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ABOUT LEAD
LEAD was organized by a group of community leaders willing to commit their valuable time to improve the future of Aroostook County. Today, LEAD is proud to celebrate over a decade of achievement with the continued support of individuals and businesses.
Forging A Path To The Future
LEAD, Inc., a non-profit corporation, was established in 1986 for the purpose of fostering and encouraging the balanced development of Aroostook County, which includes:
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The Economy and Jobs - the promotion of balanced economic development and the creation of jobs. |
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Image - the improvement of the County's image. |
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Partnerships - the development of working partnerships and alliances with Aroostook County's Canadian neighbors and other Maine organizations. |
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Small businesses - the promotion of small business development and assistance network. |
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Promoting New and Existing Businesses - the encouragement of existing businesses and industry expansion, as well as the recruitment of new business and industry. |
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Natural Resources - the support of the utilization and development of the natural resources of Aroostook County. |
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Legislation - the review and support of legislation to improve the economic climate and to discourage legislation harmful to the County economy. |
Early History
One of LEAD's first goals was the improvement of the County's image. The original group proceeded to develop a logo which would be clearly identifiable throughout the State of Maine. That effort lead to The County becoming known as "The Crown of Maine" signified by the blue and green image shown on the right. Since then, many people have used that logo for a variety of purposes and it really has helped show everyone that there are some "jewels" in the Crown of Maine.
Balanced Economic Development
Not long after the formation of the group, LEAD funded a study that identified some of the constraints of doing business in Aroostook County. One of the items was identified as a constraint was the existing transportation infrastructure. So, LEAD set a course to see what could be done to improve the transportation system to, from and within northern Maine. Recently, LEAD has played a role in several noteworthy transportation initiatives, including the improvements to Route 11 and the effort to extend Interstate 95.
In addition to transportation, LEAD is also very active in other areas. During the period that the Bald Mountain mining efforts were active, LEAD took a very active role helping to craft legislation addressing the needs and issues surrounding a mining operation of that magnitude - something that had never been done.
Partnerships
Working partnerships and alliances have been formed with a number of groups and organizations. For example, a quasi-public entity, The Maine Foundation, was formed from a group of individuals from Cumberland County. The group was brought together with LEAD to encourage awareness of each region of the state. Many issuess have been shared between the groups. For example, transportation issues in southern Maine have gained the support of LEAD and vice versa.
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