadership skill development through the teaching of free enterprise principles.

Participating high school teams are listed below.

In Portland: Biddeford High School, Gorham High School, Greely High School, Lewiston Regional Technical Center, Oak Hill High School (Wales), Old Orchard Beach High School, Portland High School.

In Orono: Bangor High School, Brewer High School, Central High School (Corinth), Hermon High School, John Bapst High School.

Lead sponsor of the event is Bank of America.  Additional financial sponsors include Diversified Business Communications, Synernet, and WABI TV5.

Junior Achievement of Maine is a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching children about business and economics. During the 2006-2007 school year JA of Maine served more than 9,600 students in grades K-12 across the state with the support of more than 350 classroom volunteers. For more information about Junior Achievement-Bank of America Titan Challenge, contact Melissa Bourque, 347-4333, president@jamaine.org.

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