Baldacci to hold jobs summit

AUGUSTA — Taking a cue from the Obama administration, Gov. John Baldacci has scheduled a jobs summit in partnership with the Maine State Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday at the Augusta Civic Center.

Baldacci, a Democrat, is slated to kick off the event with a speech, which will be followed by remarks from Dana Connors, the president of the chamber, and Thaxter Trafton, the newly sworn-in commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development. Representatives from more than 70 businesses operating in Maine have been invited to attend.

President Obama held a similar national summit at the White House late last year.

The invited businesses, which include some of the state's biggest and most successful, were selected based on their ability to do well despite the economy, according to a Baldacci spokeswoman.

Richard Malinowsky from Proctor & Gamble's Tambrands facility in Auburn, Tom Brennan of the Poland Spring Water Co. and Jennifer McEntree of Barclaycard U.S., which most recently opened a call center in Wilton, are expected to represent companies locally. Other attendees are expected to include representatives from Cianbro Corp., Hannaford Bros. Co., IDEXX and FPL Energy.

The companies will break into work groups and discuss what practices lead to success and where government can help foster job creation.

Many of the companies expected to attend have been able to access grants and funding from the economic stimulus package enacted by the federal government last year. One of the goals of the summit is to turn that public investment into sustainable economic growth, said Joy Leach, a Baldacci spokeswoman.

State lawmakers serving as committee chairmen have also been invited to participate, as well as a variety of stakeholders, including members of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Finance Authority of Maine, Maine Technology Institute, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program and other Baldacci administration officials.

rmetzler@sunjournal.com