By Ward Graffam
All board members have multiple duties and responsibilities they need to understand and execute. One clear responsibility is to understand the business of the companies and other organizations they govern.
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Guest columnist Ward Graffam was the founding chairman of the Maine International Trade Center and is former chairman and CEO of Unum UK.
Other than some general knowledge about how a company functions, how deep must this knowledge be? What responsibility does the company have to educate the directors? Do you have a well-conceived orientation program for new directors that provides background on the company’s products, its key processes and markets? In order for directors to be useful to the company, they need to understand the industry and market context within which the company operates.
By Staff
A 48-hour brainstorming competition hosted by Maine and six North Atlantic countries is offering cash and business development opportunities for big ideas related to rural recovery.
“Think Rural, Think Digital, Think Ahead!” will be held virtually from March 19-21, and is sponsored by the Maine North Atlantic Development Office at the Maine International Trade Center and the University of New England’s UNE North Program, in collaboration with other sponsors and the Nordic Council of Ministers and its Nordic Atlantic Cooperation agency.
Besides Maine, regions participating in the hackathon include Ontario, Canada; the Faroe Islands, in Denmark; and the countries of Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Scotland.
U.S. lobster exports to China rebounded in 2020
Maine s lobster industry sees the boost as a positive sign in a year of declining international trade caused primarily by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Mike Marceau, vice president of The Lobster Co. in Arundel, demonstrates the packing process on Friday with 4- to 6-pound lobsters from Canada.
Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
While the coronavirus pandemic tanked U.S. lobster exports overall in 2020, international trade data suggests the industry’s once-thriving U.S.-to-China trade pipeline may be making a comeback.
International sales of U.S. lobster fell by 22 percent last year, from $548.4 million in 2019 to $426.9 million in 2020. The market saw declines in sales to each of the country’s top 10 international buyers, with the notable exception of China, which bought more than $127 million of U.S. lobster, or a roughly 49 percent increase over 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
U S lobster exports to China rebounded in 2020 centralmaine.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from centralmaine.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Vote For Bangor Area Non-Profits to Receive $5000
This will be the fifth year that $5000 will be voted on by the people to give one Bangor Area Non-Profit a boost to start the year.
At an annual meeting held by the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce, Machias Savings Bank will be investing $5000 to the Bangor Area Non-Profit that garners the most votes to receive the hefty gift. The announcement will be ZOOMed and be streamed live on Facebook at 3 PM on Thursday, January 28th during the meeting.
Right now you can vote in the first round of voting, which goes through this Friday, January 15th at 5 PM. This will narrow the list down to 20 non-profits for the second round of voting which will go from Tuesdsay, January 19th to Tuesday, January 26th at 5 PM