FARMINGTON – What Western Maine is and could be is the topic of a presentation at the Western Maine Legislative Caucus on Oct. 12.

A free breakfast and forum will be held at 7 a.m. in the North Dining Hall on the University of Maine at Farmington campus.

Speaker Laurie LaChance, executive director of the Maine Development Foundation, will give a presentation titled “Imagine Western Maine.”

Periodically, LaChance has given similar talks on Imagine Maine, and the caucus planning committee invited her to do one on Western Maine, Tanya Swain of the Western Mountains Alliance said Friday.

While people hear about economic negatives, Swain said, LaChance takes a look at the potential in Maine.

At the foundation’s annual meeting in 2006, LaChance invited the audience to celebrate the good things happening in Maine while being aware of the negatives. She encouraged people to help overcome the pessimism that affects the state’s development.

The Maine Development Foundation, a private, nonprofit organization, was created by the governor and Legislature in 1978 with a mandate to promote Maine’s economy.

The Western Maine Legislative Caucus series is a collaborative project of area organizations and schools. Breakfasts and forums are held regularly.

A University on Maine at Farmington student serving as an intern for the Western Mountain Alliance will attend the caucus to survey participants on how effective the forums are and what people are getting from them, Swain said. She hopes people will be willing to talk with him.

For more information about the forum or to suggest topics for future events, contact the Western Mountains Alliance at 778-3885 or email: [email protected]